PICTURE BOOK REVIEW and AUTHOR INTERVIEW: The Hole by Lindsay Bonilla & Brizida Magro
ABOUT THE BOOK
What does it feel like to lose someone you love? For one little boy, it’s like he has a hole in his life. It’s in the bottom bunk, where his little brother, Matty, used to sleep, and it’s on his brother’s chair at dinner. It follows him everywhere until the day he decides to really explore it. Inside the hole he confronts his grief—the sadness, the anger, and the truth of how much he misses Matty. His friend is waiting when he climbs out, and when she asks, “Do you want to tell me about your brother?” he’s surprised to find that talking about Matty is a comfort—and helps fill his hole with good memories.
REVIEW
The Hole is a book that breaks the reader's heart before giving them hope. The boy telling the story shares the fact that he has lost his little brother, Matty and it's left a hole in his life. As the family grieves, the boy discovers that he isn't the only one with such a hole. After falling into his hole of grief he feels sad and angry and questions why. After his feelings work themselves out, he starts to feel a bit better, especially when his friend Nora helps pull him out of his hole and asks him about his brother. Allowing his good memories out allows him and his family to feel Matty with them despite the holes in their hearts. Anyone who has lost a loved one will be able to relate to the little boy in this story and his family. The use of a hole to symbolize the loss works well, especially in helping young readers understand what's happened and why the boy feels the way he does. This book works as a powerful, relatable opportunity to help children who are grieving as well as helping children who have not yet lost a loved one feel compassion for those who have. The illustrations are darling with wonderful imagery highlighting feelings and memories. This would work especially well in a one-on-one setting, but could also be used in a classroom, if you can read it without getting choked up. Highly recommended.
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
*What is the 'story behind the story'? (What led you to write about this topic?)
In November of 2020, I received a late night text from one of my oldest and dearest friends
telling me that her 7 year old son had been hit by a car while riding his bike and that he hadn’t
survived his injuries.
At first, I refused to believe it. I honestly thought someone had taken my friend’s phone and
was playing a cruel trick because it didn’t seem like it could be real. But once it sunk in, it left
me reeling. Absolutely stricken.
I spent the next days/weeks in a haze of grief. I found myself grieving on so many different
levels. First at the loss of this dear life, gone much too soon. Next, as a friend. My heart hurt
for my friend and I had no idea what to say or do, or how to walk with her through this pain.
Then I grieved as a mom. Every time I looked at my own two boys, I felt my heart squeeze.
Lastly, I grieved for my son who was grieving the loss of his friend. As a means to process all of my grief, I turned to writing and literally poured my heart onto the
page.
*What part of the book did you have the hardest time writing?
The hardest part of writing this book was striking the balance between finding hope while
being realistic about the pain of grief. I wanted the book to land in a hopeful place without
leaving the reader feeling like grief is something that can be “overcome” in the span of a 32-
page picture book. So I tried to walk this line of highlighting that there are things that can
make you feel better while grieving, but that the hole never magically disappears.
*What is a significant way your book has changed since the first draft?
Unlike most of my books, this book did not undergo a lot of significant changes from first to
last draft. But one thing I found while looking at the first draft is that I had just chosen a
random name for the little brother. But very quickly, in order to give myself more proximity to
the main character, I changed the name to “Matty” since my brother’s name is Matt. I think I
always thought I’d change the name to something else later, but that never happened.
Also, the hole itself seemed to take on its own personality, becoming a character in its own
right, with every draft I wrote. (This became all the more apparent after seeing Brizida’s
beautiful art!) In my first draft, the narrator’s friend suggests that he fill in the hole so that he
doesn’t have to worry about falling into it anymore. They start to fill it in, but immediately the
narrator says, “STOP! Leave the hole alone. Maybe I want to keep it.” I think writing those
words really helped me to see where the story wanted to go and to understand that no
attempt to get rid of the hole was going to give the narrator what he actually wanted. Rather,
learning to live with the hole and honor/experience all the complicated feelings that come with
it is what the narrator needed most.
*If you could meet your characters, what would you say to them?
I think first of all, I’d just want to give them a big hug. Then I’d want to ask them if there’s any
stories about Matty that haven’t been shared yet. I’d also want to ask who or what they’ve
found that helps them get through the most difficult days.
*What do you enjoy doing when you aren't writing?
When I’m not writing, I love to travel! This summer I got to visit the Amazon Rainforest with
my family, and it was an unforgettable trip. I also love playing games and finding the best Thai
and Indian restaurants with my family!
Thanks to Lindsay for answering my questions about her wonderful book! For more information check out Lindsay's website.
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