Great story! Boys in particular may enjoy this adventure tale. Two young Italian boys are impressed by the British to working on their ship. It's an exciting story, as the boys learn about life and working on a ship while learning a new language. Considering that kidnappings like this really happened, middle school kids into history or ships may well find this an fascinating read. It's well written and researched. I think as far as historical fiction goes, this is one that should be right at home on a library shelf in middle school.

Adventure story! But make it a real downer.

Hold Fast is the vaguely true tale of two 13-year-old Italian boys pressed into service by the Royal Navy at the end of the 18th century.

The premise for this book seemed exciting: Thrills and danger on the high seas! At times, the story delivers on that concept. But mostly, it’s a depressing, dirge of a book that goes from compellingly harrowing to profoundly bleak around the midpoint.

But remember, things are never so bad that they can’t get worse!

And worse and worse they get for poor young Joseph Carlos, who seems to be learning the lesson that defying a rule about boundaries for children will ultimately lead to beatings, starvation, and death.

I’ll give the authors credit for this: I imagine this is a fairly realistic portrayal of the horrors that might await one who was press-ganged into the Royal Navy in the late 1700s. That said, I’m not sure that it makes for a great novel, and I’m especially skeptical about whether it makes a good young adult novel.

The writing also isn’t particularly good, which doesn’t help. While the early action is happening on the good ship Deptford, this doesn’t matter much. But the ham-handedness of it really comes home to roost toward the end of the story when tragedy strikes.

The structure of the concluding moments of the book frustrates as well. Things are as bad as can be for poor Joseph Carlos at the close of the final chapter. Then we get an epilogue that is essentially 10 measly lines telling us “but after all THAT, he lived happily ever after!” Huh? What? Did one of the authors write 99 percent of the book and the other wrote the epilogue?

I’m aware from the About the Authors section that this is a family story belonging to one of them. This does explain some of the plot points that don’t add up to great material for a novel, but it also proves that maybe not all family stories are worthy of a novel for the masses.

I did enjoy parts of this book very much: The accounts of day-to-day life on a ship and the descriptions of the perils faced by sailors at the time were riveting. But the more personal components of the story fell short in too many categories.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but I enjoyed reading this. An interesting story with fun characters. Well written.

I found this one very hard to get into. DNF @ 42% i don’t plan on picking up the physical copy but may listen to the audiobook (& update my review on here) but am in no rush

Italian cousins Joseph Carlo and Suchet attempts to alleviate boredom somehow lead them to serve in the British Navy. While there they learn how brutal life on the seas really is. As they face the danger of the seas they have decide what type of men they will become. This is a historical biography based on the time Joseph Carlo Mauran -- who commanded the vessel Spitfire during the Revolutionary War -- served the British Navy in his early teens. This is a very male heavy novel with only one female character, his cousin Madalena in the entire novel with most of the other characters being sailors. Hold Fast straddles the line between middle grade and young adult fiction, so while it doesn't shy away from encounters with the death, destruction, and disease sailors encounter it does shy away from the bawdier aspects of a sailor's life, meaning while there's some salty language there's no real sexual innuendo. Highet does an excellent job depicting the dangers of life in the British Navy. This book is recommended for collections that are looking for historical fiction which is a good transition between middle grade and young adult fiction.

This book is much like the ocean on which it takes place. It was at times breathtaking, exciting, unpredictable, and devastating.

Hold Fast is a book based on the true experiences of cousins Joseph Carlo and Suchet, who after spending a reckless night away from the safety of there home, Villa Franca, are sent to work on the families boat in the hopes that they would learn to be more responsible. This lesson however turns into a fight for survival when the boys get taken away and conscripted into the Royal Navy. They must let go of their lives as princelings of the Villa and heirs of the family business and adjust to life as part of the crew, who all speak a different language than they do.

This book broke my heart in the way only a well written book can do. I became so attached to these boys and what was happening to them during this journey. I was proud of their accomplishments, worried as they went through challenges, and saddened by each new downfall. The writers do a wonderful job of reminding the reader that these characters are just young boys. It is so easy to start drifting and thinking of them as older, but they are only 13 and 12 when they are taken, and only age about a year through the coarse of a book. It makes the whole experience more tender and sensitive by narrating through the innocence of youth.

I loved the glimpses of life at sea. The honest look at the good and terrible realities of living on a boat for weeks or months at a time. I wish there was more of it. The time jumping in Hold Fast is a little jarring. About 40 percent of the book is spent on one night in a dangerous part of town and a few days at sea with their uncle, while the rest of the book is left to pack in over a year. I would like to have read more about what happened at sea while they were part of the Royal Navy. Even just more of what they thought about the situation. I simply wanted more time with these characters that I had come to love.

To summarize, I think the book is beautifully written, the characters well developed and interesting, and the story engaging. It is sure to linger with me for a long time.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this book. I will defiantly be looking forward to getting the finished copy.