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Overview
"I'm leaving."Dad's words come as a complete shock to Essie. How can he just walk out on her and the family, especially when Mom is pregnant?
Essie keeps her dad's leaving a secret. Then Essie's classmate, Chris Crow, disappears, and everyone finds out he's been kidnapped. Is Chris okay? Is Dad ever coming back? Essie is left to wonder if people really have any control over what happens in their lives.
Finally, after a startling incident with a family friend, Essie finds the strength to hold on tight to all that she has left -- and in the process realizes that the bonds of love and family do hold a person together.
Inspired by true events, Hold Me Tight is a moving and powerful novel. An author's note provides further information about kidnapping and the Amber Plan programs that are in use today to help communities find abducted children.
In Miami, Florida, ten-year-old Essie has trouble finding the strength and courage to overcome her feelings of fear, guilt, and shame when her father abandons their family, a classmate is kidnapped, and then a family friend molests her.
Synopsis
"I'm leaving."
Dad's words come as a complete shock to Essie. How can he just walk out on her and the family, especially when Mom is pregnant?
Essie keeps her dad's leaving a secret. Then Essie's classmate, Chris Crow, disappears, and everyone finds out he's been kidnapped. Is Chris okay? Is Dad ever coming back? Essie is left to wonder if people really have any control over what happens in their lives.
Finally, after a startling incident with a family friend, Essie finds the strength to hold on tight to all that she has left -- and in the process realizes that the bonds of love and family do hold a person together.
Inspired by true events, Hold Me Tight is a moving and powerful novel. An author's note provides further information about kidnapping and the Amber Plan programs that are in use today to help communities find abducted children.
Shari Fesko - VOYA
Three serious and painful issues are deftly woven together in this smartly written, moving, and thought-provoking novel-in-verse. Grover creates an authentic voice in her narrator, fifth grader Estele "Essie" Sherman, who must deal with the recent abandonment by her father and the kidnapping of her classmate, Chris. Meanwhile she must also be strong for her little brother, Dale, and her pregnant mother. As Essie's troubles blend with her distress for Chris and his family, she begins to realize the importance of family and friendship. Just as this understanding begins to dawn, a horrible experience involving a male family friend tempts her to retreat into herself again. With the love of her family, best friend Wally, and a host of church friends and neighbors, however, she realizes that although her father may be gone, she is far from alone. Grover tackles heavy material without being dark or preachy. Her juxtaposing of parental abandonment and kidnapping reflect two very different sides of loss. The author not only delicately handles the topics but also leaves readers knowing that Essie and her family, including new baby, Kevin, are going to be just fine. It is the perfect title to use as bibliotherapy for youth who have dealt with any of the issues covered here and is a recommended purchase for middle school and public libraries alike. VOYA CODES: 4Q 2P M (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; For the YA with a special interest in the subject; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8). 2005, Margaret K. McElderry/S & S, 352p., Ages 11 to 14.
Editorials
VOYA
Three serious and painful issues are deftly woven together in this smartly written, moving, and thought-provoking novel-in-verse. Grover creates an authentic voice in her narrator, fifth grader Estele "Essie" Sherman, who must deal with the recent abandonment by her father and the kidnapping of her classmate, Chris. Meanwhile she must also be strong for her little brother, Dale, and her pregnant mother. As Essie's troubles blend with her distress for Chris and his family, she begins to realize the importance of family and friendship. Just as this understanding begins to dawn, a horrible experience involving a male family friend tempts her to retreat into herself again. With the love of her family, best friend Wally, and a host of church friends and neighbors, however, she realizes that although her father may be gone, she is far from alone. Grover tackles heavy material without being dark or preachy. Her juxtaposing of parental abandonment and kidnapping reflect two very different sides of loss. The author not only delicately handles the topics but also leaves readers knowing that Essie and her family, including new baby, Kevin, are going to be just fine. It is the perfect title to use as bibliotherapy for youth who have dealt with any of the issues covered here and is a recommended purchase for middle school and public libraries alike. VOYA CODES: 4Q 2P M (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; For the YA with a special interest in the subject; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8). 2005, Margaret K. McElderry/S & S, 352p., Ages 11 to 14.—Shari Fesko