Susane Colasanti

Susane Colasanti is amazing. I fell in love with Noelle on the first page. And that’s not an exaggeration. Noelle’s character has so much voice that I can literally feel her coming off the pages. She’s a teenager and she totally sounds like one! The first page she’s looking at a guy in her class and has all these crazy romantic daydreams and is questioning whether she’s a slut for liking two guys. I chuckled and I just knew I had to keep reading!

At only 224 pages, Keep Holding On show more is a super fast read. It deals with a lot of intense issues like bullying and suicide, but we see it all through a teenage bully-victim’s eyes. That makes it all very easy to understand and relate to.

I honestly didn’t have much experience with bullying when I was in school. Maybe there was a bit in my middle school, but there was very little at my high school. It was so saddening to hear about all the bullying in Noelle’s life, that I imagine is common in high schools all over the world. Although I wasn’t able to personally relate to Noelle being bullied, I really felt I could relate to her in other ways. I was kind of one of those self-made loners in high school. I could have had a lot of friends, but I just couldn’t relate to the people at my school. I felt like we didn’t click and didn’t share interests. So rather than pursue a bunch of ‘fake’ relationships, I chose to mostly sit on my own. So I could relate to Noelle eating alone at lunch, or avoiding lunch all together.

This book is filled with so much emotion and sadness. Ultimately, Keep Holding On is about Noelle just wanting a normal life, a normal family, and to be loved and cared for. Is that too much to ask? Certainly not! In addition to the issues at school, she has to deal with her mother and her home life. Her mother doesn’t love her or care for her. They barely have enough food to survive on, and Noelle often goes to school hungry.

In the last third of the book, the bullying goes too far. I won’t say what happened since it’s revealed near the end, but man. I had to stop and put the book down for a minute just so I could mull things over. This book seriously makes you think, and it will probably make you reflect on your own high school days.

One thing did kind of annoy me though. Noelle gets an opportunity to see a change in her life and maybe even be really happy. The boy she likes asked her out. But she just immediately turned him down because she decided she wasn’t good enough for him. Her friend keeps telling her he obviously likes her and that she could be with him and she’s just like, “No. You don’t understand.” And I didn’t understand. When that happened I honestly couldn’t help but think that Noelle was bringing on some of the unhappiness herself (though I kind of feel bad for thinking that). She wasn’t letting herself be happy and she was ignoring new possibilities and opportunities.

Also, a huge part of the book is about Noelle talking (well narrating) about how one day when she becomes a teacher she will put a stop to bullying. She silently criticizes her teachers for just letting it happen and hates them for not intervening. But then, at school there’s a girl who gets bullied worse than Noelle and Noelle does nothing to help her because it would “just make the bullying worse” (for Noelle). She wouldn’t even hang out with the poor girl after school! So there was a bit of frustrating hypocrisy there.

But the good thing about this storie is that Noelle learns from her mistakes. She finally learns to stand up for herself and for others, and to take chances in life. The end of this book is so beautiful, heartwarming, hopeful, and unbelievably satisfying. show less

I love Susane Colasanti's books, as I've mentioned in previous reviews. It is so evident through her writing that she has worked with teens and really understands them. The characters she creates are realistic and complex, rather than shallow caricatures. Having read her blog, this book reads as the epitome of all that she is. Set against a New York backdrop, filled with cute teen romance and more references to The Office than you've ever seen in a book before, So Much Closer is sure to show more satisfy your need for fluffy romance accompanied by a journey of self-discovery. Colasanti's books are mature and subtly complex. You can read them as simple love stories if that's what you're in the mood for, but there's so much more hidden under the surface. Though on the surface, it might seem like this is a book about a girl moving to New York City chasing the boy of her dreams, beneath that, it's about a girl learning to accept who she is and all that has made her that way.

Rating: 5/5 show less

Bullying is a hot topic these days, and a topic I take very seriously. Like many, I was bullied in high school, and it pains me when I hear news about young kids taking their lives because of the cruelty of others. It’s just so hard for me to fathom how cruel and judgmental people can be.

In Keep Holding On, Susane Colasanti gives us Noelle, a shy, awkward teenager who keeps a calendar at home that she uses to count down the days until the end of school, is endlessly picked on, and wants show more nothing more than to just be left alone. Noelle is so humiliated by the bullying, she doesn’t even tell her best friend the extent to which a lot of kids go. It also doesn’t help that her mother is about the most selfish woman on earth. I seriously wanted to smack her.

I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to jump through the pages and make Noelle fight back, but at the same time I knew exactly why she felt the way she did. I know why she didn’t step in and help other kids when she saw them being bullied, and I know why she didn’t rat anyone out — she was afraid of getting it even worse. I could also understand why she didn’t want to get involved with Julian at first when he showed a genuine interest in her, and why she avoided him, even though she had a major crush on him.

Speaking of Julian, I didn’t see the attraction. It wasn’t that he was a bad character, he just wasn’t fleshed out enough in my opinion. I felt like I knew most of the other characters very well, just not him. I wanted a bit more there. It was almost like he was an afterthought and I wanted to know him better.

The book also deals with other hot teen issues including suicide and rape, and they’re handled well, but I almost felt like the rape storyline was unnecessary. I think the story would have been just as good without it. The situations, though tough to read at times, are realistic and gut-wrenching and really made me feel for Noelle, and root for her to find something good. In the end, this was a good read, but the ending didn’t carry a strong punch for me. It just seemed abrupt, and while positive, I wanted a bit more. It just felt like it was tied up a little too perfectly. Still, it’s a good read. show less

First, I have to start this with Thank you, [a:Susan Colasanti|6563928|Susan Colasanti|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66-251a730d696018971ef4a443cdeaae05.jpg], for putting your personal letter at the end of this book. It's touching and just perfect. And then followed it up with resources and information!! You are wonderful! thank you!

the first 150 pages of this book are a sheer act of willpower to read. it's so painful to read about the bullying, the lack of food, sleep show more or a normal loving parent. The lack of support at school or anyone to hear her cry out - if she did, if she could.

FINALLY, at about 150 pages, she switches from being victimized and starts living - starts taking the reins of her life back and running the show.

it was so nice that the book switched. If it hadn't, I don't think I could have finished it. I know good doesn't prevail all the time, but a book where the bad people get to win over and over - jeez, even the bad guys lose sometimes.

and it's always nice to see when they do! I loved Julian :) show less