Hold Still

Starred review from August 31, 2009
LaCour makes an impressive debut with an emotionally charged young adult novel about friendship and loss. Caitlin begins her junior year in high school bitter and stunned over the recent suicide of her best friend Ingrid, a talented photographer and artist. Afraid to risk new friendships and unable to continue her own artistic endeavors, Caitlin finds herself in a state of paralysis, wrestling with questions that may remain unanswered. Then she discovers Ingrid’s journal, a record of her thoughts during her final days, and reasons for her tragic, perhaps inevitable fate begin to come to light. What is most remarkable about LaCour’s tale is her ability to make the presence of an absent character so deeply felt. The entries and pictures in Ingrid’s journal vibrate with feeling and provide insight into the pain of chronic depression (“the sun stopped shining for me is all. the whole story is: i am sad. i am sad all the time and the sadness is so heavy that I can’t get away from it”). Ingrid’s secrets are excruciating to discover, but the ample evidence of her creative force makes it clear that her life had meaning. Ages 14–up.

December 1, 2009
Gr 10 Up-After losing her best friend, Ingrid, to suicide, Caitlin is completely immobilized. Unable to function, and refusing to visit a therapist, she begins the long journey to wellness alone. During this year of heart-wrenching, raw emotion, Caitlin finds Ingrid's journal, which not only reveals her descent into irreversible depression, but also serves as Caitlin's vehicle for renewed hope in the future. The book is written with honesty, revealing one's pain after the loss of a loved one. Caitlin learns, with the help of new friends and her parents, that there is life after Ingrid."Sharon Morrison, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Durant, OK"

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