Hold Fast by Blue Balliett
Langston Hughes wrote “Hold
fast to dreams/For if dreams die/Life is a broken-winged bird/That cannot fly.”
As one of the most influential American poets, Hughes weaves words that make
the heart soar and weep simultaneously, two qualities shared with Blue Balliett’s
new YA book Hold Fast. Balliett illuminates the sad but ultimately
hopeful world of Chicago’s homeless shelters through the eyes of one poetry
lover, eleven-year-old Early Pearl.
Early’s father, an aide at
the Chicago Public Library, has disappeared under the most mysterious
circumstances, leaving Early, her younger brother Jubie, and their mother
Summer to fend for themselves. With no money and no clue as to the location of
Dash, the Pearl family must assimilate into the claustrophobic world of the
Chicago shelters. Balliett, author of the award-winning novel Chasing
Vermeer, employs her trademark mystery and problem-solving in Early’s quest
to deduce the location of her father through the poems of Hughes he loved to
share.
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Hold Fast surprised me with its depth and darkness. I did
not expect a book aimed at children in middle school to be so grittily
realistic, but Hold Fast does not shy away from problems such as drug
addiction, depression, and abusive relationships. Balliett’s native Chicago is
portrayed in all of its glorious dilapidation, but as dark as the novel gets
there is always an underlying theme of hope. Hold Fast rises above all
the typical YA tropes and becomes something very special—a book that, while
aimed at a younger audience, does not censor itself to protect young people
from the realities of America today.
Balliett employs a unique
structure within her novel through the use of onomatopoeia. By breaking up
sections of the book by sounds (“click”, “crimp”) she reinforces the power of
words, both inside and outside the novel.
The ending to Hold Fast
seemed a bit forced, but the rest of the book kept a quick pace that never left
the reader bored. All in all, Balliett’s fourth novel delivers a message of
hope, redemption, and the life-altering power of poetry.
By: Mary Baker
