Hold Fast

by Blue Balliett

From NYT bestselling author Blue Balliett, the story of a girl who falls into Chicago's shelter system, and from there must solve the mystery of her father's strange disappearance.

Where is Early's father? He's not the kind of father who would disappear. But he's gone . . . and he's left a whole lot of trouble behind.

As danger closes in, Early, her mom, and her brother have to flee their apartment. With nowhere else to go, they are forced to move into a city shelter. Once there, Early starts asking questions and looking for answers. Because her father hasn't disappeared without a trace. There are patterns and rhythms to what's happened, and Early might be the only one who can use them to track him down and make her way out of a very tough place.

With her signature, singular love of language and sense of mystery, Blue Balliett weaves a story that takes readers from the cold, snowy Chicago streets to the darkest corner of the public library, on an unforgettable hunt for deep truths and a reunited family.

Genres: Mystery, Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Family, Young Adult, Childrens

288 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2013

About the author

I was born in New York City and grew up playing in Central Park, getting my share of scraped knees, and riding many public buses and subways. By the time I was a teenager, I sometimes stopped at the Metropolitan Museum of Art or the Frick Museum after school, just to wander and look and think. The Met has five Vermeer paintings and the Frick three, so Vermeer and I have been friends for many years.
After studying art history in college, I moved to Nantucket Island, in Massachusetts, in order to write. I surprised myself by writing two books of ghost stories, stories collected by interviewing people. My husband and I met and were married on Nantucket, lived there year-round for another 10 years, and had our two children there.
When our kids started school, we moved to Chicago. I began teaching 3rd grade at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. One year my class and I decided to figure out what art was about. We asked many questions, visited many museums in the city, and set off a number of alarms — by mistake, of course.
In writing Chasing Vermeer, I wanted to explore the ways kids perceive connections between supposedly unrelated events and situations, connections that grown-ups often miss. Given the opportunity, kids can ask questions that help them to think their way through tough problems that adults haven’t been able to figure out — problems like the theft of a Vermeer painting!
In The Wright 3, I play with questions about architecture as art, the preservation of old buildings, and Frank Lloyd Wright’s legacy. I wanted to continue exploring controversial ideas within the three-dimensional art world. We need kids to develop into powerful, out-of-the-box thinkers, now more than ever. I believe in making trouble — of the right kind.
My third book, The Calder Game, takes place in a small community in England, a 1,000-year-old town that I visited while on a book tour. I had a wonderful time writing this book. I had to do lots of eavesdropping, poking around, tiptoeing through graveyards, and climbing walls, and then there was all the Cadbury chocolate I had to eat. Alexander Calder's work is art for any age. I first saw his sculpture when I was 9 years old, in a show at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. It was art but it was magic, and it left me hungry for more. This, I'm sure, was the beginning of my belief that art is about adventure.
Blue Balliett grew up in New York City and attended Brown University. She and her family now live in Chicago, within walking distance of Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House. Balliett's books have now appeared in 34 languages. Warner Bros. Pictures has acquired the film rights to Chasing Vermeer.

Reviews

[jv poore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Step back, Wonder Woman, I have a new heroine in Early Pearl. Captivating, courageous and thoughtful, this spunky eleven year old is simply amazing. Throughout this story, Early’s soft, quiet determination, fueled by hope alone, astounds. And what a story this is.

A mystery of epic proportions unwinds quickly, enveloping the entire Pearl family. From an outsider’s view, it may appear that this family of four is down on their luck; but the love, admiration and respect that they share for each other is a true treasure that eludes so many.

While Dash’s job in a Chicago Public Library may barely cover the bills, it is the right place for him. This is confirmed when he has a chance to make extra money on the side by simply cataloguing old books. Stumbling onto an original print of the Langston Hughes’ The First Book of Rhythms inexplicably sets off a whirlwind of events.

With Dash missing, their tiny one-room apartment broken into and trashed, forced to move into a shelter while being dismissed by the police; the Pearl family seemingly has no reason to hope. Early refuses to let her family down. The lengths that Early would go to while valiantly trying to solve the mystery of her father’s disappearance deeply affected this reader.

Although this would be more than enough for one young girl to tackle, the compassion and empathy that fill Early do not allow her to focus on only this goal. Rather, her acquaintances and her new life in the shelter give her ideas bigger than any she could have imagined. Her tireless efforts to make a difference not just for the small Pearl family right now; but for shelter kids in the future are beyond admirable.

Ms. Balliett’s shares Early’s tale with such phenomenal presentation that the book-steeped mystery becomes almost secondary, in the way that the lyrics to a beloved song fade into the background when sung in a haunting, melodious voice.

I fully admit to feeling somewhat guilty while reading this book; as if I was getting more than I deserved….I got the chocolate and vanilla twist in a waffle cone, when really, I only should have gotten only a small vanilla one. I can’t fathom how a mere human is capable of writing, incorporating so many layers, in sneakily simple prose. Possibly, this book was created by a magic that only Ms. Balliett can harness and control, or maybe Ms. Balliett herself has super-powers, either way, she has a new fan in me!

This review was originally written for Buried Under Books Blog.

[Betsy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I honestly don't think you can be a reviewer without being honest about your own personal prejudices first. When I pick up a book for children I have to cut through a thick swath of issues infecting my brain that may have little to nothing to do with the book in hand. Maybe I was forced to read Stuart Little when I was a child and that's why I've never liked animal fantasies. Maybe a poorly constructed sports novel burned a small hole in my soul and that's why this particular baseball novel isn't ringing true to me. You have to own up right from the start to what makes you tick as a reviewer. So that's what I'm going to do with Blue Balliett's book Hold Fast. Here are the facts of the matter. I have read two other books of Ms. Balliett's in the past and they were not to my taste. That's fact number one. Fact number two is that when I am disappointed in a book it makes me even more critical of the title than would be normal for me. So read on if you like, but bear in mind that these two facts are at the forefront of this very review. I read Hold Fast by Blue Balliett. I did not much care for it.

Sum, Dash, Early and Jubie. Four people in a single family. Take away one of them? Disaster. That's how Early feels when her beloved father Dash disappears one night on his way home from the library. The police are willing to believe that he's just another deadbeat dad but Early knows better. Surely his disappearance has something to do with a side job he got at the library. And what's the connection to those scary men who threatened her family, forcing them to seek help in one of Chicago's many shelters? Though she's just a kid, Early is determined to solve the mystery for the sake of her little brother Jubie, her seriously depressed mom Sum, and the father who might be out there needing her help.

You might wonder why I would suck on such bitter disappointment with this book right from the get-go when, as I've already stated, it wasn't as if my expectations were high to begin with. But you see my expectations were high. Not because of the author necessarily, but because of the description of the plot. I work in the ultimate urban library system: New York City. I see middle grade books for kids waltz through my library's doors every single solitary day. Sheer hoards of books are published for children in a given year. Now recount for me all the titles you can think of off the top of your head that deal with the shelter system. Not the foster care system (though that genre could certainly use a kick in the pants as well) but the kids and adults caught up in shelters. In all my years of librarianship I can tell you honestly that I have never read a single solitary middle grade novel, or picture book for that matter, that dared to explain, explore, or inhabit the world of shelters. The children living there might as well not exist for all that they don't show up in books. So for Ms. Balliett to research and throw herself heart and soul into a book that dares to explore this remarkable topic is to her credit. For that alone she should be commended. And had I not read the book I could have left it at that. But I did read the book. That is where the trouble started.

I recently wrote a post on my blog decrying the lack of African-American male protagonists in middle grade novels (particularly in the publishing year 2013). Balliett's protagonist is female, but that's fine and dandy with me. As much as we need boys, we need girls just as much. I've never had a problem with an author writing about a character outside their own race. Do your research and avoid the obvious pitfalls and you'll have my support. "Hold Fast" starts out fine in this respect. The family lives lower-income lives (in part, perhaps, due to Summer's crippling and understandably untreated depression), just about scraping by until tragedy knocks them flat. But once they entered the shelter my hackles began to raise. With the exception of Summer and an older woman they meet in the shelter with grown children, almost every mother encountered in this book threatens her children with beatings, beltings, slaps, hits, and other forms of physical punishment. About the third time it happened I was getting worried. What precisely are we trying to say here? The rare mom who doesn't hit her kids is either sunk in depression or gets carted off for drug possession. Is this really what we want to say about the African-American women caught in Chicago's shelter system? I understand that such physicality occurs, but the frequency went beyond mere personality quirk to commentary. And not a commentary I necessarily want kids to read.

Then there was the small difficulty of Dash's personality. There is a thin line between the joyous father figure character that supports his children's hopes and dreams, inspiring them along the way, and a character that speaks almost entirely in platitudes. Dash might have been able to take a page out of the book of Ratchet's father in This Journal Belongs to Ratchet by Nancy Cavanaugh. A fellow 2013 publication, Ratchet's dad bears much in common with Dash. Both men have high aspirations for a better world and speak truth to power. Both enjoy wordplay. But while Ratchet's dad speaks in platitudes on a regular basis, he has a personality above and beyond his aphorisms. More to the point, he has some major character flaws. Dash, in stark contrast, feels less like a real flesh-and-blood human and more like a stand-in for an idea. The self-made man who quotes Langston Hughes is a caricature if not reigned in continually. Dash, unfortunately, is never given any flaws except an excess of misplaced trust in his fellow man. I wanted someone real to worry about. Instead, all I had was a symbol.

That Early has a bit of a Pollyanna in her is almost a necessary character quality. When you're so beaten down you find yourself trapped without seeing any hope in your situation, you need some kind of inner strength to carry on. She has it in droves, and mostly as a character she worked for me. There were, however, two exception to this. The first was a sequence where Early introduces the joy of reading to the other kids in the shelter. It's an old-fashioned "reading is fun" portion of the book that didn't feel right at all. It contained honest-to-goodness lines like, "It's so fun, like seeing a movie with popcorn, only better, because it stays in your head as long as you want it to and then you can go back and see parts of it again!" Like an after school special had walked into what was otherwise a rather realistic novel. Then there were Early's interrogation skills. Even a willing sense of disbelief must raise a skeptical eyebrow when a kid asking a grown person questions in conjunction with a crime can make that adult sweat profusely and quail under their directness. That one was a bit hard to buy.

What kills me is that there is so much to potentially enjoy in this book. The idea of using the definition of words as a way of finding clues? That's fun! The section that rightly points out that it was, "as if you weren't 100 percent human when you came into the police station on the wrong side of the front desk. If you were upset, it was unreasonable. If you had a question, it could wait. Just the fact that you were there seemed like a strike against you." That's good writing. And that's what kills me. So much of this book works. What sinks it is that the parts that don't work REALLY don't work and the bad weighs down the good. If I can't believe in my characters then I can't believe in a book. My favorite character in Hold Fast ended up being the setting. In terms of a sense of place, Balliett can't be beat. You are there. You are with her. You are trapped even as her characters are trapped. But you're prevented from completely identifying with them. The end result is that you still end up learning a lot about the shelters and the people in them, despite the actual plot. And maybe, in a way, that's a success that makes the whole book worth it in the end. However you chose to look at it, the bones of Hold Fast could be called strong. It's the excess that keeps it from reaching what could have been its full potential.

[Lara · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were things about this book that I really liked, but there were more things about it that...really bothered me.

First of all, none of the characters felt like real people to me; I just didn't find them believable, and that made it really hard to connect with them. And all the Langston Hughes and Word Book stuff and...just the way the main characters in the story talk about books and reading really got in the way for me, and just came across as pandering to adults who love books about books and words and libraries--to me, anyway. I'm all for authors portraying kids who love those things, but this...felt way too forced.

As for the plot, it seemed to me that maybe Balliett was trying to do too much here. I could see the storyline about the missing father and the diamond heist being pretty interesting and fun on its own, and I think that the storyline about a family ending up in a homeless shelter in Chicago and what that's like and how they deal with it could also be really interesting and powerful. But with both those plot elements mixed up together, it felt...watered down and messy to me. And the ending seemed really weak.

It ended up just not really working for me, as much as I wanted to enjoy it. I've heard good things about some of Baillot's other work though, so I'm willing to give her another try at some point. This one just wasn't for me though.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blue Balliett is one of the best children's authors writing today. Her characters are always well developed and worthy of great admiration. In this latest novel, Hold Fast, reading is front and center as the glue that holds together a family of four living on the poor in Chicago, and it is reading, with a major emphasis on Langston Hughes, that is their hope for survival when 11-year-old Early Pearl's father disappears and she ends up in a shelter with her mother and 4-year-old brother. Early must use all she learned about language and its rhythms from her father Dash to try and save her family and find her father. As usual, Balliett enchants the reader with the beauty and power of language. And along with an intriguing story full of words and mystery, the author throws the door wide on the problem of homelessness and the children who suffer daily because of it. Books that make you look at your own life differently are the best, most lasting kind of reading, and Blue Balliett has given us the gift of Hold Fast to touch hearts and impact lives.

[Shoshana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite being a word person, I actually found the very poetry-ish, word play nature of the writing to be distracting and difficult to plow through. Maybe because I'm word-ish, but not poetry-ish. Regardless. I was really pulled in by the plot, and loved the focus on homelessness - not an issue you see at ALL often in children's literature. I often found myself wishing there was a little less hobnobbing with rhymes and rhythms, and more plot/issue focus. That said, I'm aware I'm probably in the (adult) minority and I can understand why. Objectively, I can see how the writing was really lovely, it just wasn't for me.

THAT SAID, I think it'll be a hard sell to kids, considering the writing style. I think some kids will love it, but definitely on the older end of middle. I'm all for not dumbing down to kids, but I worry this one may have too much extraneous stuff that's difficult to navigate. But, to be fair, maybe that's just 'cause I found it tricky.

[Ann Haefele · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had mixed feelings about this story as I wasn't sure if the author intended it to be a story about a family living in a homeless shelter or a mystery involving books, libraries, and diamonds. The setting of a homeless shelter in Chicago was compelling and I would give five stars to that part of the book, but the mystery part seemed confusing, a bit implausible and above the intended audience's (early middle school/upper elem) head. Twelve year old Early and her younger brother and mother end up in a shelter after their father disappears and their apt is broken into and ruined. Early spends her days in the shelter attempting to figure out the patterns and rhythms of the clues she tracks down relating to her father's disappearance. Along the way she makes some strong connections with adults and children in the shelter where she is staying. The writing style of this book is unique in that each chapter starts with one word, which is defined as both a noun and a verb on the beginning chapter page. Example: Click...noun: a brief sharp sound sometimes traced to a mechanical device... Verb: to select, to become a success, to fit seamlessly together. Each chapter is then written around that beginning word.

[Donalyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved so many things about this book: the characters; the exaltation of reading, books, and libraries; the frank portrayals of homeless children's lives. I thought the plot stretched credibility at times, and I struggled to determine what child would enjoy this book. I plan to pass Hold Fast to one of my adventurous student readers and see what she thinks.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am sketching out a list of “important juvenile fiction books and authors.” You should know that I think books and writers are important period, but this list is for those who place intimate conversations of a social and creative consciousness into the hands of young people. Blue Balliett is located with indelible ink on this list. With Hold Fast, Balliett has used her considerable gift to not only pen a compelling mystery, but to raise awareness for the plight of our homeless children. She also returns with her signature take on the brilliance of young minds. If you’ve read Balliett, you understand how singular she is, and she just keeps getting better and better.

Meet the Pearls:

[...]

Dashel’s love of reading and words with meaning is infectious. The family keeps notebooks of quotes and words. He tells his children, “words are everywhere and for everyone […] words are free and plentiful” (6); and they are empowering. Dash also shares his love of Langston Hughes. “What’s the rhythm, Langston?” is often heard. Dash, adopted as a baby and then lost those parents young, grew up in a number of foster homes. “He didn’t have a parent or grandparent to give him advice, but Langston seemed to do just as well. […] Dash had told Early that this famous poet was a rainbow mix, too, like Sum and probably Dash himself: Langston had African American, white, Jewish, and Native American roots. And, like Dash, Langston had grown up without much love or a steady home” (87). Hughes spoke often of dreams and their importance, and this spoke to the Pearls.

When Dash goes missing the readers are equally unsure what might’ve happened to him. It doesn’t look good even before his disappearance is complicated by the arrival of criminals breaking-into the Pearl’s home in a pretty scary sequence that leaves Sum, Early and Jubie without wallet or home. We are quickly introduced to the everyday realities of families who haven’t had it as good as the Pearl’s. The neighbor lady (whom they only know by sight) and others are surprised by Sum’s ignorance of how to navigate social rescue/welfare organizations and numbers. Worse is when profiling really kicks in by our greater institutions—and noticeably not by the homeless shelter workers.

[...]

It is of interest that the mother’s realization is expressed well after Early’s experience at school where children can be really cruel and adults can be inept. Children see and know more than they are often credited. And their resilience is not an excuse to continue to ignore their vulnerabilities.

The novel clings to the compassionate as it collides with the hardness of people and life. Balliett moves the reader in thoughtful ways, using the mystery and Early’s youth and smarts to guide the reader through a book that refuses to look away from its subjects. I love how authors employ humor to counter-weigh the complex and often ugly moments of a book, but I savor and admire the juvenile fiction author who can rely on other, rarer, charms. Balliett threads hope to counter-weigh, she employs a light, and this is a different smile, and it comes before the story’s end.

The structure of the novel is of import to the pacing of its heart-felt, brain-felt 274 pages. The Pearls, we learn, keep a notebook of onomatopoeia. The chapters (but for the first and last) are named after “C” words that are onomatopoeia. Each have smaller sections that begin with each word and hold thematically. The breaks move and relieve the reader along a linear timeline of the 3rd-person limited variety. We follow Early who uses words and rhythms in ways the book demonstrates. Each of those “C” words come with definitions where in the chapters reiterate their meaning. Early shares words, the author introduces each character with the intention of their names. Dashel “Dash” (p 15) increases with significance in characterization—and in light of the title: Hold Fast. And of course, that opening definition and intention that opens the novel grounds everything:

[...]

According to the “Acknowledgment” at the end of the book (after p 274), Balliett did a lot of research, talked to a lot of people. The novel would portray a sense of what homelessness would look like for Early and her mother and brother, and touch on the experiences of other’s situations with equal gravity. Some of the compositions are stark, others strongly inferred, and all of it touching.

“Facts on the homeless vary, depending on what you read and how statistics are collected and presented. Shelter rules also vary. Not to be questioned, however, are the harsh realities of homelessness. Sadly, they have nothing to do with fiction.”

I mentioned hope, and one such beacon is Early. Early keeps her head up, and both her self-awareness and the awareness of her surroundings is necessary to this hope-fullness. Aged 11, Early is a creative force to be reckoned with—though I have no reason to believe she is unique in her ability rise up against the hardships that would hold her down. She relies on the hope of seeing her father and rightly believes in her ability in solving the mystery of his disappearance. She has doubts, which coincide with the reader’s, artfully instigated by the clever author. But she has notions that keep her going, that enquiring eye of hers searching out rhythms, patterns, riddles and connections to be solved, or at the very least contemplated. We have the mystery unfolding to keep us turning pages, but time is harder on Early and she needs more than the mystery to balance out despair. Enter the energizing effect of a creative energy that empowers and enlists hope and fits snugly into the import of holding fast to our ability to dream.

Enlightened by her situation, head-up and engaged, Early starts to notice, to really look at people (thinking of Waive) and her surroundings—and to question

[...]

There are some points in the novel that are especially difficult. One is what and how much Summer (the mother) leaves to and confides in Early. In a lot of ways it is necessary in informing Early and the reader for the sake of the plot. But it also points to Balliett’s bold consistency of character and allowing for that kind of discomfort. Jubie is 4 and a product of the environs of those 4 years; this adds incredible tension. As for Early and Summer: children in tough circumstances grow up quickly at the loss of childhood, and (no matter how good a parent) the grief and depression of an adult after the loss of a loved-one takes a toll. Summer is left very much alone, the family alienated of relatives and community. Add the burden of societally placed barriers and inconsistencies and there is a lot of unfairness to pass around. There are plenty of places in which we could intervene. Hold Fast relays grim realities even as it models a compassion toward those too oft robbed of the dignity of its reception. Compassion is a first step.

[...]

Balliet’s incorporation of such impacting artists and their translation into such intimate spaces, such as a young person’s mind, provides an incalculable worth to her novels. Balliet writes good mysteries, mysteries with unexpected textures, with complexities that make for a rich and rewarding read. I love how empowered and inspired her young protagonists are towards using all of their selves creatively and determinedly.

I find Balliet entertaining, but I acknowledge that a lot of the thrill comes from admiring her craftiness. But does “entertaining” necessarily translate as “mindless?” There are plenty of fluffy reads to excite many a reader and they hold a place, but I do hope those many find a more challenging read, an important book now and again that gifts an awareness that makes us a better human.

recommendation: ages 8-13, boys & girls, would be nice to read w/ a grown-up and plan some sort of service project, to say nothing of penning dreams and starting notebooks. for the creative-minded (aka anyone); for bibliophiles; the impact of word, book, libraries, teachers, and poets is awesome in Hold Fast.

of note: it would be tempting to refer Balliett books to those kids who have tested into gifted programs, whether it be reading, writing, math and/or spatial…or any who benefit from atypical curriculum. but one of the many things that impresses me with Balliett’s books, is how you can pick out adults who believe in the potential of the child protagonist and invest in them, sharing their time, intellect, creative play… In honor of Balliett, I wouldn’t dare underestimate any child’s needs or abilities. I would encourage and child (and adult) to give one of her novels a go. Hold Fast is as good as any a starting place.

L (omphaloskepsis)
full rev w/ quotes: http://contemplatrix.wordpress.com/20...

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Early lives in a warm and loving family. Her father Dash is a lover of words and word games. Her mother Sum and little brother Jubie make up the total of four in their family. But when Dash gets involved in something shady, their loving family becomes three. Then people raid their home, breaking down the door and they are forced to head to a shelter without knowing where Dash is or how he will find them again in the big city of Chicago. Early finds she has to be the strong one as her mother begins to falter and her brother is so little. Shelter life is difficult and it takes Early some time to realize that she is in the middle of a mystery that she can help solve.

Balliett demonstrates her own love of words and wordplay throughout this novel. Told in beautiful prose, she writes poetically about the city she loves, the beauty of snow, and the power of family. She incorporates wordplay through her protagonist, who looks at words the way her father taught her to. Many times words sound like what they are, points out Balliett, and just reading this book will have readers seeing words in a new way.

Balliett also introduces young readers to the poetry of Langston Hughes. One of his books is at the heart of not only the mystery of the book but at the heart of the family. As Hughes muses on dreams and their importance, both Early and the reader are able to see his words and understand them deeply.

The aspect of the homeless shelter and the difficulties the family and Early face there is an important one. Balliett is obviously making a point with her book, sometimes too obviously. There are also some issues with plotting, with the book dragging at points and struggling to move forward. That aside, the writing is stellar and the characters strong.

Another fine offering from Balliett, get this one into the hands of her fans. It will also be great choice for reading aloud in classrooms with its wordplay and strong African-American characters and family. Appropriate for ages 9-12.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing read that makes you look at the world and people differently. In all honesty, I almost abandoned this book. The beginning was confusing and choppy to me. However, I am so glad I stuck with it. Hold Fast is a beautiful, multi-faceted book about a family who becomes homeless and moves into a shelter. The genre is tricky; it's a combination of realistic fiction and mystery. I particularly enjoyed the realistic fiction. Blue Balliett, the author, does a tremendous job portraying the hardships a family would encounter living in a homeless shelter. I truly loved the main character, Early. She was a delight! A favorite quote from Early's mother, Summer, "'Reading is a tool no one can take away. A million bad things may happen in life and it will still be with you, like a flashlight that never needs a battery. Reading can offer a crack of light on the blackest of nights'"(166). I'm hesitant any elementary students would be interested in reading this book. This is a book I would recommend to older, more sophisticated students. In addition, this would be a great book for discussion in a children's literature class.

[Dana Grimes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't sure, based on many reviews I read, if I would like this one but as it turns out I did. I listened to the audiobook and loved the word play and "rhythms" throughout the story. The story was different and while the plot was far-fetched, it was still interesting and enjoyable. I loved the setting of inner city Chicago and the depiction of shelter life.

As to some of the negative reviews I've read here's what I think...some people complained that this book panders to librarians. I think that an author is more than welcome to write any character and shouldn't be concerned that a librarian might read it and feel pandered to, that is absurd. Secondly, Balliett has always been clever and interested in intellectual mystery and word play so this is nothing new for her (but her characters are now different...is that the problem some had?) Also, one character is an adult man trying to support a family on a basically minimum-wage job and so what if he wants a Library degree? How is this infuriating? If you work in a library, love your job, but don't yet have the degree of course you would want one, especially if it might mean financial security. Lastly, my kids also listened to this audiobook (I had it on in the kitchen) and they loved it. In fact both have asked to listen to it again all the way through in their rooms, and neither of them are "kids who love words".

I love a happy ending and a hopeful story and I love the idea that where you come from and where you are do not define you. There are amazing minds in every corner of this earth and we shouldn't feel that it is unbelievable when it comes from the unexpected.

[Betsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book: a unique setting (homeless shelters in Chicago--not many of THOSE books floating around), a mystery (I'm a big mystery fan), and a library employee (I'm a wannabee).

But this novel just didn't work for me. It's not a bad read, and no doubt there middle grades students who will enjoy it. I appreciate the unique aspects of the setting and thought the shelter scenes were done well as was the portrayal of the family's experience being homeless in general. Well done.

But the reason they were IN the shelter? And how they managed to get OUT of that lifestyle? Just a little too much for me to swallow. I'm honestly not sure what didn't fit/work: Dash's character? The means Early uses to figure out the mystery? The mystery set-up itself? Or the "clues" throughout that were intentionally vague?

All in all, it felt like Balliett was trying too hard to write this book and make it what it was. I've heard good things about

Chasing Vermeer and am curious to know if it's a similar read....

[Travis Niemeyer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel oddly left out, like I missed something in this book that everyone else saw. I really wanted to enjoy this book because I've enjoyed Blue Balliet's book before. However, I had difficulty getting into the characters and found little that advanced the plot. I felt that the author tried to suggest would-be villains but they never progressed past a passing comment. Finally, I found the ending anti-climatic. Maybe I just expected too much, but it certainly fell short of Balliet's previous works.

[Irene · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet and touching book about family. Loved the sentences throughout the mystery. And yes, I did expect this from a classic book.

[Sylvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A shout out to B.H. for recommending this one to me. Hold Fast by Blue Balliett is the story of the Pearl family. Early Pearl is the insightful, thoughtful, and inquisitive 5th grade protagonist. One day her dad who works at a Chicago Public Library is on an errand after work when he disappears. This tightly knit family doesn’t know what to do without Dash (the father). Soon after his disappearance, they barely escape a dangerous encounter with some not so friendly people. They are forced to flee their home and end up in a shelter. This book tells the story of how Early calls upon her love for words and rhythm that her dad taught her as she tries to figure out what happened to her dad. Their love for Langston Hughes and his writing helps guide her on this journey. I appreciated this book for many reasons - the brave bookworm of a protagonist, the poetry sprinkled throughout, the reality of being homeless juxtaposed with the beauty of courage, the family’s love of words and each other...I could go on. I highly recommend this book for 3rd grade and up. Helping kids my age see even a snapshot of the realities of what it means to be homeless and even how it can happen to so many people after one horrible moment makes this novel even more important. Beautifully written and so engaging!

[Aiden Schierlman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was really good at depiction of events surrounding the characters. The four characters have this sort of vision of a happy life, and I like the idea of a disaster strike, separating the family. It has a great storyline, telling them through noise and visuals, and a great ending, giving a recognition of their reunion. It's great, but the book seemed to unfortunately go downhill towards the ending. The addition of some weird heist surrounding diamonds was such an odd choice, considering all of the build up, and it ended so suddenly after Early gave instructions to Velma. After that, the story was basically over, there was no realistic climax, just someone in fifth grade somehow managing to do a better job than police officers. The message of this book, however, is what gives it its own style. The idea of describing a shelter in the detail done in this book paints a better picture for a problem that is still going on today. It's stated at the end of the book that "On any given night in the United States, close to a million children and adults find themselves without an address or a front door to call their own" (Balliett, 275), and I personally believe that the true message was to share how bad homelessness truly is. I liked the book, but the intent of the book is why I enjoyed it.

[Adair Sheppard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic mystery novel that I would recommend for advanced 4th graders, 5th graders, or even middle schoolers. It is full of rich text and vocabulary, as well as content that would be much better suited for upper elementary grades. This is a story about a boy and girl who's father goes missing after being wrapped up in a international diamond heist scandal unknowingly. As a result the kids and their mother have no financial support and they end up in a Chicago homeless shelter in the middle of winter, with no knowledge of where their father is. The main character, Early (4th grader), has to adjust to a school and a new life inside a homeless shelter, all while trying to find and prove her father innocent. I would use this book in my class to incorporate culturally relevant pedagogy and vocabulary. I would also use this to have students answer prompts such as "What do you think will happen next?" or "How would you feel if this was you?" This was a wow book for me because of how beautifully written it is, Blue Balliet has a way of creating beautiful images with words and say such rich phrases that made me really stop and think. I would love to use this book with my students to start discussions about homelessness and loss and I think they would be really wowed as well.

[Marie (UK) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a middle grade children's book that I came across for a reading challenge. As such it doesn't really require much reading for the adult and is a very quick story line. I can imagine it works very well for the 9 - 11 year old who gets a likeable mystery alongside building knowledge. I also think it will be well liked by teachers

[Anthony Buck · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really didn't like this. I found it excessively long, very overwritten and clumsy. My 10yo gave up after 50 pages and my 7yo after 10 which is very unusual for both of them. Can't recommend unfortunately.

[Cristine Braddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect for kids (and adults) that love heartfelt characters with a puzzle to solve. Early does not disappoint as the young protagonist solving the puzzle around her father’s disappearance. Watch how her father, Dash, has prepared her for this moment. Early rises to the occasion as the young sleuth.

[Mary Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blue Balliett centers her most recent book around the rhythms and themes of Langston's Hughes poetry, but the story is firmly rooted in today's urban American landscape. Balliet's novel touched me - it's a powerful, emotional story of the way a young girl tenaciously holds fast to her dreams, in the face of terrible circumstances.

One bitterly cold winter afternoon, Early Pearl's father disappears. One minute Dash is riding his bike home from work, and the next he is gone, without a trace. As eleven-year old Early, her brother and mother reel from the news, their apartment is ransacked and they are suddenly on the run without any money.

With nowhere else to go, the Pearls seek refuge in one of Chicago's homeless shelters. Early is certain that her father is still alive and that if she pays attention to the clues, she will be able to find him. Through it all, she is steadfast in her certainty that she needs to hold fast to her father's dream that they are a family that will survive.

Balliett tells her story through Early's point of view, and I slipped into her perspective right away. I loved the way Early thought about situations, turning them over in her mind to look at them from all angles. I loved, loved the way she thought about words. Here's just one of my favorite examples:

"What happened at 4:44 on that grim January day was wrong. Wrong was the perfect sound for what the word meant: It was heavy, achingly slow, clearly impossible to erase. Wrong. The word had a cold, northern root as old as the Vikings.

Where was Dash? How could he have vanished into that icy, freezing moment?" (p. 23-24, ARC)

Balliett's writing is imbued with rhythm, description and meaning -- in a way that got right to my heart. Balliett shares with her readers her love of language, of words, of ideas. But she shares much more. She shares her hope and optimism that even in hard times, we can hold fast to our dreams. Through Early's story, she gives a face to homelessness, making sure that readers think about what it would be like to suddenly lose everything. It might seem cliched to talk about giving a face to a problem, but I was struck by how easy it was for the police to ignore the Pearl family.

There are certainly some flaws to this book. Part of me liked how names had significance (I chuckled when I figured out that Lyman Scrubs was a liar), but part of me found it too obvious. The international crime ring that Dash became innocently involved with seemed stereotyped, a bit out of a James Bond or Tom Cruise movie. And I never, ever figured out Skip Waive's roll (or name). But, I completely agree with the Booklist review:

"But what’s wonderful about this book, overshadowing the plot flaws, is the way Balliett so thoroughly gets inside the mind of a child accustomed to love and protection—and who now sees her life slipping away. Sadness and stoicism mingle freely in ways that will pierce all readers. Early is a clever heroine, and her smarts are enhanced by the poetry of Langston Hughes, which ripples beautifully through the story and infuses it with hope."

Hold Fast is getting positive early reviews, both from students I have shared it with and professional journals. It's gotten starred reviews from Booklist and Kirkus. The Chicago Tribune has a very interesting article on Hold Fast, interviewing Balliett as well as homelessness activists.

Share this with children who love books that get to the heart and make them think about bigger issues, like Rules by Cynthia Lord or Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper. But also share it with children who love language, poetry and words.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dash Pearl loves words and puzzles, and he has passed this passion on to his daughter Early and son Jubilation. He often comes home with riddles, rhymes and interesting stories to entertain Early and Jubie. Though Dash can barely support his wife and children with his meager salary as a page in the Chicago Public Library System, he has big dreams that his family can one day move out of their one room apartment and into their own home. When a mysterious man offers Dash a second job selling used books out of the Pearl family’s apartment, Dash quickly accepts. Early is suspicious of her father’s new high paying work, but she cannot image that her father would be doing anything wrong. However, when Dash disappears, his wife Summer fears that something terrible has happened to him and it must be connected to his second job. The police believe Dash is involved in criminal activity and has abandoned his family.

The Pearls face more misfortune when masked men break into their apartment, take all of their valuables, and smash everything that is left. Without money or an income, Summer has no choice but to take her family to Helping Hand Shelter. The Pearls quickly learn how difficult life in a homeless shelter can be. The lack of privacy, long lines, and constant illnesses in the shelter wear on the family. Early knows that her father would never purposely leave them or break the law. If she can just figure out the clues Dash left behind, she can find her father and clear his name. Then the family can get back to working on fulfilling their dreams.

Blue Balliett’s new novel does an excellent job of illustrating the hardships of the working poor and the homeless. Hold Fast shows how crippling these hardships can be for children. Early is the target of ridicule at school because her peers know where she is living, Jubie becomes sick from the illnesses spread at the shelter, and it seems impossible for Summer to find a job without decent day care options for her son. Despite all the wonderful services Helping Hand offers, the Pearls would be stuck in this shelter without the support of Dash. The reader wants the Pearls to succeed, and Balliet’s novel would surely lead to more empathy for the homeless.

Though the Pearl family’s story is very compelling, the mystery in Hold Fast is not. Early’s investigation is a dry read, and Balliet takes the last thirty pages of the novel to explain what happened to Dash. I’ve had trouble selling students on Balliet’s novels, and I fear I will experience the same problems with Hold Fast. As a former teacher, Balliet wants to incorporate poetry and math into her stories, which is laudable, but the result is often laborious for readers.

3.5 out of 5 Stars
Grades 5 and up

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

How you feel about Hold Fast, the latest of a series of novels by Balliett that both educate and entertain, probably depends on where the emphasis of your interest falls, on the former or the latter.

If the former, Hold should be right up your alley. It's a gripping, even heart-rending, tale of a family living on the financial edge and what happens when they tip over it. It deserves to be read for its sympathetic yet jarring depictions of shelter life and what that kind of life can do to the people who are forced to live it. If Balliett's regular focus on the humanities is a bit blunted here (there's some nominal stuff about Langston Hughes, but it's not nearly as central to the plot as in her other novels), there's still plenty of facts of life to learn.

If, however, you're more on the entertaining end of things... well, that's a different story. Hold Fast's plot is paper thin, and frequently laughable - or would be, if its heavy-handed coincidences didn't involve so much personal tragedy for the characters. The mystery seems tacked on, more an excuse for a societal examination than anything else. And the less said about heroine Early's mother - who should read as a woman ground down by the system and the desperate need to care for her two children, but instead comes off as a man-dependent twit - the better.

In short, Hold Fast feels a bit like required reading... even when it's not.

[Jamie Sorenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Choose a character you'd like (or not to like) as a friend. Tell why:

I believe that the character Early Pearl would be a great friend to have. She is brave and tough, even during hard times. Her bravery showed when she look for clues of her missing father in the library where he worked. Early is also caring and has a big heart.I look for friends with such qualities in character. Kindness goes far in life. Early had helped care for her younger brother and was was there for her mother during the hard times. At times her mom broke down into tears due to the stress, but Early stayed a strong shoulder to lean on, and her mother did the same for her. She is smart and a problem solver, and she can solve puzzles that even maybe I could not. Her father had always been good with words and numbers, and he passed this trait on to Early. Many times in the book she thought deeply about the situation in ways I wouldn't have thought. If she were my friend, she could probably help with keeping me calm and level-headed in times of uncertainty. She is also a dreamer, and her optimism would be great to be around as a friend. I am a person who worries a lot or overthinks decisions, so her views as a friend would be so helpful to hear. Early quotes Langston Hughes often, because her father had given here one of his books. One quote that she as a friend would say would probably be "Hold fast to dreams", because she never gives up. Friends support each other.

[Audrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall, this book is hard-hitting. Not only does it bring about awareness of homelessness, poverty, and life in the shelter system of one of America's larger cities, but it preaches a message of hope and dreams. It is in many respects about the American dream, muddled and delayed. Langston Hughes plays such a pivotal role in the story, which underlines the role of education in providing a means to rise above one's circumstances, but also to make life meaningful and rich. The Pearl family may not have much, but they have each other and a love for learning and books. Whether such a story is "realistic" seems secondary to providing readers with knowledge of a world that exists inside of their own full of struggle, pain, and misfortune--a reality that for some is just a paycheck or accident away. If such a book were read on a large-scale community level, I think it would inspire positive social change, and maybe introduce a new generation to Langston Hughes and the world of words.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always recommend Blue Balliett when a parent is looking for something to read with your children - the books are all written so well that you forget that you're reading a children's book. This one is no exception.

The main character, Early Pearl, is thrust into the world of Chicago's homeless shelters after her father mysteriously disappears - after possibly getting mixed up in something very, very bad. The story weaves in the Pearl family's love of words and language, and the works of Langston Hughes. It also portrays what seems to be a realistic view of life in shelters, and how quickly a life or a family can get turned upside down.

Recommend to those looking for a story that incorporates homelessness, for those interested in the mystery genre, or those with an interest in Langston Hughes. Seems well suited to 4th and 5th grade, though those all the way to adult could enjoy this book.

[Melissapalmer404 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book #90 Read in 2013
Hold Fast by Blue Balliett (YA)

This is an author who I have tried several books of, without finishing any of them. This one, however, I loved. A family, not very rich but very loving, uses reading and books as a way to connect them. Then the father comes up missing and people break in and wreck the family's home. There is obviously something bad going on and Sum and her children, Early and Jubie, are forced to head into a shelter while they continue to hope that Dash will make his way back to his family. Early decides to take on a more active role and begins her own investigation as to what happened to her father.

I enjoyed this book. The writing style flowed well. Characters were well-developed and ones I immediately cared about. This book had a good mystery element to it and a decent amount of action to keep readers engaged.

http://melissasbookpicks.blogspot.com

[Cmwagoner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a young girl named Early who is raised to love books. Her parents love books and words in general and have fostered a deep love for words in her, as well. Her father works at a library, and goes missing, but he does leave behind some clues (that include words and patterns!) for Early to pick up on. After their father goes missing, their apartment is broken into and their safety and lives are at danger. They are not a well-off family, and they are forced to live in a shelter for an amount of time. There, Early befriends many of the homeless and begins to work out a plan to find her father and improve the lives of the many people living in shelters across her city. She replays her father's words over and over again and reminds her mother of them, which is where they find their hope. I don't want to give anything away, but it has a wonderful ending! It is an exciting, moving book that I highly recommend!

[Madeleine S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the book, Hold Fast, by Blue Balliett a family of four is separated and becomes a family of three. This book is thought provoking and heart-warming. in the book, we follow the life of the Pearl family, their daughter, Early, their son, Jubilation, and the mom and dad, Dash and Summer. When Dash is found to be missing, the family must "hold fast" to each other and learn to help survive on their own. From break-ins to losing their homes, the Pearl family goes through everything together and their family bond becomes stronger. i thought this book was amazing, and I enjoyed all of the wordplay and wit to this book. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is considering reading this book. All in all, this book was amazing and really opened my eyes to some of the hardships people go through every day.

[Teresa Bunner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blue Balliet loves words. And she wields them well in this intriguing story. It is a story of courage, faith, persistance and love told in the context of a mystery. If I had to choose a weakness in the book it would be that the mystery is so secondary to everything else that it isn't as well developed as I think it could be. But that comes from an adult reader. I think the target audience for this book will love it. And I am thankful to Ms. Balliet for writing a book about an African-American family in a positive light. While she delves into the issue of homelessness, she does so with compassion and with reminders to us all that we are just one unfortunate incident away from becoming a statistic. A wonderful book!