CHRIS BOHJALIAN is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty-three books, including Hour of the Witch, The Red Lotus, Midwives, and The Flight Attendant, which has been made into an HBO Max limited series starring Kaley Cuoco. His other books include The Guest Room; Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands; The Sandcastle Girls; Skeletons at the Feast; and The Double Bind. His novels Secrets of Eden, Midwives, and Past the Bleachers were made into movies, and his work has been translated into more than thirty-five languages. He is also a playwright (Wingspan and Midwives). He lives in Vermont and can be found on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Litsy, and Goodreads, @chrisbohjalian
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: Washington Post, St. Louis Post-Dispatch,
and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel • A Boston Globe Pick of the
Week
“A compelling tale of loss, resilience, and transformation.”
—The Boston Globe, “Pick of the Week”
“Suspenseful, provocative, often terrifying yet compassionate....
One of the most memorable teenage protagonists in recent fiction.”
—The Washington Post
“Heartbreaking.... This is an adult novel ... but readers of any
age who love John Green’s novels might find [Emily]’s story,
sobering as it is, an awesome one.” —Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
"Stirring, sensitive.... One of the most authentic and distinctive
voices since Emma Donoghue's [Room].” —San Francisco Chronicle
“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.” —Jodi Picoult
“Chris Bohjalian is a master.... Emily Shepard is his greatest
accomplishment.” —Los Angeles Times
“A chilling and heartbreaking suspense novel.” —USA Today
“Enthralling and indelible.” —People
“Intelligent, rich in detail, filled with full-blooded characters….
Bohjalian at his finest.” —The Seattle Times
“A ‘must read’ book.” —St. Louis Post Dispatch
“Haunting and resonant.” —The Miami Herald
“Emily’s character is written so well and her story so absorbing
(this is very much a read-in-one-or-two-sittings type of book) that
it is easy to forget you’re actually reading ... Close Your
Eyes, Hold Hands reminds us of our innate need for connection.”
—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“A masterful storyteller ... Bohjalian hits every note. His
characters have depth, his story sings.” —The Advocate (Baton
Rouge, LA)
“Bohjalian delivers a thoroughly engrossing and poignant
coming-of-age story set against a nightmarish backdrop as real as
yesterday’s headlines from Fukushima and Chernobyl. And in Emily
he's created a remarkable and complicated teenager ... [with] a
wry, honest voice as distinctive as Holden Caulfield's.”
—Associated Press
“Dazzling.... A novel for the ages.... This is pure beauty in book
form.” —The Free-Lance Star (Fredericksburg, VA)
“A potent story of loss, hope, and the overpowering yearning for
home.” —The Armenian Weekly
“Rings with poetry and truth.” —Library Journal
“A dystopian nightmare entwined with a wrenching personal
crisis.... The notion of ‘just a life I left’ grows more intense
for somebody like Emily Shepard who can’t return and is unsure
about how to go forward.” —Burlington Free Press
“[A] brave saga.” —Booklist
“Impressive.... [Emily’s] admiration for kindred spirit Emily
Dickinson serves to humanize her plight, as does an epiphany in the
book’s bittersweet conclusion.” —Publishers Weekly
“Bohjalian once again reveals an uncanny talent for crafting a
young female protagonist who is fatally flawed, but nevertheless
immensely likable.... Resonates with a message of hope, truth and
the fragility of life.” —BookPage
“Emily’s voice is a compelling one…. and hers is a journey readers
will avidly follow.” —Kirkus Reviews
"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, #1
New York Times bestselling author
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