Book ReviewMaya Seale goes from juror on a high profile case to defense attorney to being accused of murder. To clear her name, she must get to the bottom of the 2009 case she convinced everyone the defendant was innocent of committing. With multiple POVs that go back and forth between cases, the truth is slowly exposed, but not every question is ultimately answered. After reading The Silent Patient, I went on a bit of the thriller kick, and then a legal thriller kick. So when I had to choose between The Holdout and The Girl with the Louding Voice for February’s BOTM, I decided to get The Holdout from my local library. (One day I will create a post entirely dedicated to declaring my love for libraries, especially city libraries like they are a god send but back to the point!) After patiently waiting my turn, I finally got my hands on this novel and then devoured it. Like, I typically take the time to take notes about the book after every chapter, and I had to make an agreement of every 7 chapters for this one! I did not want to put it down! The characters are all so complex, and as the story progresses and we get a glimpse from each juror on the original case, you can only start to understand the true complexity there is to people. Maya is driven, smart, and determined girl with a high regard to our country’s legal system (she is a defense attorney after all). I don’t know if I loved her, but I was definitely rooting for her the whole time. What I did love with getting two mysteries in one book! I’m not sure which I was most curious about, because both were so captivating. The ending was kind of a letdown after the rest of the book. It was really unrealistic. I want to say more, but I can’t without giving anything away. If you don’t mind the ending being a little far-fetched, I would still definitely pick this up. To be honest, I didn’t fully realize how far-fetched it was until I sat down the next day to write up some initial thoughts if that affects your decision at all. I can’t talk about this book without discussing how Moore continuously critiqued our current justice system throughout the novel. He brought up important questions and ideas on topics like race, sex and class and how it all relates to treatment by the courts. Not all the ideas get the type of fully fleshed out attention they deserve, but the overall concept on the justice system being flawed comes across loud and clear. This is something I personally think isn’t discussed enough, and I was really glad to see it here. The Holdout gets 🔍 3.5/5 theories from me. I loved the mystery and how well the book grabbed my attention. And despite the unrealistic actions of a defense lawyer throughout the novel, and a far-fetched ending, the novel leaves you wondering when a person who has committed a crime stops being a human, and if we can judge what guilty and innocent is when lives we can barely begin to understand are involved? Feminist AnalysisBeOverall, this novel fell short in terms on feminism. To the benefit of the author and all authors like him, feminism wasn’t his goal. Moore wanted to discuss the criminal justice system. However, we still need to analyze these novels because literature has the power to create our reality and we are all affected by media and messages.
Below I will go into details on the feminist aspects, but to speak generally, the main character fell into the angel/demon trope a little too much for my liking, and aspects of sexually assault and abuse were used to create shock and wow, not to actually add to the narrative of the experiences. WARNING: THE REST OF THIS ANALYSIS CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS. I DON’T RECOMMEND READING WITHOUT READING THE NOVEL. PROCEED WITH CAUTION. Okay, now that the warnings are out of the way, let’s talk details. Let’s start with the positives. Trisha is wonderful. She has a whole section where she goes directly into Lorde’s ideas in her article Race, Age, Class and Sex about the difficulties of being a woman and also being black. The whole book tried to touch on race in the justice system, but this is the one place where it really went well. Discussing her perspective of torn between does she fulfill her assigned stereotype by voting one way, or simply go against it to go against and vote the other. How much influence does the fact that the defendant is black have in her judgement of his innocence? And how much goes to the fact she’s a woman? Honestly, loved this part. But that was it guys! Maya is either thought of as angel who makes all the problems go away, or a monster for being a defense attorney and/or for believing Bobby is innocent. She never really manages to break out of these roles. There was a whole thing with rape that wasn’t necessary. It wasn’t used to push the plot really, it didn’t add to the conversation, it was a shock factor. The ending tied it in, but if you removed the whole concept, it would have been fine. It’s an annoying and overused tool that authors use to create intrigue and I. am. over. it. And the whole plot stands on the decisions of a woman in an abusive relationship deciding what’s best to save her daughter and save face for the family name. As someone who has spent SOOOO much time in group therapy sessions, talking with women married with children with abusers, my only thoughts are either the woman is beyond gaslit and brain washed, or its super unrealistic. I’m leaning more towards the second. And it shows how much this was written by a man (no disrespect to Mr. Moore, I just want to make a point that representation of novels that poorly show abuse and rape affect the public’s view and thoughts on these events and that matters a lot—end rant). So, as much as I love Trisha, I can’t ask a side character to carry the weight of feminism in a novel on her back, and this novel doesn’t have many feminist aspects to it. It’s not outwardly sexist, but adds to a long tradition of “ehh” discourse.
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Hello, love! Please, don't mind the cat hair. I'm a lover of all genres (except romance, ironic, I know), and potentially --accidentally-- obsessed with feminist literary theory. Feel free to scroll around, hopefully see a few cats, and find a good new book or two!
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