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hayleyccc4's review against another edition
5.0
I loved it! There was so much meaning behind the story. The characters were compassionate and amazing, and the plot was perfect. I felt like crying while reading about half the book, but somehow I managed not to shed a single tear! This is the first book I've read by Chris Bohjalian, but I wouldn't be surprised if I end up reading many more of them...
bpowers08's review against another edition
3.0
Okay, but not one of the better books I've read this summer. Seemed contrived at times.
lurdesabruscato's review against another edition
5.0
Bohjalian perfectly channels the voice of a troubled and terrified teenage girl. While her circumstances are surreal -- her quaint New England town experiences a catastrophic nuclear meltdown from the power plant where the teenager's parents work -- her experiences are starkly real, including life on the streets, drugs, cutting, stealing, and worse. Simultaneously painful and powerful.
emvaughters's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed how this book was set up. It jumped around but in an intriguing way. I'm pretty happy with how everything turned out since it was a fairly heavy subject matter. Interesting concept!
susanthebookbag's review against another edition
5.0
Chris Bohjalian's books are always thought provoking and so well written. Close You Eyes, Hold Hands takes the reader into a world where a nuclear plant experiences a meltdown. We are dropped into the life of a young teen who is left a homeless orphan. This is her story of survival.
I was not expecting the story that unfolded when I started this book but I enjoyed it immensely. The pages flew for me as I worried about Emily and how she was going to handle her life and the people, sometimes not good people, she encountered.
Close You Eyes, Hold Hands is another great read from a master storyteller. I'm just sorry that it took me so long to read it. I will definitely be reading more of his books.
I was not expecting the story that unfolded when I started this book but I enjoyed it immensely. The pages flew for me as I worried about Emily and how she was going to handle her life and the people, sometimes not good people, she encountered.
Close You Eyes, Hold Hands is another great read from a master storyteller. I'm just sorry that it took me so long to read it. I will definitely be reading more of his books.
hoserlauren's review against another edition
3.0
The premise of this book is interesting: a nuclear meltdown in north-eastern USA and the teenage daughter of two dead plant workers is left to fend for herself. The description of the direct aftermath of the disaster is intriguing, but this book suffers from too much jumping around with too short snippets.
For example, Emily meets a 9 year old boy on the street named Cameron and takes him under her wing. But because we only learn his story half way through the book and then he kinda comes and goes, I'm not given an opportunity to grow an attachment to him so don't really care about what happens.
I do feel bad for Emily though. If she hadn't heard those few people talking about her father, would she have tried reaching out to her friend and their family? Could she have saved herself 9 months on the street with that?
For example, Emily meets a 9 year old boy on the street named Cameron and takes him under her wing. But because we only learn his story half way through the book and then he kinda comes and goes, I'm not given an opportunity to grow an attachment to him so don't really care about what happens.
I do feel bad for Emily though. If she hadn't heard those few people talking about her father, would she have tried reaching out to her friend and their family? Could she have saved herself 9 months on the street with that?
tt0rres's review against another edition
4.0
It took me a while to get into this book, but I'm glad I stuck with it.
bell4trixx's review against another edition
2.0
This is honestly the most depressing book I've ever read...
I read this book on vacation and it is NOT a vacay read!! Don't get me wrong, the writing was great! It was interesting and different, but everything that happens in this book is terrible! You know when you watch something dirty and it makes your skin crawl and you just think "ugh, i should NOT have watched that" that is exactly how I felt when I finished this book. I'm giving it two stars because I liked the writing but I wouldn't read this again unless I felt like reading something that made me want to slit my wrists....
I read this book on vacation and it is NOT a vacay read!! Don't get me wrong, the writing was great! It was interesting and different, but everything that happens in this book is terrible! You know when you watch something dirty and it makes your skin crawl and you just think "ugh, i should NOT have watched that" that is exactly how I felt when I finished this book. I'm giving it two stars because I liked the writing but I wouldn't read this again unless I felt like reading something that made me want to slit my wrists....
kathleenww's review against another edition
4.0
Chris Bohjalian has a great penchant for writing books about a wide variety of subject matter. He does this once again in this novel. A terrible nuclear power plant accident in a small Vermont town changes the lives of many, and very specifically, the life of Emily Shepard, who also happens to be the only child of two important engineers at the aforementioned power plant. I had a different idea about the setting of this novel until I started reading, but I really enjoyed the narrative from Emily, even though it was not quite what I was expecting.
Emily also has a vibrant interest in Emily Dickinson, and often thinks of her and how she might be handling certain situations, although it would be hard to imaging Emily ever being in this very contemporary and dangerous setting. I was very moved by this novel, Bohjalian did a great job tying everything up at the end...
Emily also has a vibrant interest in Emily Dickinson, and often thinks of her and how she might be handling certain situations, although it would be hard to imaging Emily ever being in this very contemporary and dangerous setting. I was very moved by this novel, Bohjalian did a great job tying everything up at the end...
tschonfeld's review against another edition
4.0
Engaging, good voice, good pace. But missed the characteristic last minute plot twist, and without it was lacking an important something.