Hold Fast Paperback – August 1, 2013

Good book

When Hold Fast was first published in 1978 it was hailed as a landmark of young adult writing and established Kevin Major as one of the best Canadian writers of his generation. Only a month after Michael turns fourteen, his parents are killed in a car crash by a drunk driver. Michael grew up in an outport or a small coastal community, but moves to a city to live with his relatives. As one would expect, he is less than welcomed by his classmates. While it is also not a great surprise when he doesn't get along with his aunt or uncle, I enjoyed the budding friendship between Michael and his cousin. After enduring physical blows from his uncle, Michael decides it is time to hit the road and is joined by his cousin on a cross-island adventure. What I liked best about Hold Fast as a Newfoundlander is the colloquial writing style and the description of many familiar places. There is much to admire about Hold Fast. It shows the full impact that the death of parents would have on a teen (or anyone), with no punches held back. The portrayal of the contradictory emotions that teenagers feel while sorting through their moral values is also incredibly real. The character of Michael has been compared to Holden Caulfield and Huckleberry Finn, both of which seem valid to me. What I most liked is how Kevin Major achieved a delicate balance between in depicting the struggle of rebellious adolescents to make mature decisions.

Major has a truly deft touch. The book is a bit slow to read because of the dialect in which it is written, but that gives you time to understand what's going on in the life of young Michael. Not much of it is good. This is the story of how he forges through difficulty to find a satisfactory life. The telling of the story is in some way so strong that the reader deeply feels his often strong emotions. I don't think this book is very well known outside of Canada, but it's one of the great books for young teens.

This book was horrible, the voice sucks it was bad excuse for bad grammer, really. Storyline was flawed and confusing.The good thing about this book is that it makes good fuel for the stove.

Basically Canadian Catcher in the Rye.

Great