Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥
*ARC was provided by Penguin Canada for review (HUGE thanks!!)*
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Noelle's life is all about survival. Even her best friend doesn't know how much she gets bullied, or the ways her mom neglects her. Noelle's kept so much about her life a secret for so long that when her longtime crush Julian Porter starts paying attention to her, she's terrified. Surely it's safer to stay hidden than to risk the pain of a broken heart. But when the antagonism of her classmates takes a dramatic turn, Noelle realizes it's time to stand up for herself--and for the love that keeps her holding on.
Review
By
the time I finished reading this, I felt so inspired. The book is based
on high school and bullying, and we see it all through Noelle's eyes.
It starts off with Noelle being bullied really bad, with a mother that
doesn't seem to really care about her and she starts off with one true
friend. There's never any food to eat and they live in a tiny 2 bedroom
apartment that her mother can barely afford rent for.
I felt so bad for Noelle, there was no reason at all for kids to be bullying her like that and being so mean. Sad thing is, a lot of kids really ARE that mean. I think any kid that's in grade 12 and lower should read this book.
It starts off with Noelle getting bullied but slowly things start to change and she starts to find out who her real friends are. She also starts to see that people aren't totally blind, and have been doing things to try to help her all along. About the middle of the book is when we really start to see the changes happening. Things really started to turn around for Noelle, but for others being bullied, not so much.
Susane Colasanti did an amazing job writing about the ups and downs of high school and the bullying that can, and does happen. I was never bullied like Noelle was, but I can just imagine how it can affect someone who IS. Keep Holding On is a good example on how you CAN change your life around and stand up to bullies, no matter how hard it is.
I think every school library should have 20 copies of this book on the front shelves so everybody reads it! :)
I felt so bad for Noelle, there was no reason at all for kids to be bullying her like that and being so mean. Sad thing is, a lot of kids really ARE that mean. I think any kid that's in grade 12 and lower should read this book.
It starts off with Noelle getting bullied but slowly things start to change and she starts to find out who her real friends are. She also starts to see that people aren't totally blind, and have been doing things to try to help her all along. About the middle of the book is when we really start to see the changes happening. Things really started to turn around for Noelle, but for others being bullied, not so much.
Susane Colasanti did an amazing job writing about the ups and downs of high school and the bullying that can, and does happen. I was never bullied like Noelle was, but I can just imagine how it can affect someone who IS. Keep Holding On is a good example on how you CAN change your life around and stand up to bullies, no matter how hard it is.
I think every school library should have 20 copies of this book on the front shelves so everybody reads it! :)
