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annasbeen's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 rounded up. Enjoyable, easy read, but I was never particularly gripped by it. Even though the content was pretty emotionally charged, it didn’t elicit much emotion.
readingwithhippos's review against another edition
3.0
Chris Bohjalian is a chameleon. He's written a novel about midwives, a WWI love story set in Syria, and a ghost story with creepy old women, among other things. In his latest book, he creates a remarkably convincing teenage girl narrator whose life falls apart after her parents die in a nuclear plant meltdown.
I've read quite a few books in recent months that deal with nuclear power. The more I read, the more my fascination grows. This book was a welcome addition to my canon, as it focuses not on a nuclear holocaust or nuclear war, but on the explosion of one nuclear reactor in a rural Vermont village. The tragedy may not be on a global scale and it may not have been caused by an enemy government, but the fallout (if you'll pardon the pun) is damaging enough for Emily Shepard, Bohjalian's jaded narrator.
Emily is at school when the alarm sounds. Her father is the chief engineer at the nuclear power plant, and her mother is the communications director. Neither is answering the phone. In a daze, fearful for her parents, Emily is herded onto a bus along with her classmates. She quickly realizes from the comments and stares that she needs to get away. Early news reports blame her father for the meltdown, claiming he was drunk on the job. Emotions run high and people make Emily feel responsible for whatever her father may have done.
So Emily runs—but she has nowhere to run to. Her parents are both presumed dead, and her two living grandparents are both in care homes. She has no aunts, uncles, or cousins. Her few close friends live within the contamination zone, so their houses are off-limits. Emily finds herself living on the streets, doing whatever she can to get by.
Emily's world has become apocalyptic, even if the nuclear accident was isolated and life is going on as usual for almost everyone else around her. It's hard to read about the total destruction of a teenage girl's life, and it's hard to watch her repeatedly make terrible, self-destructive choices, but Bohjalian has done an expert job channeling Emily's voice. She hasn't succumbed completely to cynicism, as she proves when she takes a nine-year-old runaway under her wing, but she makes lots of excuses for her behavior. Like many teenagers, Emily doesn't make the connection between the bad things that happen to her and her own actions.
Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands demonstrates Bohjalian's mastery of tone. If he can convincingly masquerade as a snarky, wounded teenage girl, he can become damn near anyone.
With regards to NetGalley and Doubleday for the advance copy. On sale July 8.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
I've read quite a few books in recent months that deal with nuclear power. The more I read, the more my fascination grows. This book was a welcome addition to my canon, as it focuses not on a nuclear holocaust or nuclear war, but on the explosion of one nuclear reactor in a rural Vermont village. The tragedy may not be on a global scale and it may not have been caused by an enemy government, but the fallout (if you'll pardon the pun) is damaging enough for Emily Shepard, Bohjalian's jaded narrator.
Emily is at school when the alarm sounds. Her father is the chief engineer at the nuclear power plant, and her mother is the communications director. Neither is answering the phone. In a daze, fearful for her parents, Emily is herded onto a bus along with her classmates. She quickly realizes from the comments and stares that she needs to get away. Early news reports blame her father for the meltdown, claiming he was drunk on the job. Emotions run high and people make Emily feel responsible for whatever her father may have done.
So Emily runs—but she has nowhere to run to. Her parents are both presumed dead, and her two living grandparents are both in care homes. She has no aunts, uncles, or cousins. Her few close friends live within the contamination zone, so their houses are off-limits. Emily finds herself living on the streets, doing whatever she can to get by.
Emily's world has become apocalyptic, even if the nuclear accident was isolated and life is going on as usual for almost everyone else around her. It's hard to read about the total destruction of a teenage girl's life, and it's hard to watch her repeatedly make terrible, self-destructive choices, but Bohjalian has done an expert job channeling Emily's voice. She hasn't succumbed completely to cynicism, as she proves when she takes a nine-year-old runaway under her wing, but she makes lots of excuses for her behavior. Like many teenagers, Emily doesn't make the connection between the bad things that happen to her and her own actions.
Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands demonstrates Bohjalian's mastery of tone. If he can convincingly masquerade as a snarky, wounded teenage girl, he can become damn near anyone.
With regards to NetGalley and Doubleday for the advance copy. On sale July 8.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
lemanley's review against another edition
4.0
Another novel from one of my favorite authors. This story takes the reader to the Northeast Kingdom in Vermont, then to Burlington before returning to the Northeast Kingdom. Emily Shepard becomes a homeless teen after a nuclear plant experienced a cataclysmic meltdown, and both of Emily’s parents were killed. Emily takes off on her own for Burlington, where she survives by stealing, sleeping on the floor of a drug dealer’s apartment, living in an igloo she puts together with frozen bags leaf bags. Emily befriends a young homeless boy named Cameron, she protects him with a ferocity she didn’t know she had. But she still can’t outrun her past, can’t escape her grief, and can’t hide forever. She comes up with the only plan that she can.
funandwhimsy's review against another edition
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A book about bad decisions begetting more bad decisions begetting more bad decisions ad nauseum, and yet oddly comforting in its rhythm of shitty dominoes falling.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Mental illness, Drug use, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Self harm
Moderate: Sexual assault
amela29's review against another edition
1.0
Didn't enjoy it, couldn't get through it. Gave up halfway through. Life is too short to force yourself to read a book you don't enjoy if you don't have to.
eleyisms's review against another edition
5.0
Sometimes reading audiobooks in fits and starts while travelling detracts from the character and power of a book. Not so this. This author, and his unusual take on topics, has long been a favorite, but this work pushes him even farther up that list.
melissakuzma's review against another edition
2.0
Man, this was depressing! I just could not understand what drove the poor girl at the center of this novel to make the ridiculously bad decisions she kept making. The only thing that happened in this book that was even remotely positive was that she found her dog alive after he was left behind to fend for himself for 9 months. One of my greatest fears in life is something happening that prevents me from being able to get to and take care of my pets, so this it was a great relief to me that Maggie made it. But other than that, there was really not much to like about this book, which makes me sad, because I always eagerly anticipate a new Chris Bohjalian novel!
mctmama's review against another edition
4.0
I finished this book yesterday, and I am still thinking about it. I received the ARC at the recent PLA convention, and began reading it while I was still there! I love the writing of Chris Bohjalian - and in this novel, he opens your eyes to another world that exists in the shadows of our daily lives - the homeless.
Sixteen-year-old Emily Shephard finds herself on the run when the Nuclear Power plant that her father is in charge of melts down. Bewildered by the possible loss of her parents, her pet dog, her home, and everything familiar to her, she bolts when she begins to hear the onslaught of vitriolic comments directed at her parents. Emily's struggle to stay alive on the streets will break your heart. It will make you actually feel squeamish at times - it is eye opening to face what choices a desperate teen will make to survive and cope. I was amazed at how well the author Chris Bohjalian captured the voice and thought patterns of sixteen year old Emily. It is difficult to read at times, because her thought pattern is disjointed, but it works. I would recommend this book to older teens, due to mature content and language.
Sixteen-year-old Emily Shephard finds herself on the run when the Nuclear Power plant that her father is in charge of melts down. Bewildered by the possible loss of her parents, her pet dog, her home, and everything familiar to her, she bolts when she begins to hear the onslaught of vitriolic comments directed at her parents. Emily's struggle to stay alive on the streets will break your heart. It will make you actually feel squeamish at times - it is eye opening to face what choices a desperate teen will make to survive and cope. I was amazed at how well the author Chris Bohjalian captured the voice and thought patterns of sixteen year old Emily. It is difficult to read at times, because her thought pattern is disjointed, but it works. I would recommend this book to older teens, due to mature content and language.