Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands

A Novel

By: Chris Bohjalian

Narrated by: Grace Blewer

A heartbreaking, wildly inventive, and moving novel narrated by a teenage runaway, from the best-selling author of Midwives and The Sandcastle Girls.

Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands is the story of Emily Shepard, a homeless teen living in an igloo made of ice and trash bags filled with frozen leaves. Half a year earlier, a nuclear plant in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom had experienced a cataclysmic meltdown, and both of Emily's parents were killed. Devastatingly, her father was in charge of the plant, and the meltdown may have been his fault. Was he drunk when it happened? Thousands of people are forced to flee their homes in the Kingdom; rivers and forests are destroyed; and Emily feels certain that, as the daughter of the most hated man in America, she is in danger. So instead of following the social workers and her classmates after the meltdown, Emily takes off on her own for Burlington, where she survives by stealing, sleeping on the floor of a drug dealer's apartment, and inventing a new identity for herself - an identity inspired by her favorite poet, Emily Dickinson. When Emily befriends a young homeless boy named Cameron, she protects him with a ferocity she didn't know she had. But she still can't outrun her past, can't escape her grief, can't hide forever - and so she comes up with the only plan that she can.

A story of loss, adventure, and the search for friendship in the wake of catastrophe, Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands is one of Chris Bohjalian's finest novels to date - breathtaking, wise, and utterly transporting.

©2014 Chris Bohjalian (P)2014 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Emily's story is both heartbreaking and frightening.... The book rings with poetry and truth." (Jeanne Bogino, Library Journal)

"I have a new favorite Chris Bohjalian novel. Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands is a book I wish I'd been smart enough to write: A masterpiece of narrative voice, of emotion, and of how - as Emily Dickinson might say - the sparest of words can hold a wealth of pain. If you need any proof that fiction can scare us, move us, and break our hearts simultaneously - look no further." (Jodi Picoult)

Man writes as teenage girl.

How can an "older" man write like a teenage girl? Chris Bohjalian did a fantastic job of doing just that. I picked out this book because I have read many other books by Chris Bohjalian and have liked every one of them. This one was quite different from his other books and I wasn't sure I would like it in the beginning when it was in the voice of a teenage girl, with teen language. The character development was superb and heart-wrenching. Interesting that Bohjalian's daughter is the narrator for this audio-book.

Captivating and beautiful

Chris Bohjahlian never disappoints with his novels and this one is no different. This one has left me with a book hangover worrying about the main character ever since it ended.

Loved It So Much, Read It Twice

I loved everything about this book. The writing is wonderful, and the narrator is perfect for this story. The story was horrifying in so many ways, but it was full of love and hope and humor. The narrator can sing, too! I laughed out loud when she sang an Emily Dickinson poem to the Gilligan's Island theme tune. Chris and Grace, you must be very proud of each other!

Great narration and curious plot.

This audiobook is well written and an intriguing story but super sad. No happy endings. Barely a ray of sunshine poking through anywhere. Bring your box of Kleenex.

Heartbreakingly Real

I could never (really) even begin to imagine what surviving on the streets would be like for a runaway or homeless teen, but Chris Bohjalian has done it, and has opened my eyes and broken my heart in the telling. But the story is about so much more than that: about families and adolescent/teen rebellion, about the difficulties of being a child who refuses to fit into other's ideas of what she should be, about losing friends and making new ones, and about the need to be needed, which is part of each of us. This novel will stay with me and haunt me for a long time, and I suspect I will be revisiting it more than once.

I was also impressed by the skill with which it was read, not just the expression of Emily's thoughts and feelings, but with the diction, as well! I am a little hard of hearing, and it is such a pleasure to hear such clear and measured enunciation! I wasn't fond of hearing all the profanity and rough language, but it made the story seem even more gritty and real, so I believe it was necessary.

Thank you for a most absorbing read!

An page turner in the first degree!

What did you love best about Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands?

The character who narrates the novel, Emily, is funny and ironic and quirky. I wish more young people were this unique and insightful.

What did you like best about this story?

Emily Shepard and her take on her favorite poet Emily Dickenson. .And I love disaster scenarios.

Which character – as performed by Grace Blewer – was your favorite?

Emily Shepard!

Who was the most memorable character of Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands and why?

Emily will stay with me a long, long time.

Is best book to date

About 20 years ago, I took two of Chris's classes at Trinity College. Over the years, I have followed his writing. I have enjoyed his previous novels, but this one will stick with me for the rest of my life. The depiction of Emily Shepard was stunning, emotionally raw, and, in many ways, uplifting. Despite the trauma she indoors, her resiliency is breathtaking. On a sidenote, I remember Chris talking about his very small child named Gracie when I had him as a professor. So, I loved hearing her as the near raider of this book. Thank you Chris for all you do. Keep up the wonderful work! And Grace, keep narrating. You are a pro!

great choice for YA & adult book clubs...

Where does Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Captivating! I listened over a period of time as I was recuperating from a surgery.

What did you like best about this story?

Living near a nuclear plant, many of the emotions & concerns about an explosion have crossed my mind. It made me wonder if a similar storyline would follow in our area.

What about Grace Blewer’s performance did you like?

So convincing that she moves through the emotions of loss & trying to rationalize how she feels people must see her... as the daughter of the operator who contributed to the plant malfunction!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When she returned to her home after the plant explosion... and begin to plan her new life.

Wow

Great book - listened to it with my teenage daughter. Some very difficult moments but good talking points.

Overall a good book, but poorly narrated

I was very caught up by the story of this young girl. However, his daughter, Grace's, narration was flat and uninflected, clearly showed a lack of ability to read with character. A professional narrator or actor would have made the story even more riveting.