Keep Holding On by Susane Colasanti

Noelle doesn't like going to high school. Well, who does? But Noelle is one of the poorest students at this high school - everyone else is really rich, so she gets bullied and picked on.

But Noelle also doesn't like to be at home. Her mother always complains about work, she blames their poorness on Noelle, and doesn't leave any food for Noelle to make lunches.

So Noelle is stunned when gorgeous, rich, and nice guy Julian starts to talk to Noelle - and not to make fun of her or bully her. He actually talks about topics Noelle can relate to.

That all stops, though, when Julian asks her out on a semi-date and Noelle turns him down. But Noelle knows that once Julian finds out exactly what Noelle goes through between her mother and the bullying classmates, he won't want to be with her.

When a classmate that Noelle somewhat knew, Ali, commits suicide, Noelle realizes that she needs to start changing her attitude toward life. And to start sticking up for herself instead of letting the bullies get away with every mean thing they do.

But a life of being bullied puts pressure on a person. Can Noelle finally go after what she wants and stand up to the bullies? Or will she stay the same shy, timid, and scared person she's always been? Read Keep Holding On by Susane Colasanti to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
This book has a great message to the readers. Bullying is a huge part of high school, no matter where you live and I think it's a great topic to write about and show the readers that anyone can find help they need when being bullied.

I'm just not sure that this was my favorite novel. It's a very short novel, just 202 pages, but it seemed to take me forever to get through it.

I loved how Noelle grew as a character and a person throughout this novel. She started to make more friends, found a group that she loved, and maybe found her lifetime goal career after she gets out of high school.

And I love her determination to her her friend, Sherae, after a bad relationship ended abruptly.

Just, for some reason, I found something to be lacking in this story. Nothing horrible, just something little that I was missing.

This topic can really be helpful to teen girls (or guys as well) who are bullied. I think that any teen reader should pick this up and read Noelle's story to see how well she grew throughout the last semester of one high school year.