The summer before junior year, Brynn Bailey would rather listen to the quiet woods than talk to anyone in town. Then she meets Zoe McClain and wishes she knew what to say. After one conversation, Brynn is hooked but too nervous to approach her crush again. Working up the nerve takes her mind off the fact that her mom has been in and out of the hospital.

Then her mom dies before Brynn can say goodbye, and she won't talk about her grief. Not even after she and Zoe start falling for each other. Unspoken words have a way of piling up, though; a lot like the unpaid bills left on the counter. Brynn's denial could jeopardize her relationship with Zoe, and mounting medical debt threatens the only place Brynn has called home.

When to Hold On is a coming-of-age verse novel set in the Driftless Area of Wisconsin, a journey that rides the unpredictable hills and valleys of grief toward the healing truths of reconnecting with oneself, those we love, and the natural world. It's a story about learning when to listen and when to speak up, when to let go and when to hold on.