Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands
by Chris Bohjalian
Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands by Chris Bohjalian holds a well received rating of 3.59 out of 5, based on 12.1K reader ratings. First published in 2014. The book spans 288 pages.
About Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands
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
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Author | Chris Bohjalian |
| Published | 2014 |
| Pages | 288 |
| Genres | Fiction, Young Adult, Fiction, Science Fiction |
| Average Rating | 3.59 / 5.00 |
| Total Ratings | 12,107 |
Reader Ratings & Analysis
Rating Overview
How It Compares
Frequently Asked Questions
What genre is Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands?
Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands is categorized as Fiction, Young Adult, Fiction, Science Fiction. Its primary genre classification is Science Fiction.
Is Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands worth reading?
Based on 12.1K reader ratings, Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands has an average score of 3.59 out of 5.00, which is considered "Well Received."
How many pages is Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands?
Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands has 288 pages.
Who wrote Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands?
Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands was written by Chris Bohjalian. It was first published in 2014.
What is the ISBN for Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands?
The ISBN-13 for Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands is 9780385534830.0.
Data sourced from community book ratings and reviews. Last updated: April 15, 2026
