Scan barcode
thesimplereader's review against another edition
3.0
I don't really remember much of this book. It seems to blend in with the rest of Susanne Colasanti's work, as well as some of Sarah Dessen's. However, all of their stuff is cute and fun to read!
lindseyembry33's review against another edition
3.0
I found this to be an average book with no real outstanding moments. It was a good way to pass time and a good bedtime story. However, I would not seek it out as a source of tremendous entertainment.
cburgbennett's review against another edition
5.0
This book was amazing. Usually I pick up Miss Colasanti's books because they are easy to read and give my mind a break from some of the 'deeper' or action-packed reading that I do. This book was a SHOCK. I did not expect this book to be so heartfelt and deep and amazing and touching and so many other things. It made me cry multiple times. This book is something that everyone needs to read.
Bullying is NEVER okay. I felt so bad for the main character. She struggled everyday. She sat alone at lunch. People outright made fun of her hair and clothes and the lunches that she brought. It was heartbreaking. I can't believe some people can be SO mean. The amount of neglect Noelle had to go through with her mother made me sick. It was hard to read. The people doing the bullying disgusted me. They were violent and targeted people that were shy or poor or nerdy. They never chose someone that was like them. And that's what bullies do. Pick on someone smaller than them.
I really liked that even though Noelle felt completely alone there were people that cared about her A LOT. She had great friends, even if she didn't have a ton of them. The ones she had truly cared about her.
(Julian sounded super attractive. Any guy that can pull of glasses is fine by me. And he was also the sweetest guy ever.)
This was definitely one of my favorite reads this year. I HIGHLY recommend this book.
Bullying is NEVER okay. I felt so bad for the main character. She struggled everyday. She sat alone at lunch. People outright made fun of her hair and clothes and the lunches that she brought. It was heartbreaking. I can't believe some people can be SO mean. The amount of neglect Noelle had to go through with her mother made me sick. It was hard to read. The people doing the bullying disgusted me. They were violent and targeted people that were shy or poor or nerdy. They never chose someone that was like them. And that's what bullies do. Pick on someone smaller than them.
I really liked that even though Noelle felt completely alone there were people that cared about her A LOT. She had great friends, even if she didn't have a ton of them. The ones she had truly cared about her.
(Julian sounded super attractive. Any guy that can pull of glasses is fine by me. And he was also the sweetest guy ever.)
This was definitely one of my favorite reads this year. I HIGHLY recommend this book.
brisbookreviews's review against another edition
5.0
Keep Holding On is about a sad teenager named Noelle. Her mother neglects her, she has a "secret" boyfriend who is ashamed to be seen in public with her and her classmates bully her because she is poor. After being tormented and an unfortunate event occurs, Noelle finally realizes its time to stand up for herself.
Oh, what a powerful book Keep Holding On is! This book should be in every middle and high school, and not only do students need to read this but teachers and parents. This short book is packed with emotional heartache and brought back some painful memories. I have always had weight issues my entire life and have been bullied numerous times. Being bullied is horrible, yet I feel that I am a much stronger person. It took me quite some time to realize that I just really don't care what people think or say about me. Every single person on this planet is the same on the inside. Everyone has a brain and a heart. Materialistic things, clothes, shoes, body weight, skin color..... DOES NOT MATTER!
Keep Holding on easily made it to my top favorite books. The characters were realistic and well written. The story was excellent.
Special Thanks to Penguin Young Readers Group and NetGalley for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.
Oh, what a powerful book Keep Holding On is! This book should be in every middle and high school, and not only do students need to read this but teachers and parents. This short book is packed with emotional heartache and brought back some painful memories. I have always had weight issues my entire life and have been bullied numerous times. Being bullied is horrible, yet I feel that I am a much stronger person. It took me quite some time to realize that I just really don't care what people think or say about me. Every single person on this planet is the same on the inside. Everyone has a brain and a heart. Materialistic things, clothes, shoes, body weight, skin color..... DOES NOT MATTER!
Keep Holding on easily made it to my top favorite books. The characters were realistic and well written. The story was excellent.
Special Thanks to Penguin Young Readers Group and NetGalley for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.
reddyrat's review against another edition
3.0
This is a tough book. It's about bullying, cruelty, and neglect. It is eventually uplifting, but it takes a long way to get there. It's a good book and an important one. It is hard to read though.
One thing that made it difficult for me is that I swear I have read this book before. I remembered large chunks of it. But I have no recording of reading this book, nor did I remember many other major features. I was very confused the whole time. I'm wondering if I read some major excerpts at some point...I still don't know.
A few things:
1. Noelle - Part of me wants to throttle Noelle. So many of her problems could go away if she just talked to someone. But - as often happens in real life - she doesn't. She's depressed, she's emotionally abused, she's young. Even though I kept yelling at Noelle to realize people who were using her, I understood why she didn't.
2. The villains - Matt and Noelle's mom are bad influences. Matt is a cookie-cutter gross guy taking advantage of a vulnerable guy. He is going to make a disgusting grown-up. Noelle's mom is also purely villainous in some ways. She is selfish, abusive, and neglectful. But I could also see that she had some serious mental illness problems. And that if she could get treatment, she could probably be a better person for Noelle. But I don't know that that will happen.
3. The issues - It's so hard to read about bullying. The high school kids are really cruel to Noelle. In a pretty juvenile way. It's both mental and physical bullying. And it's awful that the school doesn't jump in. Then there's disgusting Matt who should be arrested, even though it was "mutual." If not for the few positive influences in Noelle's life, this book would be almost impossible to read. It becomes overwhelming at times. But I know people have experiences like this.
Recommendation - Borrow
One thing that made it difficult for me is that I swear I have read this book before. I remembered large chunks of it. But I have no recording of reading this book, nor did I remember many other major features. I was very confused the whole time. I'm wondering if I read some major excerpts at some point...I still don't know.
A few things:
1. Noelle - Part of me wants to throttle Noelle. So many of her problems could go away if she just talked to someone. But - as often happens in real life - she doesn't. She's depressed, she's emotionally abused, she's young. Even though I kept yelling at Noelle to realize people who were using her, I understood why she didn't.
2. The villains - Matt and Noelle's mom are bad influences. Matt is a cookie-cutter gross guy taking advantage of a vulnerable guy. He is going to make a disgusting grown-up. Noelle's mom is also purely villainous in some ways. She is selfish, abusive, and neglectful. But I could also see that she had some serious mental illness problems. And that if she could get treatment, she could probably be a better person for Noelle. But I don't know that that will happen.
3. The issues - It's so hard to read about bullying. The high school kids are really cruel to Noelle. In a pretty juvenile way. It's both mental and physical bullying. And it's awful that the school doesn't jump in. Then there's disgusting Matt who should be arrested, even though it was "mutual." If not for the few positive influences in Noelle's life, this book would be almost impossible to read. It becomes overwhelming at times. But I know people have experiences like this.
Recommendation - Borrow
tulscip's review against another edition
5.0
This was so raw and real. It had so much true emotion, and the internal journey was amazing.
terrabme's review against another edition
4.0
Amazing. Stands up against your bullies. The physical and emotional ones.
sarahreads0_0's review against another edition
4.0
Keep Holding On is about a girl, Noelle, who has a bad home situation and is bullied every day at school. This story was heartbreaking and touching. It is awful that teenagers bully other teenagers who are “different” from them. And the adults do nothing about it. I am glad that authors write about real life issues and help us readers open our mind. Susane’s writing has improved greatly from the last the time I read one her books. This book tackled some tough issues such as rape and bullying very well. Now, onto the book. I wonder if Susane read the Mortal Instruments, because the character Simon was super sweet and awesome! Just like Simon from TMI;) Julian didn’t play a big part in this story as I thougbht and Shaerae was an amazing friend to Noelle. I don’t have much else to say about this book. It was a short and entertaining read.
allyshenanigan's review against another edition
5.0
I recommend this book to everyone. I don't really read books about what happens today, but this book hit at home for me. I realize more how bad bullying is. We all suffer from it, some more than others. This book really changed my life.