Name: Hold Still
ISBN: 9780525556084

Nina Lacour

A beautiful new edition of the stunning debut novel by Nina LaCour, award-winning author of We Are Okay "Hold Still may be the truest depiction of the aching, gaping hole left in the wake of a suicide that I've ever read. A haunting and hopeful book about loss, love, and redemption." - Gayle Forman, #1 bestselling author of If I Stay and I Have Lost My Way That night Ingrid told Caitlin, I'll go wherever you go. But by dawn Ingrid, and her promise, were gone. Ingrid's suicide immobilizes Caitlin, leaving her unsure of her place in a new life she hardly recognizes. A life without the art, the laughter, the music, and the joy that she shared with her best friend.... But Ingrid left something behind. In words and drawings, Ingrid documented a painful farewell in her journal. Journeying through Ingrid's final days, Caitlin fights back through unspeakable loss to find renewed hope. Hold Still is the indelible debut that launched Nina LaCour, the award-winning author of We Are Okay. LaCour's breakthrough novel brings the changing seasons of Caitlin's first year without Ingrid to the page with indelible emotion and honesty. Includes an all-new essay from the author to commemorate 10 years in print!

Hold Still

chloe rae

This book is both beautiful and heart-breaking and I loved it. It was heavy but refreshing; hopeful and true. I haven’t read a book in a day in ages. Very excited to read more by this author!

Izza

4.5 stars | Nina LaCour never disappoints. Her stories are always so realistic and emotional. Read the last pages on the bus, cried on the bus -_-

Mijs Franssen

I stayed up until 2 in the morning to finish this. That says something as I do not do this often.

I don’t know where to start. There are currently tears in my eyes as I am writing this. Wow. Nina Lacour has so much talent, wisdom, love, sadness and most importantly hope that she brings us in her novels and in my opinion, this is one of her best.

The raw feelings of loss, pain and grief are very well portrayed. But then again this book brings a shimmering hope, love and friendship with it that will make it so real, and touchable. I’ve wish there would be more stars I could give it because this is amazing. Paired with the beautiful art that is in it, which gives it just that extra touch the story needed and is just as I imagined it while reading. Wow Nina, you’ve outdone yourself. This book is hope, pain, love, loss and friendship all in one. 
As Caitlinn says in the book; ‘if you are sad, make sure to talk about it!’

Sabetha Danes

Nina captured the confused, overwhelmed mind of a seventeen year old perfectly.

The ups and downs of friendship, relationships, first crushes, loss, and heartbreak are all themes woven into the bigger story of picking up after a loved one chooses suicide. 

I ugly cried throughout the last 25% of the story, and connect with Caitlin and the words of Ingrid's journal on many levels. The author makes it so easy to get sucked into their emotions, and jump on the roller-coaster with Caitlin, while she tries to piece her life back together. 

I adored the strong display of family units throughout the majority of the teenagers homes, while still presenting some with not so perfect home lives. Her ability to capture Caitlin's feelings towards Henry's 'bully behavior' at the beginning, and use her feelings towards him to show her growth towards the end while showing behind the curtain of his home life is brilliant. Plus the way photography moves the entire story forward, displaying themes and deeper meanings through out each chapter. It all builds this amazing, emotional, story that squeezed my heart.

So much respect for Nina's ability to shine light on suicide without making a cliché out of the plot idea. There are so many aspects of the story that breath the research that went into them. From the photography to tree houses to lesbian acceptance. It's all bonus content that really made me feel apart of the story instead of being an outside observer.

You'll love this book if you enjoy being emotionally pulverized, and want to get an inside glimpse at the life of teenager handling tough topics like suicide. 

TW: Self Harm, Described Suicide, Bullying

Flavia Louise

It took me a while to get into this book but I ended up really enjoying it. Nina LaCour's writing style is just amazing.

Samiha Tasnim

This book really made me stop and think in a way few of my recent reads have. It was a strong, emotive story that had me in tears by the end.

Georgia Carr

I enjoyed this. I felt some parts were rushed and as though I'd missed an entire section by accident, but on the whole, I liked the character development and the theme's really important too. As always, any book that talks openly and honestly about mental health problems is a winner for me. I wish Nina LaCour had gone more into the before, but she writes beautifully about emotions and relationships so that makes up for it. This is not a bad read at all, definitely good but not outstanding. I will be checking out more of her books (up next, Everything Leads To You) to enjoy her writing style some more.

Anastaciya

You can never know what goes in someone else's head...

Emily C Peterson

Hold still was a great book about loss and how to deal with it when it just plain doesn't make sense. I loved the growth of Caitlin over the course of this book. Through her relationships with Dylan and Taylor, she learns more about herself and also about how Ingrid's death impacted others beyond just herself. 
This wasn't my favorite book partly because of how Caitlin started out and also because there was a fair amount of lesbian material included, which I wasn't expecting at all. That being said, this is definitely a book I'm glad I decided to read.

Nadia Leontescu

Oh my word, SO AMAZING, for me at least. I would give it many more stars out of 5 if I could. But this one definitely got me quite emotional, and the POV of the friend of someone who committed suicide was very touching for me.

Elad Schulman

This book was so beautiful. I love Nina LaCour, and I find she is becoming one of my favorite authors! Her writing is just so beautiful and captivating, that anything she writes, I seem to enjoy. This book was sending such strong messages, and at times the scenes were so graphic, I had to stop myself from imagining the scenes. I enjoyed it so much though. The relationships in this story were so innocent, and I liked that, because it was a simple relationship, and yet it meant so much. I would definitely recommend this book! I can't wait to see what else Nina Lacour is writing!

Luna 🌙

Anything Nina LaCour writes is wonderful. A beautiful story of tragedy, hope and resilience.  

Caitlin Berger

This was a very special book. I think it may have been the first book I've read that is centered around suicide and how to deal with it afterwards. Nina LaCour is a very good author, I can tell. She really has a gift, she is special and talented. Her writing style reminds me a bit of my own (not that I write a lot) and it was easy to read. She invoked a lot of emotions in me, which is why I read books. I honestly recommend this book to everyone, not just people dealing with suicide. It's original and meant to be read by all.

gray <3

rita'

Hailey Goguen

Bria

Nina LaCour

As Caitlin struggles to cope with her best friend Ingrid's suicide, she turns inward and quiet, but finding Ingrid's hidden journal, a new classmate, and new projects help Caitlin find a way to reach out again.