Hang On
Can Holly stifle the crazy long enough to let her dreams come true? More
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Nell Gavin is married, with two grown children. She was raised in Chicago, spent many years in Texas, and now lives in Oklahoma.
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Reviews
Review by:
Elizabeth Miller
on May 28, 2012 :
After her mother commits suicide , Holly is sent to live w/ her abusive grandmother. Feeling rejected by everyone from a young age she struggles to feel normal and to have what she considers a normal life. When she meets a roadie names Trevor it is an instant connection but she knows there is no way that they could be togther because of her feelings of instability. Good story and well written reminiscent of Russel Crows Almost Famous and not a bad way to spend an afternoon in the sun.
(reviewed 10 months after purchase)
Review by:
wendy oconnell
on Dec. 22, 2011 :
A little girl often clings to her mother. Even if the mother isn’t so good. And it doesn’t matter how the rest of the world sees the mother, the girl will never see her mom as anything, but angelic. The first chapter drew a picture of Holly’s mother from a child’s eyes. And in a child-like simplicity, the complexity of what Holly would have to face in her lifetime was laid out. I read past that first chapter because I dearly wanted young Holly to find the solution her mother could not. At this point, Gavin piqued my interest because she made me care about Holly. The first chapter brought tears to my eyes.
However, after the relationship between Holly and her mother is shown the rest of her childhood is primarily told rather than shown. Holly’s aunt had a significant impact on Holly, but I never saw them together much, never got a real sense of the aunt. The dad broke her heart, but I didn’t see it. I didn’t want to hear how these relationships came together, or fell apart. It’s like hearing about someone else’s vacation rather than actually experiencing it. Of course, Holly’s early life was no vacation, which was the primary reason I wanted to experience it.
At the point Holly meets Trevor, the Gavin illustrates her story more though conversation, setting, and mental processing from Holly’s. The plot unfolds into a funny, but serious romance. The middle section took a fascinating look at backstage rock in roll life in the seventies. A life contrasting the ‘normal’ life Holly tried to create for herself in a tiny apartment and office job. A contrast that kept Holly’s illness in focus at all times even when she seemed to be having so much fun with Trevor. Gavin played this with a clever hand.
It would have been all too easy to lose focus on the main plot through the colored lenses of groupies, roadies, drugs, and preoccupations with whether or not Jim Morrison still lived. Gavin never lost focus on Holly’s mental issues. Holly hung tightly to life despite so many times I wanted to slap her silly because of her constant whining, and clingy personality towards men. In the end, she evolved into someone to respect more and sympathize less.
The book took an unexpected ending, and a favorable one. My only quarrel with it is that it started into the telling format, which created a much faster pace than necessary. The end should have been played out in heartbreaking/joyous scenes of love and betrayal. Again like the early childhood, I felt cheated. “Hang On” could have easily been a much longer book maybe even a two-part book with more showing.
The premise of a woman struggling to discover herself despite her mental illness is not a new one, but it is a universal one and one similar to many women. Most women will find they have much in common with Holly. Even though Holly often irritated me, we had much in common, which is why I rooted for her. Most readers will. I highly recommend it to both a female and male audience. Females, despite the odds can persevere. And men, sometimes there might be a rational reason we act bizarre from time to time. And you’ll have to read to understand.
(reviewed 49 days after purchase)
Review by:
Aparna Sethuraman
on Nov. 29, 2011 :
Nell has created characters that are very real in their fears and hopes. The story is about Holly who is a young woman who is fighting to survive on her own. She has her own inner demons to fight with while facing the challenges of everyday life. She left a cruel grandmother and is now struggling to make ends meet. Until one day she meets Trevor a roadie with a famous band. Suddly Holly feels that she can have a real life and family and a home. But can she overcome her depression and her eccentricities to find Love?
A story worth reading and holding on to..
(reviewed 4 months after purchase)
Review by:
Aparna Sethuraman
on Nov. 29, 2011 :
(no rating)
Nell has created characters that are very real in their fears and hopes. The story is about Holly who is a young woman who is fighting to survive on her own. She has her own inner demons to fight with while facing the challenges of everyday life. She left a cruel grandmother and is now struggling to make ends meet. Until one day she meets Trevor a roadie with a famous band. Suddly Holly feels that she can have a real life and family and a home. But can she overcome her depression and her eccentricities to find Love?
A story worth reading and holding on to..
(reviewed 4 months after purchase)
Review by:
Angelic Anzaldua
on Nov. 07, 2011 :
this is a librarything member givaway. I really loved reading this book. I loved reading Hollys thoughts and struggles. The hard childhood she had and the horrible grandmother made her who she was strong, independent, but unreachable. It was sad to read that she was used to betrayal and unfairly judged by men and women. Her adventures with touring with a rock band was intresting to read and the behavior of the roadies was funny. Her relationship with Trevor was "rocky" in her mind, but ever since the scene with John on the beach, I was convinced he was the one for her. I loved readying about her life and its ups and downs. In the end I would have liked a response from Trevor. All in all a great read...
(reviewed 85 days after purchase)
Review by:
jordan chapman
on Sep. 16, 2011 :
I loved this book so much. Holly's love life was really difficult between Trevor and his band but the amount of romance wasn't too much (I can be really critical about that) and it was good.
(reviewed 30 days after purchase)
Review by:
Patty Therre
on Sep. 12, 2011 :
This book was phenomenal. I honestly thought that this writer was a best selling author under a pen name. If she keeps writing books like this, she will be a bestselling author under her own name! As a writer myself, I am fairly critical of the books I read. I don't mean to be but errors and bad writing glare at me from my Kindle. There is none of that in the book, Hang On. This was one of the best written books I have read in a long time with an amazingly refreshing storyline and characters who jumped off the page. I encourage everyone to read this book. You won't be sorry. Nell Gavin, send this book to an agent and get yourself a publisher STAT!
(reviewed 70 days after purchase)
Review by:
Hannah Hummel
on Sep. 05, 2011 :
I really loved reading this book. I loved reading Hollys thoughts and struggles. The hard childhood she had and the horrible grandmother made her who she was strong, independent, but unreachable. It was sad to read that she was used to betrayal and unfairly judged by men and women. Her adventures with touring with a rock band was intresting to read and the behavior of the roadies was funny. Her relationship with Trevor was "rocky" in her mind, but ever since the scene with John on the beach, I was convinced he was the one for her. I loved readying about her life and its ups and downs. In the end I would have liked a response from Trevor. All in all a great read.
(reviewed 22 days after purchase)