Hold Fast by Blue Balliett

Last night I finished Blue Balliett’s Hold Fast. The book has spent the day in the front of my mind. It has a strong hold on my heart and feel like I must write about it before my head explodes.

I don’t have much time, so I am only going to give myself  7 minutes to write. After 10 minutes I will do a couple of quick revisions and then click publish. Ready. Set. Go.

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Early’s amazing family remind me a lot of the family in The Mighty Miss Malone, and a lot of Early’s struggle made my heart hurt like it did when I read about RJ Palacio’s Wonder.

I hope that every library in the country can find room on the shelves for this book. It feels like it belongs in the heart of so many readers: rich, poor, white, black, tall, short, from the Midwest, the Southwest. I believe that at least one student sitting in each classroom across this country NEEDS to hear this story. They need to know the struggles that kids face. They need to see the light-the-hope that Early was able to see.

Hold Fast is going to change lives. It is going to make the world a better place.

Turns out I’m not going to say much about what actually happens in this book (my 7 minutes is running out), but what I will say is “hold fast” because this book is special.