What do you think?
Rate this book
Hold Still
“Lynn Steger Strong paints a portrait of familial love that is real, visceral, and all the more dangerous for being unconditional.” ― Alexandra Kleeman, author of You Too Can Have a Body Like Mine Maya Taylor, an intense, gifted English professor, has a tendency to retreat when she is needed most, escaping on long morning runs or finding comfort in the well-thumbed novels in her library. But when she sends her daughter Ellie to Florida to care for a friend’s child, it’s with the best of intentions. Twenty and spiraling, Ellie is lost in a fog of drugs and men―desperately in need of a fresh start. Her life with this attractive new family in Florida begins well, but Ellie is crippled by the fear that she’ll only disappoint those around her . . . again. And in the sprawling hours of one humid afternoon, she finally makes a mistake she cannot take back. The accident hangs over both mother and daughter as they try to repair their fractured relationship and find a way to transcend not only their differences but also their more startling similarities. In Maya’s and Ellie’s echoing narratives, Lynn Steger Strong creates a searing, unforgettable portrait of familial love and the tender heartache of motherhood―from the sweltering Florida heat to the bone-cold of New York in January. Churning toward one fateful day in two separate timelines, Hold Still is a story of before and after and the impossible distance in between. Heralding the arrival of a profoundly moving new talent, this novel marks a taut and propulsive debut that “builds to a perfect crescendo, an ending that is both surprising and true” (Marcy Dermansky). Hold Still explores the weight of culpability and the depths and limits of a mother’s love. “ Hold Still is an unblinking examination of family, the mother-child bond, and the storms it must withstand. Lynn Strong pulls no punches in considering not just how deep, but also how misguided a mother’s love can be.”―Elisa Albert, author of After Birth
272 pages, Hardcover
First published March 28, 2016
64 people are currently reading
3438 people want to read
About the author
Lynn Steger Strong
4 books521 followersLynn Steger Strong was born and raised in South Florida and received an MFA in Fiction from Columbia University where she also taught Freshman Writing. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two small girls.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 171 reviews
March 6, 2016
Different writing style in this one, took a while to get used to, more blunt maybe, sparse, something I can't quite put my finger on. Told from two perspectives, a timeline fluctuating before the event that changes all, and after when those affected are trying to pick up the pieces. Not a big fan of theses back, and forth timelines though sometimes they work very well, depends on the book, in this one felt it kept me from fully engaging with the characters.
Family of four, two college professors as parents, a mother who was never mothered and tends to disappear in her books, a father with big expectations for his children, a daughter who makes many wrong choices and the younger son who tries to overcompensate for his sisters behavior by being the good one. Family dynamics are examined in a very realistic way, how everyone relates to each other. A Mother's capability is a very real issue, as the novel goes on we are able to piece together what led to the tragic event, each family members faults and strengths. What could have been done differently. Would have rated this higher but it is not until the end that we know definitively what happened, but by then it is anticlimactic as it had been alluded to all throughout the novel.
A good thinking novel about families, how ones actions affect the others.
ARC from publisher.
Family of four, two college professors as parents, a mother who was never mothered and tends to disappear in her books, a father with big expectations for his children, a daughter who makes many wrong choices and the younger son who tries to overcompensate for his sisters behavior by being the good one. Family dynamics are examined in a very realistic way, how everyone relates to each other. A Mother's capability is a very real issue, as the novel goes on we are able to piece together what led to the tragic event, each family members faults and strengths. What could have been done differently. Would have rated this higher but it is not until the end that we know definitively what happened, but by then it is anticlimactic as it had been alluded to all throughout the novel.
A good thinking novel about families, how ones actions affect the others.
ARC from publisher.
May 16, 2016
I received a copy from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed this book, I couldn't put it down!
This story revolves around a mother and daughter's tumultuous relationship. The book is broken up so that it is told from two points of view and two timelines which stem from a central, devastating event. The mother's chapters are told after the event, while the daughter's chapters lead up to the event.
Overall, the story is really hauntingly, melancholy in the best way. The pacing is similar to waves coming in swells. Just as the intensity builds, it breaks and recedes... Until the end where you can't help but be sucked in. The beach is such an integral part of the narrative that I think the pacing was intentionally put together in this way to mirror waves. If not, then well done anyway!
Not just the mother and daughter, but all the characters were very realistic. Even the ones that were barely in the book seemed to ooze realness. This was very refreshing for me to read, so often subsidiary characters fall flat.
Do yourself a favor and read this book!
I really enjoyed this book, I couldn't put it down!
This story revolves around a mother and daughter's tumultuous relationship. The book is broken up so that it is told from two points of view and two timelines which stem from a central, devastating event. The mother's chapters are told after the event, while the daughter's chapters lead up to the event.
Overall, the story is really hauntingly, melancholy in the best way. The pacing is similar to waves coming in swells. Just as the intensity builds, it breaks and recedes... Until the end where you can't help but be sucked in. The beach is such an integral part of the narrative that I think the pacing was intentionally put together in this way to mirror waves. If not, then well done anyway!
Not just the mother and daughter, but all the characters were very realistic. Even the ones that were barely in the book seemed to ooze realness. This was very refreshing for me to read, so often subsidiary characters fall flat.
Do yourself a favor and read this book!
June 1, 2016
Maybe it is my picky nature or maybe because of how forgettable the story was. I did not care about any character or even tried to care, since the chapters were so short. My main problem with books like this is that the chapters do not leave any room for me to show interest in the following chapters. At least be concise, this was just really boring an mundane. Where is the characterization? Where is the consistency? I just did not care at all where the story was going, just lackluster all over.
I was ' holding still' hoping that it would get better but find it redundant.
Oh well, another book that bites the dust.
NEXT!!!
I was ' holding still' hoping that it would get better but find it redundant.
Oh well, another book that bites the dust.
NEXT!!!
November 28, 2023
Moving back and forth in time, this is a story about familial damage and how trauma reverberates. The focus is mostly on Maya Taylor, a professor of literature at Columbia, specializing in Virginia Woolf, where her husband works too as a philosophy professor. They have two children, Elinor, Ellie, and younger brother Ben. A lovely life it would seem, but Maya has her own damage from growing up with a needy father, abandoned by her mother when she was an infant and her husband Stephen, who comes from wealth, has seemed to her more controlling than he needs to be, his foremost desire for his children is that they do well in life, educationally. Moving between 2011 and 2013, the novel traces the relationship between Maya and daughter Ellie, a sweet and beautiful girl who goes somewhat out of control, her bad behavior following her from Brooklyn to a house in Florida where Maya's longtime friend lives with her husband and young son who perhaps is on the spectrum. It's a before and after exploration of what a tragedy and mistake can do to family members and those beyond the circle who are directly affected. Though the tragedy is alluded to from the start, it is anticlimactic when finally revealed near the end. What is drawn best in this novel is Maya's character, which is complex. Ellie's out of control behavior was not as vibrant, nor was her interiority - the whys of her ways left out. Still, an engrossing book.
December 18, 2017
A really grim look at love and motherhood, the novel is gripping from start to finish. I found this to be an interesting read, although the writing was a little uninspired.
There are many female characters here - mainly writers - and quite unsatisfied: and most of them run out on their kids for one reason or another. Maya, a main figure, is a Columbia University lit professor and a jogger and half the book is dedicated to her running around NYC. She's had a troubled upbringing, which not surprisingly, has devastating effects on her marriage and her relationship with her kids, Ellie and Ben. Now in young adulthood, both are unhappy and severely in need of rescue. But it is really Maya and Ellie's story, together and apart, that drives the book, centered around an unspeakable tragedy that is gradually uncovered as you read on. The book is told in short, alternating chapters that take place mainly in Summer/Fall 2011 and Winter/Spring 2013.
While a good, quick read, a couple of things really bugged me about this novel. For one thing, Maya's name is repeated ad nauseum in the diaglogue with just about everyone she comes in contact with, especially her husband Stephen. I don't know if the author ran out of words and used "Maya" as a filler, but it was really annoying. There were also times when the dialogue just trailed off into nothingness for many of the characters. An even larger problem I had with the book was that the author never explains how and why Ellie wins over the trust of four year-old Jack, which was a pivotal plot point in the narrative. It left a large hole in the story for me. Also - a tiny point, but still - the food described was the same throughout - Steger Strong could have varied the meals a little bit. In all, the lack of creativity in detail and dialogue proved unfortunate.
As the book wound down, I realized that the parts I enjoyed the most were Maya's encounters with Charles, her TA. Perhaps they were the most hopeful sections of the book; the novel was sure in short supply of those. Towards the end when they are discussing familial relationships and parental love, this bit of dialogue appears, which I found thought-provoking. Charles remarks that in terms of his parents,"They loved me as well as they could." Maya half states/half asks,"And it wasn't enough for you." Charles replies,"It was fine," to which Maya adds,"I wonder if there's ever more than that."
There are many female characters here - mainly writers - and quite unsatisfied: and most of them run out on their kids for one reason or another. Maya, a main figure, is a Columbia University lit professor and a jogger and half the book is dedicated to her running around NYC. She's had a troubled upbringing, which not surprisingly, has devastating effects on her marriage and her relationship with her kids, Ellie and Ben. Now in young adulthood, both are unhappy and severely in need of rescue. But it is really Maya and Ellie's story, together and apart, that drives the book, centered around an unspeakable tragedy that is gradually uncovered as you read on. The book is told in short, alternating chapters that take place mainly in Summer/Fall 2011 and Winter/Spring 2013.
While a good, quick read, a couple of things really bugged me about this novel. For one thing, Maya's name is repeated ad nauseum in the diaglogue with just about everyone she comes in contact with, especially her husband Stephen. I don't know if the author ran out of words and used "Maya" as a filler, but it was really annoying. There were also times when the dialogue just trailed off into nothingness for many of the characters. An even larger problem I had with the book was that the author never explains how and why Ellie wins over the trust of four year-old Jack, which was a pivotal plot point in the narrative. It left a large hole in the story for me. Also - a tiny point, but still - the food described was the same throughout - Steger Strong could have varied the meals a little bit. In all, the lack of creativity in detail and dialogue proved unfortunate.
As the book wound down, I realized that the parts I enjoyed the most were Maya's encounters with Charles, her TA. Perhaps they were the most hopeful sections of the book; the novel was sure in short supply of those. Towards the end when they are discussing familial relationships and parental love, this bit of dialogue appears, which I found thought-provoking. Charles remarks that in terms of his parents,"They loved me as well as they could." Maya half states/half asks,"And it wasn't enough for you." Charles replies,"It was fine," to which Maya adds,"I wonder if there's ever more than that."
June 16, 2024
Couldn’t finish the book. I have my own mommy issues, I didn’t need to read about someone else’s.
March 1, 2016
As Maya, the mother in the middle of her family's disaster (and maybe even in a strange way a bit of the cause) tells what led up to a tragedy her daughter is wrapped up in. Maya and Ellie (her daughter) have a strained relationship and we slowly learn why. Ellie is wayward, the child in the family who somehow manages to 'mess up everything'. She doesn't seem to light her mother up with happiness the way her brother Ben can, much more put together than her. While reading, seeing Ellie as the lost cause in the family changed as the core of each person is revealed. Maya isn't the ideal mother herself, shutting her children out when life gets too overwhelming. How did this shape Ellie, the big sister who went out of her way to distract her brother from the heaviness of the times her mother would 'disappear' into herself? How much are we shaped by the expectations of others? Maya sending her daughter to Florida could be seen as both wanting Ellie to stand on her own and also wiping her hands of the messiness of having her around. It was hard to feel sorry for Maya though her own difficulty with her father explains her discomfort with affection. Her connections with others (particularly prior students) and yet inability to connect with and reach her own daughter is such a human failing that happens with many people. How often you hear about great men/women the world admire, who go above and beyond for everyone and yet have a disconnect with their own flesh and blood. I felt that way about Maya the entire time I read. It's easy to say 'this child is just wild, lost or willful' but these things don't often just come out of nowhere. Family dynamics absolutely play a role in how people feel about themselves and each other. We shape those we come into contact with, what is more vital in our becoming that our parents.
Who is culpable in the tragedy? That's the real question. The family was already frayed, it was just ignored because going on with our roles is easier than examining ourselves. When we people understand even those families with bright white smiles are just as flawed as everyone else? As Ben starts to fall apart, grasping to understand college life it's telling that he relied on his 'wreck' of a sister. She is sinking into herself, and has been in a tailspin for a long time. The adults around Ellie don't seem to have a grasp on themselves and can't possibly help this young woman in so much need of direction, because of this another family is about to lose everything.
This is a heavy story that doesn't contain much happiness. The reader knows from the start the telling is leading up to some sort of tragic accident but there are times we think 'really accidents can happen to someone like me too.' I had a hard time feeling sorry for Maya, I felt she was much of the cause as we often can be without realizing it. It will be interesting to see what my fellow readers take away from Hold Still. I liked it and hated everything that happened at the same time. I wanted to smack Maya and tell her 'you don't really have your crap together either.' It makes her human.
Who is culpable in the tragedy? That's the real question. The family was already frayed, it was just ignored because going on with our roles is easier than examining ourselves. When we people understand even those families with bright white smiles are just as flawed as everyone else? As Ben starts to fall apart, grasping to understand college life it's telling that he relied on his 'wreck' of a sister. She is sinking into herself, and has been in a tailspin for a long time. The adults around Ellie don't seem to have a grasp on themselves and can't possibly help this young woman in so much need of direction, because of this another family is about to lose everything.
This is a heavy story that doesn't contain much happiness. The reader knows from the start the telling is leading up to some sort of tragic accident but there are times we think 'really accidents can happen to someone like me too.' I had a hard time feeling sorry for Maya, I felt she was much of the cause as we often can be without realizing it. It will be interesting to see what my fellow readers take away from Hold Still. I liked it and hated everything that happened at the same time. I wanted to smack Maya and tell her 'you don't really have your crap together either.' It makes her human.
January 7, 2016
Selected by The Huffington Post as one of the '32 Books to Add to Your Shelf in 2016', Lynn Steger Strong’s heartbreaking Hold Still depicts a young woman’s journey towards a fatal mistake, and examines the culpability of its characters. It’s about family, and the depths and limits of the ties that bind.
Steger’s debut is told from two perspectives in separate timelines: the past and present, or pre-catastrophe and post-catastrophe, if you prefer – with various flashbacks in between. Stephen and Maya Taylor are vaunted Columbia professors, and from the outside, you’d imagine they have the perfect family. We assume success breeds success; that it inevitably rubs off on the people surrounded by it, or born into it. But that’s not always the case, and the Taylor children – Ben and Ellie – are struggling to live up to expectations. On the one hand, Ben is like any college kid: he’s questioning his choices, deliberating over the direction in which his life is headed. His problems are manageable, though irksome to his father. But Ellie – she has real problems, has fallen in with a bad crowd, and is developing a drug habit. She’s nosediving, and may not be able to pull out of it; even worse, she may not want to, has accepted her destiny and is ready to crash and burn. Not that Stephen and Maya are exactly flawless. They have issues of their own, camouflaged by their professions, veiled in public, but flare to life in the privacy of their own home. They have passed their imperfections onto their children, somehow magnified and twisted.
In a last ditch effort to revive her daughter, Maya send Ellie to Florida to look after a friend’s child. It’s a chance to step away from the dark tendrils pulling her closer to oblivion in New York; a fresh start, a chance to rebuild. But just as it appears Ellie is getting back on track, she makes a fatal mistake. And years later, the Taylor family is dealing with the consequences, struggling to cope with the guilt over the choices they’ve made, their fractured relationships, and the irreparable damage they’ve caused to the life of a young mother.
Lynn Steger Strong’s characters are beguilingly human, full of good intentions that pave the way to the very worst kind of hell. Hold Still is powerful, melancholy, and devastating. You will read it in a single burst, and it will resonate for a long, long time.
Steger’s debut is told from two perspectives in separate timelines: the past and present, or pre-catastrophe and post-catastrophe, if you prefer – with various flashbacks in between. Stephen and Maya Taylor are vaunted Columbia professors, and from the outside, you’d imagine they have the perfect family. We assume success breeds success; that it inevitably rubs off on the people surrounded by it, or born into it. But that’s not always the case, and the Taylor children – Ben and Ellie – are struggling to live up to expectations. On the one hand, Ben is like any college kid: he’s questioning his choices, deliberating over the direction in which his life is headed. His problems are manageable, though irksome to his father. But Ellie – she has real problems, has fallen in with a bad crowd, and is developing a drug habit. She’s nosediving, and may not be able to pull out of it; even worse, she may not want to, has accepted her destiny and is ready to crash and burn. Not that Stephen and Maya are exactly flawless. They have issues of their own, camouflaged by their professions, veiled in public, but flare to life in the privacy of their own home. They have passed their imperfections onto their children, somehow magnified and twisted.
In a last ditch effort to revive her daughter, Maya send Ellie to Florida to look after a friend’s child. It’s a chance to step away from the dark tendrils pulling her closer to oblivion in New York; a fresh start, a chance to rebuild. But just as it appears Ellie is getting back on track, she makes a fatal mistake. And years later, the Taylor family is dealing with the consequences, struggling to cope with the guilt over the choices they’ve made, their fractured relationships, and the irreparable damage they’ve caused to the life of a young mother.
Lynn Steger Strong’s characters are beguilingly human, full of good intentions that pave the way to the very worst kind of hell. Hold Still is powerful, melancholy, and devastating. You will read it in a single burst, and it will resonate for a long, long time.
February 25, 2016
W. W. Norton & Company and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
Hold Still is a novel that is clearly separated into two distinct time periods: both before and after a tragic event that impacts the family. In an attempt to save their daughter Ellie from a dangerous drug related spiral, Maya has the idea to send her to Florida. As a nanny to her friend's son, Maya feels that Ellie will get away from the bad influences in her life. Unfortunately, two families are torn apart from the resulting tragic circumstances.
The constant time period shifts did nothing but take the focus away from the central story. A more linear plot would have allowed Ellie's story to build, giving the reader a reason to feel a connection with both her and Maya's story. What should have been the very emotional telling of a terrible event was just described instead of felt. The characters of Maya and Ellie were really two dimensional and I did not feel any connection between them and the story. The synopsis of Hold Still paints a very different picture and I was disappointed with the book as a whole.
Hold Still is a novel that is clearly separated into two distinct time periods: both before and after a tragic event that impacts the family. In an attempt to save their daughter Ellie from a dangerous drug related spiral, Maya has the idea to send her to Florida. As a nanny to her friend's son, Maya feels that Ellie will get away from the bad influences in her life. Unfortunately, two families are torn apart from the resulting tragic circumstances.
The constant time period shifts did nothing but take the focus away from the central story. A more linear plot would have allowed Ellie's story to build, giving the reader a reason to feel a connection with both her and Maya's story. What should have been the very emotional telling of a terrible event was just described instead of felt. The characters of Maya and Ellie were really two dimensional and I did not feel any connection between them and the story. The synopsis of Hold Still paints a very different picture and I was disappointed with the book as a whole.
October 26, 2015
Told from two perspectives in two timelines, Hold Still moves toward a central event that changed everything for a family in Park Slope, Brooklyn. The mother, Maya, deals with the aftermath of the event from the present day, flashing back to when it happened. Her daughter, Ellie, tells the story from the days leading up to her transplant to Florida during that fateful summer. Both are broken women who want to help each other, but they don't know how. In the course of trying to sort out their issues, they ruin the life of another mother they both love.
I was pretty taken with this story from the beginning. The writing and characters drew me right in. I don't identify with or even like either of the main characters, but I am sympathetic to their struggles. They story is completely devastating, but there is some hope at the end.
I was pretty taken with this story from the beginning. The writing and characters drew me right in. I don't identify with or even like either of the main characters, but I am sympathetic to their struggles. They story is completely devastating, but there is some hope at the end.
June 13, 2016
To think that this is a debut is just unfair. Steger Strong uses every role in a family (especially the mother/daughter dynamic) to examine intentions and destiny and the things you can't outrun no matter how many miles you jog when you can't sleep.
May 12, 2024
Wow, I loved this more than I expected to! Yes, it’s bleak and depressing, but if you’re in the mood for an angsty read about mother/daughter relationships, this is perfect for you.
The writing style is definitely Woolfian at times. You’re flowing through time in a nonlinear way that manages to be both immersive and propulsive. There was enough foreshadowing that I could kind of see the ending coming from a mile away.
I felt for Ellie so much. Less so for Maya—she was such a mess and kept isolating herself and not reaching out or communicating in anyway. Ugh!
The writing style is definitely Woolfian at times. You’re flowing through time in a nonlinear way that manages to be both immersive and propulsive. There was enough foreshadowing that I could kind of see the ending coming from a mile away.
I felt for Ellie so much. Less so for Maya—she was such a mess and kept isolating herself and not reaching out or communicating in anyway. Ugh!
June 9, 2024
there is something about her writing that i find super compelling in the moment & then reflect on the writing/plot structures as really indelicate
AND SHE STILL KEEPS ABUSING THE WORD “SIDLES” …. enough sidles …! crutch word I notice every time
AND SHE STILL KEEPS ABUSING THE WORD “SIDLES” …. enough sidles …! crutch word I notice every time
June 9, 2019
the writer endlessly circles around the most interesting tragic incident of this novel, focusing instead on irrelevant peripheral characters interacting and descriptions of their unusual mannerisms while eating and having boring conversations about literary theory. ends up being yet another novel about pretentious rich people living in new york city.
December 18, 2016
Perhaps an example (see pp. 230 - 233) will best show the problem with this book: Maya, the protagonist (some might also argue that her daughter Ellie is the protagonist, but Ellie is really more of the antagonist), leaves her family for several weeks because she is so stressed out. Ellie is four at the time. When Maya does return to her family, Ellie is very angry with her mother, so Maya tries to make amends with Ellie by taking her daughter to "new and different ethnic restaurants, pastry shops. Maya dragged her to run her hands over the spines of books at all her favorite shops" (p. 233). Yes, a grown woman thinks that a good way to atone for her neglect of her 4-year-old little girl is to take her restaurants, pastry shops, and book stores where she can touch books. This is not how normal people think and act. Now, one might argue that Maya herself is abnormal, and perhaps she is in some ways, but no adult human is so stupid as to think that the things Maya does would help make up for her bad behavior towards her young daughter. It is patently absurd.
There are many other problems with this novel: it is exceedingly anticlimactic. I don't think I've read a book in the last decade where the ending was more disappointing and so completely failed to meet the expectations that had been building earlier in the novel. The anticlimactic nature might be forgivable were the characters actually interesting, but they're not. They are uniformly extremely selfish and unlikable; this, in and of itself, is not necessarily a problem, but these unlikable characters do nothing of sufficient interest to keep our attention; they are guilty of a real literary sin: they are boring. There is also little action in this novel. It's almost all reflection, and most of this reflection is on the distant past instead of on the key issue that drives the overall narrative. There is almost more (and perhaps there is more) space given to the distant past than to the key issue and its aftermath. The prose is also less than adequate, often very pretentious. It does not flow well. The writer does not seem as if she has found her voice, and it shows.
Hold Still is poorly written with a premise that fails to deliver. It is also just boring.
There are many other problems with this novel: it is exceedingly anticlimactic. I don't think I've read a book in the last decade where the ending was more disappointing and so completely failed to meet the expectations that had been building earlier in the novel. The anticlimactic nature might be forgivable were the characters actually interesting, but they're not. They are uniformly extremely selfish and unlikable; this, in and of itself, is not necessarily a problem, but these unlikable characters do nothing of sufficient interest to keep our attention; they are guilty of a real literary sin: they are boring. There is also little action in this novel. It's almost all reflection, and most of this reflection is on the distant past instead of on the key issue that drives the overall narrative. There is almost more (and perhaps there is more) space given to the distant past than to the key issue and its aftermath. The prose is also less than adequate, often very pretentious. It does not flow well. The writer does not seem as if she has found her voice, and it shows.
Hold Still is poorly written with a premise that fails to deliver. It is also just boring.
January 18, 2022
***Spoilers included***
“[B]ecause loving you makes me a person who could rationalize anything that you’ve done, as long as I can know for sure that you’ll survive” (12).
I wish I’d seen more of the low reviews on Goodreads before attempting this one because although it’s short, it took a long time to get through because it was so awful. The plot of this could really be “once you do one bad thing, YOLO.” Maya’s daughter, Ellie, causes the death of one of her friend’s sons, so she decides to have an affair. Ellie sleeps with Maya’s friend’s husband, then decides why not take a bunch of drugs and then take the kid night swimming? It’s a mess, especially the parts that trace back Maya’s other poor mistakes, like letting Annie, her teenage student, come to her house to drink?! What even is this book?
As a former high school teacher and someone who works in education, it really irks me reading about inappropriate teachers. Not only does Maya supply Annie with alcohol when she is in counseling and it is recommended that she take lithium (but she wasn’t Annie’s teacher anymore, so maybe Steger Strong thinks it’s less bad?), but she also skips faculty meetings and doesn’t really try to teach. I can’t. Then, there’s the weird same sex attraction/impulse Maya has to run away and co-parent with a younger woman (I can’t remember if it’s Caitlin or her friend because I read this book a week ago and it’s that forgettable) even though the younger woman wasn’t interested at all?
But the worst part about this book is that Steger Strong tries to write in a way that is over her head. She tries to be murky, mysterious, artistic, but all it reads is pretentious without reason to be and disjointed. I didn’t care about anything while reading except finally finishing it, and the only reason I didn’t stop was to find out what Ellie did to the kid, which is a cheap literary tactic. Megan Abbott is far more talented and writes in a style I imagine Steger Strong would like to emulate.
The only part I thought was interesting was when Stephen tells Maya that what she hates in him was co-created with her because it was a reaction to who she is (113). I think it’s a useful perspective to consider in relationships.
“[B]ecause loving you makes me a person who could rationalize anything that you’ve done, as long as I can know for sure that you’ll survive” (12).
I wish I’d seen more of the low reviews on Goodreads before attempting this one because although it’s short, it took a long time to get through because it was so awful. The plot of this could really be “once you do one bad thing, YOLO.” Maya’s daughter, Ellie, causes the death of one of her friend’s sons, so she decides to have an affair. Ellie sleeps with Maya’s friend’s husband, then decides why not take a bunch of drugs and then take the kid night swimming? It’s a mess, especially the parts that trace back Maya’s other poor mistakes, like letting Annie, her teenage student, come to her house to drink?! What even is this book?
As a former high school teacher and someone who works in education, it really irks me reading about inappropriate teachers. Not only does Maya supply Annie with alcohol when she is in counseling and it is recommended that she take lithium (but she wasn’t Annie’s teacher anymore, so maybe Steger Strong thinks it’s less bad?), but she also skips faculty meetings and doesn’t really try to teach. I can’t. Then, there’s the weird same sex attraction/impulse Maya has to run away and co-parent with a younger woman (I can’t remember if it’s Caitlin or her friend because I read this book a week ago and it’s that forgettable) even though the younger woman wasn’t interested at all?
But the worst part about this book is that Steger Strong tries to write in a way that is over her head. She tries to be murky, mysterious, artistic, but all it reads is pretentious without reason to be and disjointed. I didn’t care about anything while reading except finally finishing it, and the only reason I didn’t stop was to find out what Ellie did to the kid, which is a cheap literary tactic. Megan Abbott is far more talented and writes in a style I imagine Steger Strong would like to emulate.
The only part I thought was interesting was when Stephen tells Maya that what she hates in him was co-created with her because it was a reaction to who she is (113). I think it’s a useful perspective to consider in relationships.
March 1, 2016
A beautiful, complex novel about the complicated relationship between a mother and daughter, and how addition and depression can ruin families in the worst of ways.
I really enjoyed the story of this novel, and loved that a lot of it takes place in the neighborhood that I live and work. My main complaint is that it was a bit hard to follow. It was difficult keeping the characters straight -- they all had kind of bland names and not many distinguishing characteristics. It also jumps back and forth in time too much. Both chapter by chapter, but also within the chapters too, paragraph to paragraph. The timeline was difficult to follow, and that made it hard to keep wanting to pick it up, but I’m glad I stuck it through because the ending is lovely and surprising.
I would recommend for anyone who is looking for a quiet novel about a New York family. It’s a bit sad, but the themes that run through the story are universal and interesting.
I really enjoyed the story of this novel, and loved that a lot of it takes place in the neighborhood that I live and work. My main complaint is that it was a bit hard to follow. It was difficult keeping the characters straight -- they all had kind of bland names and not many distinguishing characteristics. It also jumps back and forth in time too much. Both chapter by chapter, but also within the chapters too, paragraph to paragraph. The timeline was difficult to follow, and that made it hard to keep wanting to pick it up, but I’m glad I stuck it through because the ending is lovely and surprising.
I would recommend for anyone who is looking for a quiet novel about a New York family. It’s a bit sad, but the themes that run through the story are universal and interesting.
February 4, 2016
Hold Still by Lynn Steger Strong tells the story of the complex relationship between a mother and daughter. The backdrop is New York, from Park Slope to Columbia, and the novel is peppered with family members and friends. Maya, the mother, has an old friend who figures into the narrative bringing more to the plot and taking us to the beach in Florida. The novel speaks to all that it takes to being a mother in contemporary times. It is a painful, frustrating and quietly joyful book. You will find yourself nodding as events and feelings unfold that are universal in our struggle to be more than just survivors.
Read
March 23, 2016English professor Maya sends her twenty-something daughter Ellie to Florida to look after a friend's child. She does so in the hopes that it will help Ellie become more grounded and responsible. But then a devastating event occurs, and Maya and Ellie's relationship is irreparably changed. Told before and after the event, Hold Still is a heartbreaking story of a mother and her daughter trying to work their way back toward one another after tragedy. A most impressive debut!
Tune in to our weekly podcast dedicated to all things new books, All The Books: http://bookriot.com/category/all-the-...
Tune in to our weekly podcast dedicated to all things new books, All The Books: http://bookriot.com/category/all-the-...
September 22, 2016
Big disappointment, despite the blurb of recommendation by Richard Ford. The characters were so spoiled and self-indulgent that I had no way to relate to them. The narrative flow was a pain after a while with all the before and after. All the main characters were confused and confusing, with ambivalent and neurotic motivation all about them. The secondary characters were so two dimensional as to be laughable, especially the husband. We know the kid, the unlovable brat that he is, dies, but we have to continue to the last page, good grief, to find out he drowns but wasn't chopped into pieces by this stupid, spoiled teenager ...
August 9, 2017
Hold Still confronts an incredible tragedy. With taut prose and an attentive, compassionate eye Lynn Steger Strong unravels the many causes and conditions that lead up to that life-shattering day. Her Brooklyn family is entirely believable, and the teenager around whom the novel spins could so easily have been one of my wounded friends. She could've been me. I will hold this book in my mind for a long time.
May 29, 2022
A well-crafted novel with an emotionally satisfying ending. I enjoyed reading about a character who loves being a mother but who also craves time alone to do the work she feels called to do. She's neither a "good mother" nor a "bad mother." She's a gloriously imperfect and deeply ambivalent mother: in other words, someone who feels real.
June 20, 2020
Didn't hook my interst, dnf...
February 23, 2016
Maya is an English professor (her specialty is Woolf) dealing with her daughter Ellie's drug addiction and general disinterest with life. The daughter of two college professors, Ellie has never lived up to her familial expectations. Instead, she's drifting, experimenting, and causing her mother great angst. So Maya sends Ellie to Florida, to stay with her friend, Annie and her family: husband Stephen and five-year-old son, Jack. Annie is having her own issues with Jack and looking for some help. But Maya doesn't tell her friend all of Ellie's woes. Then one day, disaster strikes on Ellie's watch, and things will never be the same again. Now, both Ellie and Maya must confront the aftermath of their actions.
This was an interesting book. It's told in chapters that alternate between Ellie's perspective and Maya's; they also alternate in time: before the event and after. The before chapters lead right up to said event. You know generally what has happened, but not how, so it's surprisingly suspenseful for a book that's mainly about emotions and feelings. As such, the novel conveys a stressful tension immediately. It also does an excellent job of delving into the frightening ramifications of becoming a parent. How much do we influence what our kids become? We see Maya--herself so influenced by her own family situation--and then realize her own effects on Ellie. It's startling and humbling.
However, there is a little bit of a "been there, done that" feeling when reading, of experiencing yet another novel of well-off New York parents screwing up their kids. Neither Maya nor Ellie are really likable in any capacity, and while that's not a problem per se, they are harder to relate to than one would think. (Also not likable: her husband. I felt great sympathy for the younger son, Ben.) There were moments I found myself drawn to Maya, but overall, she was too distant and too horrible to really feel any connection to whatsoever. That fact that she's nearly as immature as her daughter was perhaps the point, but I'm not sure it was one I enjoyed or felt was worth making. Also, the plotlines related to Maya's teaching assistant and other friends seem odd and inserted into the story at times.
Still, it was a well-written novel and the somewhat parallel storylines of a lost and drifting mother and daughter were well-done. I'm not sure about the ending, though. In fact, for a good part of the book, I found myself wondering more about Maya's friend, Annie. I think her story might have been one I would have enjoyed more. Overall, the novel certainly makes you feel and the parenting elements resonate. But will it stay with me? I don't think so.
I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley (thank you!); it is available for U.S. publication on 3/21/16. You can check out a review of this novel and many others on my blog.
This was an interesting book. It's told in chapters that alternate between Ellie's perspective and Maya's; they also alternate in time: before the event and after. The before chapters lead right up to said event. You know generally what has happened, but not how, so it's surprisingly suspenseful for a book that's mainly about emotions and feelings. As such, the novel conveys a stressful tension immediately. It also does an excellent job of delving into the frightening ramifications of becoming a parent. How much do we influence what our kids become? We see Maya--herself so influenced by her own family situation--and then realize her own effects on Ellie. It's startling and humbling.
However, there is a little bit of a "been there, done that" feeling when reading, of experiencing yet another novel of well-off New York parents screwing up their kids. Neither Maya nor Ellie are really likable in any capacity, and while that's not a problem per se, they are harder to relate to than one would think. (Also not likable: her husband. I felt great sympathy for the younger son, Ben.) There were moments I found myself drawn to Maya, but overall, she was too distant and too horrible to really feel any connection to whatsoever. That fact that she's nearly as immature as her daughter was perhaps the point, but I'm not sure it was one I enjoyed or felt was worth making. Also, the plotlines related to Maya's teaching assistant and other friends seem odd and inserted into the story at times.
Still, it was a well-written novel and the somewhat parallel storylines of a lost and drifting mother and daughter were well-done. I'm not sure about the ending, though. In fact, for a good part of the book, I found myself wondering more about Maya's friend, Annie. I think her story might have been one I would have enjoyed more. Overall, the novel certainly makes you feel and the parenting elements resonate. But will it stay with me? I don't think so.
I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley (thank you!); it is available for U.S. publication on 3/21/16. You can check out a review of this novel and many others on my blog.
June 2, 2024
Beautifully written but so depressing!
June 8, 2016
This is one of those frustrating books that, while well-written with some really beautiful passages, is structured around the Terrible Thing That Happened which is revealed in the final four pages of the book. It is repeated throughout that the characters are tremendously brilliant, well-educated, interesting people but the central tragedy results from such utter stupidity that it is hard to take the characters seriously. Maya is a brilliant literature professor whose twenty-something daughter, Ellie, is an addict. Maya copes largely by wrapping herself in too-large sweaters, taking long runs, eating little, sleeping in her daughter's bed, clutching and caressing Woolf novels, Meanwhile, Annie's son is dealing with crippling separation anxiety and obsessions; she ignores the suggestions of his care providers, pulls him out of preschool when they suggest he be placed in special ed, and stops seeing a therapist when she mentions "spectrums and medication."
Rather than get either child the specialized care they need, it is decided Ellie should be sent to Florida to act as a kind of nanny to the little boy. This turn of events is pathetically sad but unsurprising. The addict babysitting the special needs boy ends badly. Even stranger is the characters referring to Ellie subsequently being "locked up" in rehab and how Maya needs to "get her out." This tone, that rehab is an awful punishment, seems odd The incredible nature of the characters' actions just makes this book hard to love.
Rather than get either child the specialized care they need, it is decided Ellie should be sent to Florida to act as a kind of nanny to the little boy. This turn of events is pathetically sad but unsurprising. The addict babysitting the special needs boy ends badly. Even stranger is the characters referring to Ellie subsequently being "locked up" in rehab and how Maya needs to "get her out." This tone, that rehab is an awful punishment, seems odd The incredible nature of the characters' actions just makes this book hard to love.
March 29, 2016
Oh-so-conflicted here. A lot of this book is five glorious stars--the tension never flags, the writing is adept, the structuring is impeccable--but a lot of this is two or fewer which averages out to a very basic three. I can't remember a book that pulled so many reactions out of me. Let's break it down in totally arbitrary ways that only really matter to me but that, kids, is why I use Goodreads.
NEW YORK CITY!
Five stars - yes! An actual description of the wonders of NYC, of the thrumming metropolis and all its splendors!
Two stars - another book about upper class white people who live in NYC. And who sail. And who have read fancy books. Not, in other words, plain folks.
THE CHARACTERS!
Five stars - yes! Nuance! Depth! A rather large cast altogether!
One star - a bunch of upper class white people! And also--no one talks like this. Lovely drama and I'd watch the hell out of this miniseries, but everyone (especially the older women, Maya and Laura and Annie) were way too quick to pontificate. Yes, it's fiction, but for a story that wants to be realistic, the monologues were super unbelievable.
THE PLOT!
Five stars - BALANCING DUAL TIMELINES which kept me flipping pages. I almost gave up and didn't which is an inverted kind of praise but praise nonetheless.
One star - SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER below
The big reveal?! "It was a riptide."
THE WRITING!
Five stars - again, so tense! What will happen? Who did what? Will anyone be saved or redeemed in the end?
One star - Strong loves to put her characters in restaurants. This was an almost clinical blend of introspection/scene/introspection. I could see the workmanship, and while it was adept, it wasn't exciting. And some of the descriptions of meals--a line about asparagus comes to mind--were outright laughable.
THE WOMEN
Five stars - Just - yes. Yes. All of this hits so hard. Motherhood and sexuality and and and--
One star - Everyone is unreasonably attractive and the dual climax (literally) reduces these women unfairly.
Yes, this is a book worth reading and I think I'll revisit it someday. However, there was a lot that detracted--this book isn't anything terrifically new and veered precariously close to a lot of what I call "lady thrillers" (wayward daughter, beleaguered mother, a death!). Still, a smart and capable novel that I'm happy I read.
NEW YORK CITY!
Five stars - yes! An actual description of the wonders of NYC, of the thrumming metropolis and all its splendors!
Two stars - another book about upper class white people who live in NYC. And who sail. And who have read fancy books. Not, in other words, plain folks.
THE CHARACTERS!
Five stars - yes! Nuance! Depth! A rather large cast altogether!
One star - a bunch of upper class white people! And also--no one talks like this. Lovely drama and I'd watch the hell out of this miniseries, but everyone (especially the older women, Maya and Laura and Annie) were way too quick to pontificate. Yes, it's fiction, but for a story that wants to be realistic, the monologues were super unbelievable.
THE PLOT!
Five stars - BALANCING DUAL TIMELINES which kept me flipping pages. I almost gave up and didn't which is an inverted kind of praise but praise nonetheless.
One star - SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER below
The big reveal?! "It was a riptide."
THE WRITING!
Five stars - again, so tense! What will happen? Who did what? Will anyone be saved or redeemed in the end?
One star - Strong loves to put her characters in restaurants. This was an almost clinical blend of introspection/scene/introspection. I could see the workmanship, and while it was adept, it wasn't exciting. And some of the descriptions of meals--a line about asparagus comes to mind--were outright laughable.
THE WOMEN
Five stars - Just - yes. Yes. All of this hits so hard. Motherhood and sexuality and and and--
One star - Everyone is unreasonably attractive and the dual climax (literally) reduces these women unfairly.
Yes, this is a book worth reading and I think I'll revisit it someday. However, there was a lot that detracted--this book isn't anything terrifically new and veered precariously close to a lot of what I call "lady thrillers" (wayward daughter, beleaguered mother, a death!). Still, a smart and capable novel that I'm happy I read.
May 10, 2016
This book reminded me of Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout, which happens to be one of my favorite books. Like Kitteridge, Hold Still's focus is less on the "story" and more on the characters. I love books that offer readers a glimpse into the unglamorous reality of the human condition. This book does that, but not as well as Kitteridge. As a result, I couldn't give it 5 stars. For the most part I enjoyed the characters. I found them relatable. I loved the internal battles, the indecision, the guilt. And I have to say the English Major in me adored all the literary allusions and the subtle ways the book echoed Mrs. Dalloway.
So why three stars? I just really couldn't look pass all of the, for last of a better word, "bougie" elements of the novel. It is yet another upper class white woman who lives in New York. This is isn't to say that those rich folk up there don't have their problems, but I feel like it stems from the only sort of ennui that comes from too much time and money. Is Ellie suffering from affluenza? I don't know. It really isn't my place to say or critique. It is not my book. The author has a right to create her characters as skinny and as athletic in whatever socioeconomic status she likes, but I also have a right as a reader to be somewhat disenchanted.
Alas, I enjoyed the book. It was good and it held my interest, but if you're look for something that strays from the status quo, keep looking.
So why three stars? I just really couldn't look pass all of the, for last of a better word, "bougie" elements of the novel. It is yet another upper class white woman who lives in New York. This is isn't to say that those rich folk up there don't have their problems, but I feel like it stems from the only sort of ennui that comes from too much time and money. Is Ellie suffering from affluenza? I don't know. It really isn't my place to say or critique. It is not my book. The author has a right to create her characters as skinny and as athletic in whatever socioeconomic status she likes, but I also have a right as a reader to be somewhat disenchanted.
Alas, I enjoyed the book. It was good and it held my interest, but if you're look for something that strays from the status quo, keep looking.
October 6, 2015
This is a sad story of a mother and daughter. How good intentions can go so badly that life as you know it disappears. Maya loves her daughter Elle and hopes a job babysitting will build her confidence. Each chapter is headed with a date either before or after the accident. That's good or you would have difficulty with he storyline. The characters are so real they could be your neighbor or friends. I feel or the husband and son, their story is real too.
April 4, 2016
A disquieting slim novel about blame and guilt explored from each member of this middle class family's point of view.The teenage daughter,due to her "experimenting" with life, is sent off to Florida to live with her friend's family and young son, but an accident happens that turns the tides so that healing becomes very difficult. Alternating in past and present time, the palpable tension is quietly effective as one explores family bonds and the question of forgiveness.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 171 reviews