Review: Keep Holding On by Susane Colasanti

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Title: Keep Holding On
Author: Susane Colasanti
Publisher: Viking
Genre: Young Adult: Contemporary Romance, Teen
Format: Hardbound
Buy: Amazon | Barnes and Noble 



A romantic and empowering book about bullying

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.

Many books out there seem to be either telling you a story or teaching you a lesson. But this one stands out as one of the few books that tell you something meaningful and in plain words. It's telling you to "Keep Holding On".

No matter how bad you have it right now. Life is not worth giving up abruptly by your own hands. Susane Colasanti tells us a story about Noelle Wexler. A young high school student going through the toughest time being bullied every day of her life. If not by people in school but by her mother at home. The story starts out with the usual type of bullying, like name-calling, throwing food at you, laughing at you, etc - Until something bad happens to the popular girls and then they blame the loser kids by torturing them till they have nothing to lose but their lives. Things become violent, and life threatening and thats when you've got to finally stand up for yourself and let people know you are not to be trampled on any longer. This is exactly what Noelle Wexter did.

The book is uplifting, but sad with a lot of angst in it. It's an inspiring book that tells you how true friends and boyfriends act. How they won't hide you because they're embarrassed of you. Or lie for you because you're the only poor kid in school. It tells a story about domestic life of a young teenager and the single mom who neglects her child so much that her daughter is suffering from malnutrition and hunger.

Keep Holding On is the perfect read to inspire you out of a lonely, tough life that you can't live in anymore. It tells you to believe that this is just a phase in your life that you will come out of stronger than ever. It tells you to believe that you're life isn't over yet. It tells you to believe that you will be happy, you will be treated well, you will be everyone's equal and not an outsider or a loser, and finally, it tells you to believe that you will have everything you always wanted as long as you Keep Holding On.