Title: Keeping the MoonAuthor: Sarah Dessen
Publisher: Puffin
Age Group: Young Adult
Category: Chick Lit
Pages: 228 (paperback)
Rating: 4 out of 5
Pages: 228 (paperback)
Rating: 4 out of 5
Source: Bought
Goodreads summary:
Colie expects the worst when she's sent to spend the summer with her eccentric aunt Mira while her mother, queen of the television infomercial, tours Europe. Always an outcast -- first for being fat and then for being "easy" -- Colie has no friends at home and doesn't expect to find any in Colby, North Carolina. But then she lands a job at the Last Chance Cafe and meets fellow waitresses Morgan and Isabel, best friends with a loving yet volatile relationship. Wacky yet wise, Morgan and Isabel help Colie see herself in a new way and realize the potential that has been there all along.
My thoughts:
Although I've read Sarah Dessen books before (That Summer and Someone Like You) I wasn't seeing what everyone loved so much about them. That is, until I read this book. Keeping the Moon begins at the train station, where Nicole Sparks is being shipped off to her eccentric aunt Mira's for the summer while her mom tours Europe, promoting her tips for weight loss. Colie, as she likes to be called, wasn't what you would have expected from the famous Kiki Sparks' daughter. As it turns out, both Colie and Kiki used to be overweight.
As soon as she gets to Colby, where her aunt resides, she's picked up by an interesting boy named Norman that listens to hippie music and collects odds and ends to create art in his free time. As they pull up to the house, Colie meets her aunt as she's frantically looking for Cat Norman, her overweight feline companion. Everything in Mira's house is marked with a note, such as "WINDOWS PAINTED SHUT" or "ONE LEG SHORTER THAN THE OTHERS". Just about everything in the house is secondhand and broken.
What I loved most about this book was that I see a lot of myself in Colie. She always takes it personally when someone insults her and I'm exactly the same. Aunt Mira, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. She will wear a bright yellow dress with purple high-top Converse and ride her red bike through town, buying old broken toasters and have no care what anyone says although just about everyone snickers as she passes by. Since I've been made fun of my entire life for being fat, I understand why Colie has such low self-esteem. It's hard not to listen to the things that other people say.
With the help of some new-found friends and Norman's art, Colie begins to see the person she really is. The ending is beautiful and it just makes you feel like everything is right where it's supposed to be. I couldn't stop smiling after I put the book down. It even made me feel better about myself.
As soon as she gets to Colby, where her aunt resides, she's picked up by an interesting boy named Norman that listens to hippie music and collects odds and ends to create art in his free time. As they pull up to the house, Colie meets her aunt as she's frantically looking for Cat Norman, her overweight feline companion. Everything in Mira's house is marked with a note, such as "WINDOWS PAINTED SHUT" or "ONE LEG SHORTER THAN THE OTHERS". Just about everything in the house is secondhand and broken.
What I loved most about this book was that I see a lot of myself in Colie. She always takes it personally when someone insults her and I'm exactly the same. Aunt Mira, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. She will wear a bright yellow dress with purple high-top Converse and ride her red bike through town, buying old broken toasters and have no care what anyone says although just about everyone snickers as she passes by. Since I've been made fun of my entire life for being fat, I understand why Colie has such low self-esteem. It's hard not to listen to the things that other people say.
With the help of some new-found friends and Norman's art, Colie begins to see the person she really is. The ending is beautiful and it just makes you feel like everything is right where it's supposed to be. I couldn't stop smiling after I put the book down. It even made me feel better about myself.
The first two books you mentioned are the only two Sarah Dessen books I do not completely swoon over. I really recommend you read all her other books because they are absolutely excellent, there is no way yo be disappointed. My favorites are Along for the Ride, Just Listen, This Lullaby and The Truth About Forever, but the others are just as fantastic! Here is my review of Along for the Ride and here is my review of What Happened to Goodbye.
ReplyDelete