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yaraaria's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
caroemily's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Child death and Self harm
raikowlreads's review against another edition
The sound is awful for the audiobook, so I will try and get a physical version :)
nadias_littlelibrary's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
niteskyi's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
klei's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
self_fulfilling_prophecy's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
beereadsya's review against another edition
5.0
it’s been awhile since i’ve read this, but i had to come back and leave a little review just because of how beautiful it is. i can still remember it page by page despite not having touched it in nearly a year, and that says everything about the writing.
the book is so full yet so quiet at the same time, to the point where you truly feel everything that caitlin feels, and you truly feel everything ingrid felt despite ingrid never being truly *present* in the book. it’s moving, and it hits so close to home at times that it makes you as the reader simply want to set the book down and cry.
absolutely stunning. i’ll be fair and warn anyone who wishes to read the book that it contains quite a few mentions of self harm, and the central theme is suicide, and i truly don’t ask anyone to read it if it will trigger them. but it really truly is such a beautiful, moving book that shows the realest, ugliest parts of grief, and the beautiful parts that can start to come after.
the book is so full yet so quiet at the same time, to the point where you truly feel everything that caitlin feels, and you truly feel everything ingrid felt despite ingrid never being truly *present* in the book. it’s moving, and it hits so close to home at times that it makes you as the reader simply want to set the book down and cry.
absolutely stunning. i’ll be fair and warn anyone who wishes to read the book that it contains quite a few mentions of self harm, and the central theme is suicide, and i truly don’t ask anyone to read it if it will trigger them. but it really truly is such a beautiful, moving book that shows the realest, ugliest parts of grief, and the beautiful parts that can start to come after.
janina_reads's review
4.0
This was the third book I read about suicide in a short amount of time (and the second in a row), and it was the one that touched me most on an emotional level. Nevertheless, I think I’ll now move on to some lighter topics ;). I can only take that much …
Hold Still is a quiet, but noteworthy book. It tells the story of Caitlin, whose best friend Ingrid commits suicide. The only thing she leaves behind for Caitlin is her last journal, with drawings and entries that speak of depression, loneliness and finally the loss of hope for better times. Nevertheless, Caitlin feels left alone with her feelings of guilt and anger, not understanding why her friend never confided in her about her sadness and pain.
Despite the fact that Ingrid is dead, I really felt her presence in this book. She is in the photos Caitlin takes, in her memory and in her journal entries. She is portrayed in so many facets: The talented artist, the friend and daughter, the reckless teen. I felt so sad that she was gone. There were a few scenes that made me cry, simply because they were beautiful yet there was something missing. When Ingrid writes in her diary
So, although Caitlin’s story about moving on and finding new friends sometimes felt a bit unrealistic (in terms of: The new girl at school of course wants to be friends only with her and isn’t offended when Caitlin pushes her away. The popular guy falls for her and reaches out to her. Her parents are all understanding and try to help her no matter how stupid she behaves), Hold Still is a book that lingers.
I wanted to add something about the cover: I simply adore it. The colours are so striking in their different shades of blue and I love that it's blurred to show movement - in contrast to the title.
Hold Still is a quiet, but noteworthy book. It tells the story of Caitlin, whose best friend Ingrid commits suicide. The only thing she leaves behind for Caitlin is her last journal, with drawings and entries that speak of depression, loneliness and finally the loss of hope for better times. Nevertheless, Caitlin feels left alone with her feelings of guilt and anger, not understanding why her friend never confided in her about her sadness and pain.
Despite the fact that Ingrid is dead, I really felt her presence in this book. She is in the photos Caitlin takes, in her memory and in her journal entries. She is portrayed in so many facets: The talented artist, the friend and daughter, the reckless teen. I felt so sad that she was gone. There were a few scenes that made me cry, simply because they were beautiful yet there was something missing. When Ingrid writes in her diary
”this is what i want so don’t be sad. you might look for reasons but there are no reasons. the sun stopped shining for me is all. the whole story is: i am sad. i am sad all the time and the sadness is so heavy that i can’t get away from it. not ever … i don’t want to hurt you or anybody so just please forget about me. just try.” (she's obviously not a fan of capitalizing letters)I was sitting in front of my book, bawling my eyes out. How can someone wish others would forget her?
So, although Caitlin’s story about moving on and finding new friends sometimes felt a bit unrealistic (in terms of: The new girl at school of course wants to be friends only with her and isn’t offended when Caitlin pushes her away. The popular guy falls for her and reaches out to her. Her parents are all understanding and try to help her no matter how stupid she behaves), Hold Still is a book that lingers.
I wanted to add something about the cover: I simply adore it. The colours are so striking in their different shades of blue and I love that it's blurred to show movement - in contrast to the title.
booksmelladdict's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5