Erin A. Holt

YA FictionYA

Between me and my sister

Review by Erin A. Holt

BookPage Teen Top Pick, April 2017

Sisters Gem and Dixie only have each other. Their parents’ marriage ended when their drug and alcohol addictions made it difficult to hold down jobs, let alone raise a family. However, when the girls are in high school, Dixie receives a letter from their dad, who wants back in their life. Dixie, younger and still easily charmed by their father, falls for it, but Gem isn’t fooled. Their father arrives, certain that their mother will take him back. But she kicks him out again—after he stows his backpack full of money in the girls’ room. Upon discovering the backpack and its contents, the girls take their own adventure, leading them to realizations about themselves and each other.

Sara Zarr returns with one of her most heartfelt books yet. Gem & Dixie packs a real punch, highlighting the ugly truth of severed relationships and the loneliness of a broken home. She examines the inner workings of a sibling relationship that was once close but grows more and more distant. Gem is a particularly strong character; she struggles with her belief that it’s her sole responsibility to ensure that the family doesn’t fall apart. At Gem’s core is the fear of abandonment, whether by her own will or by her parents. Meanwhile, will Dixie ever fully understand her parents, and will Gem ever forgive them?

Other characters are equally rich in depth, each contributing to Gem and Dixie’s adventure, including a transgender girl who befriends Gem, and the school guidance counselor who helps Gem unpack her feelings.

Intense, honest and at times heartbreaking, Gem & Dixie can be hard to read. Zarr sheds light on the life of a teen who doesn’t have it all and is struggling to grasp what she has left. Tackling trust, honesty, faith and hope, this novel is sure to strike a chord with readers coming from similar situations.

 

This article was originally published in the April 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Sisters Gem and Dixie only have each other. Their parents’ marriage ended when their drug and alcohol addictions made it difficult to hold down jobs, let alone raise a family. However, when the girls are in high school, Dixie receives a letter from their dad, who wants back in their life. Dixie, younger and still easily charmed by their father, falls for it, but Gem isn’t fooled.

YA FictionYA

Adjusting to a new life

Review by Erin A. Holt

Will Porter is blind and has been since birth. At 16, he’s making his first foray into a mainstream school, but using what he learned at the school for the blind doesn’t stop him from making mistakes, including almost sitting on someone in the cafeteria. That someone is Nick, who—along with academic quiz team members Ion and Whitford—quickly befriends Will. Will also meets Cecily, the fourth member of the academic quiz team, in his journalism class. Will is drawn to Cecily, but there’s something about her appearance that Will’s friends aren’t telling him, and it will come to the surface when he undergoes experimental surgery that allows him to see for the first time.

But before Will learns of this secret, he must acclimate to life as a sighted person. Debut novelist (and Paralympian) Josh Sundquist illuminates this surprising and frustrating process with profound insight: It’s like learning a language when you don’t know what language is. When Will first awakes from the surgery, his eyes are bandaged shut, but he immediately senses a difference in the darkness. To Will, this new darkness is a sound, a thundering noise in his brain that he wishes would go away. Upon first opening his eyes, his brain is flooded with so much visual stimuli that he becomes dizzy and sick.

Best suited for older teens, Love and First Sight will leave readers questioning the definition of beauty and thankful for the gift of eyesight.

 

This article was originally published in the January 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Will Porter is blind and has been since birth. At 16, he’s making his first foray into a mainstream school, but using what he learned at the school for the blind doesn’t stop him from making mistakes, including almost sitting on someone in the cafeteria.

Children's & YAPicture Book

Turtle buds find new duds

Review by Erin A. Holt

Jon Klassen fans will rejoice at this final book in the Hat trilogy about two turtles and—you guessed it—a hat. In three parts, the book chronicles the turtles as they find the hat, watch the sunset (and think about the hat) and go to sleep (and dream of the hat).

In “Part One: Finding the Hat,” it’s clear that eventually a difficult choice must be made. “We found a hat,” the turtles say together, establishing their united front—but the tall white hat sits on the ground between them, foreshadowing a potential future rift. They agree the hat looks good on both of them, so the only fair decision is to leave the hat behind and forget it.

The unifying “we” vanishes in “Part Two: Watching the Sunset” as the turtles address each other. “What are you thinking about?” they ask each other. One turtle sneaks a glance at the hat.

In the turtle dream world of “Part Three: Going to Sleep,” the growing tension reaches its peak. But these aren’t the competitive strangers of Klassen’s first two Hat books. These turtles are buddies, and they have a chance for a different outcome.

With We Found a Hat, Klassen takes readers to the West, with brown, gray, orange and inky green desert tones tracking the time of day. As in I Want My Hat Back and the Caldecott-winning This Is Not My Hat, the wording is bold and limited on each page, making it easy to follow when read aloud. Klassen makes great use of the turtles’ eye expressions, conveying the complicated emotions of friendship as well as subtle humor. 

This is a heartwarming, wonderful conclusion.

 

This article was originally published in the October 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Jon Klassen fans will rejoice at this final book in the Hat trilogy about two turtles and—you guessed it—a hat. In three parts, the book chronicles the turtles as they find the hat, watch the sunset (and think about the hat) and go to sleep (and dream of the hat).
Children's & YAPicture Book

Celebrating autumn’s arrival

Review by Erin A. Holt

Wonderfall is a beautiful book about the various events that happen in the fall, including the beginning of the school year, Halloween, Thanksgiving and more. Author Michael Hall starts the top of each page with a word related to fall, tactfully adding “fall” to the end of the word (Beautifall, Thankfall), followed by a description of how it relates to the season. The story follows woodland animals, children and grown-ups as they experience the autumn season through parades, trick-or-treating and jumping in the leaves, among other fun seasonal experiences.

Hall’s bold digital illustrations combine acrylic paint with soft pastels, which may remind readers of the works of Eric Carle. The pages burst with the lush hues of fall, including bright green, burnt orange, red, yellow and stunning blue. The text is both minimal and large on each page, lending itself to beginning readers who are learning to sound out the words. Pre-readers will also enjoy pointing out the beautiful leaves, squirrels, acorns and other fall elements as they turn the pages. Parents will enjoy using this as a great transition between seasons. Bonus material at the book’s end includes a learning guide, which gives facts about the various animals in the story.  

Wonderfall is a beautiful book about the various events that happen in the fall, including the beginning of the school year, Halloween, Thanksgiving and more. Author Michael Hall starts the top of each page with a word related to fall, tactfully adding “fall” to the end of the word (Beautifall, Thankfall), followed by a description of how it relates to the season.

Children's & YAMiddle Grade

Friendship without boundaries

Review by Erin A. Holt

Timothy McGrother was born a boy but knows she is really a girl. Norbert Dorfman is battling bipolar disorder as well as being the new kid in town. Coming home from a Dunkin Donuts run, Norbert sees Tim in a dress and sandals, and his heart skips a beat for the girl with long blond hair and piercing blue eyes. The two meet again when Norbert spies Tim perched on the branches of the great banyan tree outside the local library. Norbert tells Tim that he prefers the name Dunkin, while Tim keeps mum about her preferred name, Lily. As an ensuing friendship unfolds, Lily and Dunkin each narrate their stories, exposing the good, the bad and the ugly that come with keeping secrets from themselves and from others. Despite their differences and conflicts along the way, Lily and Dunkin’s thread of friendship remains tight. 

Lily and Dunkin is a seamless blend of issues faced by transgender children and those who live with mental illness. Donna Gephart sensitively handles their choices and shows realistic consequences, holding nothing back when it comes to what it takes to be seen, and loved, for who you really are. But as these two eighth graders figure out their places in the world, friendship and honesty shape the true core of this strong coming-of-age novel.

 

This article was originally published in the May 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Timothy McGrother was born a boy but knows she is really a girl. Norbert Dorfman is battling bipolar disorder as well as being the new kid in town. Coming home from a Dunkin Donuts run, Norbert sees Tim in a dress and sandals, and his heart skips a beat for the girl with long blond hair and piercing blue eyes. The two meet again when Norbert spies Tim perched on the branches of the great banyan tree outside the local library. Norbert tells Tim that he prefers the name Dunkin, while Tim keeps mum about her preferred name, Lily.
YA FictionYA

Despite everything, love

Review by Erin A. Holt

Everyone is broken in some way. It’s what makes us human. Vivi and Jonah are no exception. They are both broken, yet they are in love—they are colliding planets, specks of sand on this place we call Earth. They meet at a local pottery shop where Jonah has taken his littlest sister, Leah, to create her own piece of art. This is just the beginning.

Jonah suffers from intense grief after the sudden death of his father (a local restaurant owner), which manifests itself through his own gift of cooking. He’s taking it one day—sometimes one hour—at a time. Vivi has a zest for life and a hatred of life, sometimes simultaneously. She’s battling her own demons, including an absent father and an unconventional mother.

Nonetheless, Vivi and Jonah give each other what they didn’t know they needed, before they knew they needed it. This is an atypical love story, one where the ending doesn’t mean it’s over. When We Collided boils down to feelings: strong feelings, flat feelings, non-feelings and all of the feelings in between. It explores identity and individuality, what makes us human and flawed.

Mental illness is a growing, trending topic in YA lit, but the latest novel from Emery Lord stands apart. It doesn’t focus on recovery or diagnosis, but rather on endurance, on how living with a mental illness affects that person as well as the people who surround them. With Vivi, Lord taps into the mind of a teenager unsuccessfully dealing with bipolar disorder, who is pro-medication, pro-therapy, pro-whatever-it-takes to live with the illness, rather than battle against it. Jonah’s grief and his mother’s depression are sensitively addressed, as is Vivi’s attempts to help, inviting herself into their family at a time when they thought the darkness was inescapable.

Where We Collided digs its claws in, leaves readers gasping for air and likely speechless and in tears. Lord sensitively and adequately explores how happiness is a puzzle that we work toward completing, with each person’s pieces being different, but all creating a beautiful work of the art we call life. 

Everyone is broken in some way. It’s what makes us human. Vivi and Jonah are no exception. They are both broken, yet they are in love—they are colliding planets, specks of sand on this place we call Earth. They meet at a local pottery shop where Jonah has taken his littlest sister, Leah, to create her own piece of art. This is just the beginning.

YA FictionYA

Before memories slip away

Review by Erin A. Holt

BookPage Teen Top Pick, March 2016

Painful family secrets may be at the heart of the latest novel by British author Jenny Downham, but families change and grow over time, and there is peace and healing just within reach. 

Seventeen-year-old Katie first meets her grandmother, Mary, in the hospital. Mary suffers from dementia, and her husband recently died from a massive heart attack. Despite being estranged from Mary for years, Katie’s mother, Caroline, is Mary’s emergency contact. When Caroline must return to work, Katie becomes the main caregiver for Mary, and she quickly realizes that her grandmother’s memories are deteriorating before her eyes. However, the more Mary and Katie interact and take risks together, the more Mary’s memories return, resulting in long-buried family secrets coming to the surface. As Katie struggles with her identity and Mary struggles with her memories, these stories unravel, exposing revelations about all three generations of women.

Downham delivers an engrossing and emotional novel, complete with a thread of historical fiction that employs Mary’s flashbacks as the backdrop to the story. With tremendous finesse, Downham pulls readers into the mind of someone suffering from Alzheimer’s, a place where memories quickly fall out of reach. The story is fluid, perfectly paced and can be easily read in one sitting. This is a heartfelt book that sensitively and honestly reveals family issues, and it’s one that teens won’t want to miss.

 

This article was originally published in the March 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Painful family secrets may be at the heart of the latest novel by British author Jenny Downham, but families change and grow over time, and there is peace and healing just within reach.
YA FictionYA

Terror at school, unfolding minute by minute

Review by Erin A. Holt

Principal Trenton has just finished giving her speech at Opportunity High School’s assembly. The students, teachers and administrators make their way to the doors, quickly realizing they are locked. Unseen by everyone in the room, a boy with blond hair sticking out of a black cap enters the one unlocked door to the left, raises a gun and directs a student to lock the door. The shooting starts with the principal and continues to anyone who approaches the shooter. Panic, screams, blood and death follow in a matter of seconds.

Marieke Nijkamp holds nothing back in her gut-wrenching debut. The story unfolds in alternating chapters with multiple points of view: the shooter’s twin sister, Autumn; her girlfriend, Sylv; Sylv’s brother, Tomás; and the shooter’s ex-girlfriend, Claire. The shootings are graphic, the fear is real, and every move is a matter of life or death. Intensity and terror build at breakneck speed over the next 54 minutes, as the backstory of this shooting unfolds between the lines.

Through the narrators’ prose, Tweets and blog posts, Nijkamp approaches other serious, realistic issues, including bullying, abuse, rape and deep-seated grief and loneliness. With an ending that will leave readers rocked with fear, grief, chills and tears, this outstanding debut will hit close to home and is best suited for older teens.

Principal Trenton has just finished giving her speech at Opportunity High School’s assembly. The students, teachers and administrators make their way to the doors, quickly realizing they are locked. Unseen by everyone in the room, a boy with blond hair sticking out of a black cap enters the one unlocked door to the left, raises a gun and directs a student to lock the door. The shooting starts with the principal and continues to anyone who approaches the shooter.

YA FictionYA

Abandoned but strong

Review by Erin A. Holt

Seventeen-year-old Lucille and her 10-year-old sister, Wren, have been abandoned by their father (who went crazy) and their mother (who left town, leaving no forwarding information). Lucille is left to pay the bills, maintain the house and care for her sister. She’s worried that if anyone finds out, she and her sister will be placed in foster care, so her best friend, Eden, is the only person she can count on. To complicate things, Lucille has been secretly lusting after Eden’s twin brother, Digby.

Forced to find a job to make ends meet, Lucille applies to a local restaurant known for its knockout beautiful waitresses (think black hot pants and cleavage-revealing tank tops). Lucille hides her desperation through lies to Wren, Wren’s teachers, her boss and even to herself, refusing to ask for help while sinking further in quicksand. With Eden and Digby on Lucille’s side, things go smoothly—until they don’t. A series of events, including a huge plot twist that brings a new meaning to friendship, force Lucille to reveal her struggles.

Debut author Estelle Laure delivers an emotionally charged, artistic view of a world where parental abandonment and the fear and threat of state custody are very real. Lucille is externally strong yet internally fragile, while Wren is perceptive and displays an impeccable willingness to love and forgive. Laure captures the desperation for acceptance on a variety of levels in this poetic, heartbreaking read that will resonate with teens.

Seventeen-year-old Lucille and her 10-year-old sister, Wren, have been abandoned by their father (who went crazy) and their mother (who left town, leaving no forwarding information). Lucille is left to pay the bills, maintain the house and care for her sister. She’s worried that if anyone finds out, she and her sister will be placed in foster care, so her best friend, Eden, is the only person she can count on. To complicate things, Lucille has been secretly lusting after Eden’s twin brother, Digby.

YA FictionYA

The aftermath of sudden loss

Review by Erin A. Holt

Identical twins Isabelle and Giselle were born holding hands, and 16 years later, Isabelle dies in a car crash while holding her sister’s hand. Giselle survives, along with her parents, and is forced to face the world without her twin, her own appearance a reminder of what she has lost.

Giselle is in a semi-comatose state in the hospital, trying to piece together the accident’s details while the doctors mistake her for her sister. It isn’t until her mother visits that they realize that Isabelle has died, while Giselle is still living and steadily recovering. They begin to suspect that what was originally considered an accident might not have been, prompting further investigation by the police. 

Narrated by Giselle, who is wise beyond her years, Untwine tells an emotional story full of heartbreak, agony and hope. Written in elegant prose, with each chapter ending in a profound emotional statement, the novel draws readers through the aftermath of unexpected loss. Author Edwidge Danticat not only exposes the delicate bond that twins share but also beautifully weaves in Haitian culture and family traditions throughout the novel. Mystery and emotions run high in this work, taking readers on a realistic ride through the various stages of grief. 

Untwine is recommended for older teens and those dealing with the loss of a loved one.

 

This article was originally published in the October 2015 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Identical twins Isabelle and Giselle were born holding hands, and 16 years later, Isabelle dies in a car crash while holding her sister’s hand. Giselle survives, along with her parents, and is forced to face the world without her twin, her own appearance a reminder of what she has lost.
YA FictionYA

Impossible love

Review by Erin A. Holt

Madeline hasn’t left her house for 17 years and only comes in daily contact with her mother (who is, coincidentally, also her doctor) and her nurse Carla. Madeline suffers from SCID (Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Disease), making her essentially allergic to being outside. As a result, her home is sterile, with a special air filtration system, an air lock at the front door and a decontamination treatment for anyone who needs to visit her. She reads a lot of books and does all of her schooling via Skype. She has made peace with her life as she knows it—until a new family moves in next door.

From her window, Madeline spots Olly, a boy about her age, and he stares back up at her. What starts out as an innocent crush quickly turns into more, as Madeline and Olly communicate through email, instant message and finally, after much cajoling from her nurse, meeting in person. Romance ensues, battles are fought and their love grows stronger.

Nicola Yoon’s debut is unique, starring an interracial couple and featuring hand-drawn illustrations. Readers will root for Madeline as she fights her disease, growing stronger and more confident with Olly’s help. The relationship’s fast pace may lead some readers to question its authenticity, but Yoon expertly handles mature family issues such as trust, love and, most of all, grief. Best suited for older teens, this is a quick summer read for fans of realistic teen fiction centered on romance.

Madeline hasn’t left her house for 17 years and only comes in daily contact with her mother (who is, coincidentally, also her doctor) and her nurse Carla. Madeline suffers from SCID (Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Disease), making her essentially allergic to being outside. As a result, her home is sterile, with a special air filtration system, an air lock at the front door and a decontamination treatment for anyone who needs to visit her. She reads a lot of books and does all of her schooling via Skype. She has made peace with her life as she knows it—until a new family moves in next door.

Children's & YAPicture Book

Deconstructing a common fear

Review by Erin A. Holt

Tickle Monster is an adorable picture book that takes the fear out of monsters and makes them fun. Children are encouraged to tickle the monster, thus "moving" each body part (arms, legs, horns, etc.) and repurposing it on the next page to create a comforting nighttime scene.

French author-illustrator Édouard Manceau uses high-contrast illustrations and simple repetition to take the reader on a gentle journey that explores this monster in a fun and enticing manner. Exclamation points make the book exciting and perfect for reading aloud with gusto. The oversize white-on-black lettering is great practice for beginning spellers, with the monster parts providing an excellent counting exercise for preschoolers. Youngest readers will enjoy the colors and simpler illustrations such as the moon and trees, formed by the monster’s horns, arms and legs. Manceau’s question-and-answer format provides the perfect opportunity for readers of all ages to guess what’s coming next.

A standout feature of the book is its size; at 7”x13”, it’s easy for little hands to grasp and turn the pages. This is a surefire hit for toddlers through kindergarteners, one that will help them laugh and forget their fears of monsters.

Tickle Monster is an adorable picture book that takes the fear out of monsters and makes them fun. Children are encouraged to tickle the monster, thus "moving" each body part (arms, legs, horns, etc.) and repurposing it on the next page to create a comforting nighttime scene.

Children's & YAMiddle Grade

Magic will bring us back together

Review by Erin A. Holt

Val and Lanora were BFFs—that is, until they entered middle school and Lanora decided to reinvent herself, straightening her curly hair and hanging out with the popular girls. Being popular isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, as Lanora adds stealing to her list of reinventions. However, Val misses Lanora and can’t let their friendship go without a fight.

While she’s looking for a butterfly charm that Lanora left at their special spot in Central Park, Val meets a boy named Tasman. It turns out that Mau, a stray cat that has come to love the girls' attention, picked it up and took it to a mysterious bookshop where Tasman resides. Tasman quickly befriends Val and joins her on the quest to save Lanora. He introduces Val to The Book of Dares, which contains a spell he thinks will “cure” Lanora. And so begins Val, Tasman and Mau’s journey.

Author Jane Kelley creates a beautiful story around her cast of quirky, loyal and loving characters, tackling serious issues, including divorce and theft, but maintaining a sense of hope as the characters are each forced to overcome various obstacles. The author’s use of magic proves intriguing as Val and Tasman follow the spell and gather the appropriate ingredients. The story ultimately becomes a quest for finding themselves. Perfect for seventh and eighth graders, this wonderful story is even more powerful when read along with an adult.

Val and Lanora were BFFs—that is, until they entered middle school and Lanora decided to reinvent herself, straightening her curly hair and hanging out with the popular girls. Being popular isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, as Lanora adds stealing to her list of reinventions. However, Val misses Lanora and can’t let their friendship go without a fight.

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