Hold Tight, Don't Let Go

Starred review from November 10, 2014
In this formidable first novel, 15-year-old narrator Magdalie loses everything after the Haitian earthquake of 2010 and is forced to rebuild along with her country. This well-adjusted schoolgirl goes from living in Port-au-Prince with her close cousin, Nadine, under the watchful care of Nadine’s mother, to finding her own way in a camp after her aunt’s death and Nadine’s emigration to the United States (“Since January 12, every good-bye feels like it might be forever”). Wagner effectively and unsentimentally highlights the emotional and economic aftermath of the disaster as Magdalie grieves the loss of her family; realizes she cannot afford school; adjusts to life with her reluctant guardian and uncle, Tonton Élie; and begins to accept that Nadine is unlikely to send for her as promised. Wagner’s portrait of Haitian culture is particularly compelling, and her descriptions of the settings of the city and Tonton Élie’s country hometown are lush, despite the nation’s dire circumstances. An epilogue, set in 2020, resolves the story a bit neatly, but this strong heroine and her will to survive triumph. Ages 14–up.

Starred review from October 15, 2014
Two cousins, close as sisters, survive the Haitian earthquake, but will life ever be the same? Magdalie and Nadine, two 15-year-old schoolgirls, instantly lose their Manman, their home and their equilibrium to the disaster of January 2010. When Nadine's father resurfaces and whisks her off to Miami, Magdalie is forced to confront her new life in a relief camp with her uncle-turned-reluctant caregiver, Tonton Elie, and heartbreaking challenges, still holding out hope that Nadine will one day send for her. Eventually Magda's anger and grief find release via visits to a vodou priestess, the mourning and burial rituals for Manman, and emerging love. Debut novelist Wagner lived in Haiti and wrote her cultural anthropology dissertation on disaster and community in Port-au-Prince. She successfully folds in sensory experiences of the capital city and beyond, along with meditations on love, loss, home and hope, without lecture or contrivance. Readers will find the characters believable and engaging. The title reflects a form of Haitian Creole goodbye that captures the complexity of separation, while the final chapter is Magdalie's hopeful projection for the future for herself and Nadine, as well as all of Haiti. An insightful disaster-survival story with far-reaching emotional resonance. (brief history notes, glossary) (Fiction. 14 & up)

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Starred review from December 1, 2014

Gr 9 Up-When a natural disaster strikes, what happens after the telethons, after the donations, and after the media attention has disappeared? This powerful debut novel follows Magdalie in the two years following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti as she grieves for her manman, adapts to life in the tent camps, and tries to find a place and a community that feels like home. Magdalie seeks to live a normal life in an impermanent society where "my memories are out to get me." People she loves appear and disappear, her home is made of plywood and plastic tarps, she ducks for cover at the slightest sound, and she has no hope of returning to school. She faces the tenuous circumstances with her beloved cousin Nadine, but then must brave them alone after Nadine is granted a U.S. visa. Wagner creates a portrait of post-earthquake Haiti that is a study of contrasts-hopeful and bleak, warm and lonely. Magdalie searches for connections and solutions, but is also afraid of loving anybody when they might disappear at any moment. There have been literary works that highlight the devastation of the earthquake, but Hold Tight Don't Let Go is unique in that it highlights the two years after-what international aid really looks like, how temporary situations become permanent, and the how profound losses affect those who are left. Wagner also effectively highlights the nuances of urban poverty and rural poverty. The book ends with a sweet, optimistic epilogue that provides happy endings, but detracts from the power of the novel. Wagner provides a helpful glossary and brief history of Haiti. A worthy companion to author Nick Lake's In Darkness (Bloomsbury, 2012).-Susannah Goldstein, Convent of the Sacred Heart, New York City

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2014
Grades 7-10 Magdalie's life is literally shattered when an earthquake hits Port-au-Prince. In this impressive debut novel, Wagner recreates the aftermath in astonishing detail. Magdalie's grief is unfettered as she endures the loss of her manman, her home, her school, and her innocence. When her sister Nadine leaves for Miami, Magdalie grows hard and lonely inside. Wagner keeps her readers engrossed and their heartstrings taut, as if compelled by the title to hold tight to Magdalie now that she is so alone. Two years later, respite comes in the form of a trip to a village where Magdalie finds safety and love among relatives and new friends. In the lush countryside, she learns about a part of Haiti she had never known before: the home of her ancestors. Wagner breaks away from stereotypes of an abject Haiti, giving us complex characters who connect with and care for one another, economies that rebuild, and environments that recover. By the end, readers will be buoyed by the hopeful future the author imagines for Magdalie and for Haiti.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)