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jenibus's review against another edition
4.0
Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands could have easily been one of my favorite books. The plot is engaging and told from an unique perspective, and I kept eagerly reading hoping to discover more about Emily's backstory and what she had went through. But due to the method of storytelling I kept finding myself getting frustrated at the pacing of everything.
Emily Shepard is the daughter of Mira and Bill Shepard who worked at a nuclear power plant off of Cape Abenaki when the site undergoes a meltdown. The entire city and neighboring areas are evacuated, everyone fearing radiation poisoning, and Emily is left parentless. To make matters worse, evidence comes to light implicating her father's alcohol problem as a key factor into the plant's meltdown and Emily's family becomes the dead scapegoats. With the public turning on her for her parents mistakes, Emily runs away and takes up the name Abby Bliss, living on the street and trying to survive on her own.
Like I said, the story is excellent. I was extremely invested in Emily's story and there were many times that the writing made me emotional. But the way Emily's story is told drove me nuts. Emily herself is literally writing the story for us in her journals and unfortunately it feels like a teenager writing in her journals. The story wanders back and forth, told out of order and with pointless tangents Emily included as she thought of them. There was one point where we halted the story to have Emily explain to us that she remembered how to grammatically differentiate between the different "lay, lie, lies" words. Which… I guess is impressive as I can never get that right but it served nothing to the story she's telling.
She also told the story in a very strange order. As I read more and more books, I'm coming to discover that non-linear stories are not necessarily my thing and Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands really emphasized this. We'd reference and foreshadow events we hadn't yet found out about, which normally is a good thing, but we'd do it with such frequency that it quickly got annoying that she wasn't telling me about these things yet. She mentions early on a 9 year old boy named Cameron who she clearly had a sort of parental relationship with and you can tell that something bad happened to him, but we don't actually meet Cameron until 2/3rds of the way through the book. She'd reference future events so often that you are sitting there reading and just waiting for her to tell you the final piece of information so you get a clear picture of how this thing you know will happen actually occurs.
The other problem I had with the book is much less a structure issue and more of a matter of personal taste. Emily LOVES Emily Dickinson. She's obsessed with her. What feels like large portions of the book is devoted to her telling the reader interesting tidbits about Emily Dickinson's life and poetry. Even the alias Emily takes up, Abby Bliss, is a name from Emily Dickinson's biography. Here's the issue, though: I really don't like Emily Dickinson's work or find her to be an interesting person. Maybe it's due to an over-zealous english teacher making us study her for what felt like months (I'm sure it was only a single month but it felt like the entire year we were learning about Emily Dickinson and analyzing her poetry) but whatever the reason, I do not enjoy her poetry and do not care about her life. And so every single time Emily went on a mini-teaching tangent about how fascinating Emily Dickinson is, I reacted overtly negatively.
If you can get past the stream of consciousness method in which the book is told and don't hate Emily Dickinson like I do, Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands is an amazing read. It's story is heartfelt and I moved past all of my frustrations while reading because I was so invested in finding out what happened to Emily and Cameron. I listened to this at work and there were points where I was nearly crying at my cubicle (basically any time Maggie the dog's predicament inside the radiation zone was mentioned sent me into near tears). Emily is a great teenage character going through very adult problems making some horrible decisions. I just wish that maybe we hadn't gotten the direction connection to her brainspace and someone edited her journals before I had to read them.
(Side note: do not like the teenage main character fool you. This is an adult book. There is prostitution and drug use and mention of rape and some very dark material in here. Even the title itself has very dark undertones once you find out what it means. Do not go into this book expecting a light and fluffy YA book.)
Emily Shepard is the daughter of Mira and Bill Shepard who worked at a nuclear power plant off of Cape Abenaki when the site undergoes a meltdown. The entire city and neighboring areas are evacuated, everyone fearing radiation poisoning, and Emily is left parentless. To make matters worse, evidence comes to light implicating her father's alcohol problem as a key factor into the plant's meltdown and Emily's family becomes the dead scapegoats. With the public turning on her for her parents mistakes, Emily runs away and takes up the name Abby Bliss, living on the street and trying to survive on her own.
Like I said, the story is excellent. I was extremely invested in Emily's story and there were many times that the writing made me emotional. But the way Emily's story is told drove me nuts. Emily herself is literally writing the story for us in her journals and unfortunately it feels like a teenager writing in her journals. The story wanders back and forth, told out of order and with pointless tangents Emily included as she thought of them. There was one point where we halted the story to have Emily explain to us that she remembered how to grammatically differentiate between the different "lay, lie, lies" words. Which… I guess is impressive as I can never get that right but it served nothing to the story she's telling.
She also told the story in a very strange order. As I read more and more books, I'm coming to discover that non-linear stories are not necessarily my thing and Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands really emphasized this. We'd reference and foreshadow events we hadn't yet found out about, which normally is a good thing, but we'd do it with such frequency that it quickly got annoying that she wasn't telling me about these things yet. She mentions early on a 9 year old boy named Cameron who she clearly had a sort of parental relationship with and you can tell that something bad happened to him, but we don't actually meet Cameron until 2/3rds of the way through the book. She'd reference future events so often that you are sitting there reading and just waiting for her to tell you the final piece of information so you get a clear picture of how this thing you know will happen actually occurs.
The other problem I had with the book is much less a structure issue and more of a matter of personal taste. Emily LOVES Emily Dickinson. She's obsessed with her. What feels like large portions of the book is devoted to her telling the reader interesting tidbits about Emily Dickinson's life and poetry. Even the alias Emily takes up, Abby Bliss, is a name from Emily Dickinson's biography. Here's the issue, though: I really don't like Emily Dickinson's work or find her to be an interesting person. Maybe it's due to an over-zealous english teacher making us study her for what felt like months (I'm sure it was only a single month but it felt like the entire year we were learning about Emily Dickinson and analyzing her poetry) but whatever the reason, I do not enjoy her poetry and do not care about her life. And so every single time Emily went on a mini-teaching tangent about how fascinating Emily Dickinson is, I reacted overtly negatively.
If you can get past the stream of consciousness method in which the book is told and don't hate Emily Dickinson like I do, Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands is an amazing read. It's story is heartfelt and I moved past all of my frustrations while reading because I was so invested in finding out what happened to Emily and Cameron. I listened to this at work and there were points where I was nearly crying at my cubicle (basically any time Maggie the dog's predicament inside the radiation zone was mentioned sent me into near tears). Emily is a great teenage character going through very adult problems making some horrible decisions. I just wish that maybe we hadn't gotten the direction connection to her brainspace and someone edited her journals before I had to read them.
(Side note: do not like the teenage main character fool you. This is an adult book. There is prostitution and drug use and mention of rape and some very dark material in here. Even the title itself has very dark undertones once you find out what it means. Do not go into this book expecting a light and fluffy YA book.)
laurab2125's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this - wanted more at the end, for sure. I don't think I've ever read a Bohjalian book that wasn't a bummer -- always well-written and interesting, but not really a pick-me-up kind of book. That said, I started and finished in the same day, which tells you how much I liked it.
toystory242's review against another edition
4.0
This book was recommended to me by a good friend of mine, and I really enjoyed it! I thought it was a very compelling story, and I don't read adult fiction too too often, so it was a very nice change of pace. I really felt for the main character, and I really appreciated how the way the story was told (choppy, but purposefully so) let the reader get to know the main character, Emily.
The only real problem I had with the story was that, while I enjoyed the jumpiness of the storyline, I felt like we needed a bit more scenes with Cameron. I thought he was going to be a much bigger part of the story than he actually was, and I really wanted more of a resolution with him than what we got.
Overall, though, I thought the story was very touching and heart-felt. I might look into this author and read some more works by him--who knows? :)
The only real problem I had with the story was that, while I enjoyed the jumpiness of the storyline, I felt like we needed a bit more scenes with Cameron. I thought he was going to be a much bigger part of the story than he actually was, and I really wanted more of a resolution with him than what we got.
Overall, though, I thought the story was very touching and heart-felt. I might look into this author and read some more works by him--who knows? :)
the_pepperwood_chronicles's review against another edition
Emily Shepard was never the best daughter, the best student, or the best friend—she was too busy keeping her parents’ drinking and fighting a secret. Losing herself in minor rebellions and the poetry of Emily Dickinson, Emily was able to stay afloat. Then a nuclear power plant in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont—where both her parents work—has a meltdown. In the immediate aftermath of the meltdown rumors begin to circulate that her father was responsible for the accident; that he was drunk when it happened. Orphaned, fearing retribution from the thousands of people dislocated from their homes, and sick with guilt and grief she makes her way to Burlington. There she survives on the mercy of a petty drug dealer and falls ever deeper into the world of drugs, petty crime, and prostitution. When she meets Cameron, a runaway foster child more vulnerable than she, Emily tries to make a life for them both. Eventually Emily must face her past, her grief, and her guilt. But “’Hope’ is the thing with feathers…” Bohjalian is at his best with emotionally complex characters struggling with nature, society, and themselves. The diary format often has Emily revealing plot points only to retreat, but this combined with the unreliable nature of the narrative keep the story flowing and suspenseful.
Digital ARC provided by Doubleday through Edelweiss.
Digital ARC provided by Doubleday through Edelweiss.
sarahl0726's review against another edition
3.0
This book wasn't awful but wasn't great either. I really like the author and have read a handful of his books.
This book started off pretty good and and intriguing then got pretty slow. It picked up again and the ending was a quick read.
I didn't love the main character. She seemed very smart but seemed to make a lot of unwise decisions. While her situation was definitely sad and couldn't ever imagine living through it I felt that she was quite whiney considering that she put herself in these situations.
This book started off pretty good and and intriguing then got pretty slow. It picked up again and the ending was a quick read.
I didn't love the main character. She seemed very smart but seemed to make a lot of unwise decisions. While her situation was definitely sad and couldn't ever imagine living through it I felt that she was quite whiney considering that she put herself in these situations.
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.
jaclynday's review against another edition
5.0
Our narrator is Emily Shepard, a teenage girl whose parents were killed when the Vermont nuclear power plant they worked at suffered a catastrophic meltdown. Emily’s story comes in pieces as she reflects on the past. She tells us early about Cameron, a young boy she stumbles upon when they are both living on the street post-meltdown. They’re both hiding there for different reasons and she takes him under her wing. We don’t hear much about him again for a little while—her story is divided into two sections: B.C. and A.C. (Before Cameron and After Cameron).
The plot of this book is inherently interesting and dramatic, but it’s also dark and sad. The theme of family—what is it, why does it matter—comes up a lot. Emily’s maternal instincts toward Cameron are a painful reflection on what she’s lost herself (and sometimes doubted she ever had). She acknowledges her parents, but isn’t sure how to feel about them. (I won’t spoil it, but there are a few reasons for this.) When she thinks about home, it’s usually because she’s worried about her dog left in the closed-off radioactive zone around the plant. It’s a very complicated book, touching on everything from mental health to prostitution to alcoholism. It’s also about the danger of aging nuclear power plants, though this point is very subtly made.
It was fascinating to see how well the adult, male author conveyed the voice and actions of a 17-year-old girl. Even better was that he didn’t try to improve her teenage-ness—something that happens so often and is so irritating in novels with teenagers as main characters. There are very few things more contrived than giving teenagers the gift of adult-like conversation and logical decision-making skills. When that happens, we have 14-year-olds who are better read than most college graduates and speak to each other like philosophy professors. In Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands, teenage Emily likes poetry, but it’s a believable interest. She’s not doing university-level literary analysis.
In short, this book is very, very good. The plot is dramatic, yes, but Emily’s vivid and realistic character is the reason I encourage you to read it.
The plot of this book is inherently interesting and dramatic, but it’s also dark and sad. The theme of family—what is it, why does it matter—comes up a lot. Emily’s maternal instincts toward Cameron are a painful reflection on what she’s lost herself (and sometimes doubted she ever had). She acknowledges her parents, but isn’t sure how to feel about them. (I won’t spoil it, but there are a few reasons for this.) When she thinks about home, it’s usually because she’s worried about her dog left in the closed-off radioactive zone around the plant. It’s a very complicated book, touching on everything from mental health to prostitution to alcoholism. It’s also about the danger of aging nuclear power plants, though this point is very subtly made.
It was fascinating to see how well the adult, male author conveyed the voice and actions of a 17-year-old girl. Even better was that he didn’t try to improve her teenage-ness—something that happens so often and is so irritating in novels with teenagers as main characters. There are very few things more contrived than giving teenagers the gift of adult-like conversation and logical decision-making skills. When that happens, we have 14-year-olds who are better read than most college graduates and speak to each other like philosophy professors. In Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands, teenage Emily likes poetry, but it’s a believable interest. She’s not doing university-level literary analysis.
In short, this book is very, very good. The plot is dramatic, yes, but Emily’s vivid and realistic character is the reason I encourage you to read it.
ciska's review against another edition
4.0
*Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in return for an honest review*
Author
Chris Bohjalian was born in White Plaine, New York. Chris graduated from Amherst College. He is the author of seventeen books. He has written for a wide variety of magazines, including Cosmopolitan, Reader's Digest, and the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine, and has been a columnist for Gannett's Burlington Free Press since 1992. Chris lives in Vermont with his wife and daughter.
Review
I might have screamed when I finished reading this book. I am not much of a jumping time line reader. This usually throws me of my reading speed as I have to keep adjusting. In this book it worked out very well though, filling in back story when needed. It was easy to connect with Emily. Though all her decisions are explained I did find it difficult at some points to agree with them. Still the loneliness and her will to survive and get answers jumped of the pages and caught me by the throat. I would have loved to have known more about Cameron. His story was interesting too.
This book just kept me reading needing to know how it would end.
Author
Chris Bohjalian was born in White Plaine, New York. Chris graduated from Amherst College. He is the author of seventeen books. He has written for a wide variety of magazines, including Cosmopolitan, Reader's Digest, and the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine, and has been a columnist for Gannett's Burlington Free Press since 1992. Chris lives in Vermont with his wife and daughter.
Review
I might have screamed when I finished reading this book. I am not much of a jumping time line reader. This usually throws me of my reading speed as I have to keep adjusting. In this book it worked out very well though, filling in back story when needed. It was easy to connect with Emily. Though all her decisions are explained I did find it difficult at some points to agree with them. Still the loneliness and her will to survive and get answers jumped of the pages and caught me by the throat. I would have loved to have known more about Cameron. His story was interesting too.
This book just kept me reading needing to know how it would end.
lisagray68's review against another edition
5.0
Imagine my absolute delight when I went to the library to start the Game of Thrones series, but instead saw this new Chris Bohjalian just sitting on the New Releases shelf!!! A Chris Bohjalian book is a sure bet, if you haven't read him. You just know, without even reading the jacket, that you're going to love it. What amazes me about this author is his absolute RANGE -- he's written about so many topics, and you never get a sense that you're just reading a formula with another topic plugged in (like some authors I won't name). If you know me, you know I am a failure at series, because I get tired of the same story. And that's also true for authors that write the exact same, even though the topic is different. Mr. Bohjalian is one of the few very prolific authors that I never tire of.
This book feels and reads like a YA novel, although the subject matter is a bit more gritty at times (think sex and drugs). Post nuclear meltdown, a teen girl is trying to survive after her home and family are destroyed. Oh, just read it. You won't be disappointed, I promise.
This book feels and reads like a YA novel, although the subject matter is a bit more gritty at times (think sex and drugs). Post nuclear meltdown, a teen girl is trying to survive after her home and family are destroyed. Oh, just read it. You won't be disappointed, I promise.