Hold Tight is a riveting piece of fiction. I think most of its compelling force emanates from my own experience as a parent of teenagers. Let's face it, teens are risk-takers whose judgements are suspect. They embrace their independence but are often ill-equipped to wield it safely. The world they encounter is full of dangers. This book underlines a few: sociopaths, drugs, prosperity, mobility, computers, and peer pressure. What teenagers aren't telling you is what you have the most to fear.

Harlan Coben weaves together a story not only of teenagers but also of parents, some good, some not so good, most just struggling to juggle their jobs, their marriages, and their children. In the story, there are doctors who debate telling secrets, parents who debate learning their children's secrets, and teens who don't debate much, they just act and try to keep secrets from their caretakers.

There's also a character in the novel who is a psychopath. Now normally I don't want to read about depraved or evil characters. I know they're out there, but I don't go looking to immerse myself in their world. Coben's psychopath, though, is one who has a twist in his twisted brain: his malevolence springs from a misguided sense of family loyalty. Odd, slightly unbelievable, but interesting nonetheless. This guy is also someone you could meet anywhere, such as in the parking lot at say, Target.

I highly recommend this novel, especially for parents of teens or teens to be. I'll leave you with just one question. If you don't know the answer, you better read this book. Do you know what a "pharm party" is?? After I learned the answer, I immediately made a change in one particular household practice in my own home.

Tags: Fiction, Teenagers

Frank Delaney has written a story of one man, the captain of a commercial freighter, who in 1951 single-handedly attempted to save his ship from sinking on the high seas. It is a story from a simpler time, presented as a portrait of one man who did what he did because it was, in his mind, the right thing to do, despite significant personal risk. Doing his job was the captain's main motivation. Doing it well was his modus operandi. Doing it without angling for personal gain or fame was assumed. In short, a tale of heroism by an ordinary man in a battle against Nature doing what he was trained and employed to do, albeit in extraordinary circumstances.

The writing style of this book leaves a little to be desired. There are discontinuities in the narrative which I found irritating. The author also, almost embarrassingly so, inserts part of his own story into the story of the protagonist. Delaney's childhood was not a happy one, apparently, and he connects his fascination with the sea captain's tale to his own father's failure to connect his with son the author. It just seems out of place.

Nonetheless, despite these faults, I recommend the book, especially if one has an interest in seafarers and the struggles between the elemental forces of water, weather, and human determination.