Keeping the Moon (reissue) by Sarah
Dessen
Dessen's Best Book Yet
Fifteen-year-old Colie is spending the summer with her eccentric Aunt Mira
while her mother travels. Formerly chubby and still insecure, Colie has built
a shell around herself. But her summer with her aunt, her aunts tenant
Norman, and her friends at the Last Chance Diner&150teaches her some
important lessons about friendship and learning to love yourself.
Personal Review: Keeping the Moon (reissue) by Sarah Dessen
Keeping the Moon is about Colie, a fifteen year old girl who's forced to
spend the summer with her eccentric aunt in Colby, North Carolina while
her overly enthusiastic weight-loss video selling mother tours Europe to
promote her new line of food, videos and work out equipment. Colie is
used to being alone, however; before her mother found the weight-loss
lifestyle, both of them were incredibly overweight. Having problems
wherever they went, the two traveled from place to place frequently, finally
settling in Charlotte, North Car olina when her mother started to work for a
gym. That's when they both lost weight. Sadly, even without the weight,
Colie was still unable to make friends.
Having a ton of pent-up anger and embarrasment already on her
shoulders, Colie was convinced that her summer was going to be terrible.
But as she frets about the students she ran away from, she meets Isabel
and Morgan, two waitresses at the Last Stop Grill, who offer her a job.
Morgan, the optimist, has a baseball playing fiance and a delicate heart of
gold. Isabel is beautiful, yet honest and brutal to Colie in ways that anger,
yet inspire her. And then there's Norman, the crazy artist who practically
lives with Colie's Aunt. And Mira, the aunt who marches to her own beat,
wearing bright colors and crazy glasses. Throughout the summer, Colie
learns how each person goes from day to day and how no one has it quite
so easy. She learns to look past those who mock and find the good and
beauty inside herself. Most of all, Colie finds herself.
Keeping the Moon is a delicate book that shows how one character can
survive many hardships and learn to grow past it all, with encouragement,
honesty, and friends.
Needless to say, I really enjoyed Keeping the Moon. I read it next because
it took place in Colby, the same place Along for the Ride was set, and
featured a familiar character. I loved watching Colie progress throughout
the book - watching her hit her peak and plummet within a few pages, and
then build herself back up again. It was endearing to see how much heart
Dessen gives each character. Speaking of, Isabel was actually my favorite
character. With her rough exterior, she shows Colie what's important
through hard lessons and a picture from her past. Isabel wasn't a character
that grew while the book progressed, but you saw where she came from
and ultimately what she was made of.
I love the friendship between Morgan and Isabel - it's so honest and true.
And mostly, I really liked Mira, who was confusing at first, but offered up
life lessons without realizing what she was doing it. It was her selflessness
and easy-going attitude that amazed me. And, of course, Norman the "guy"
in the book, with his longer hair and hippie lifestyle. The relationship
between Norman and Colie was a bit forced, I felt, but cute nonetheless.
There HAD to be a summer crush, right?
I liked how Kiki, Colie's mother, was present throughout the novel, without
being there (through phone calls and commercials.) She wasn't presented
as the bad guy, even though she was miles away, in fact she also acted as
a guiding light for Colie. I really like Colby as a setting - this small town
that's peak population is during hot summer days. Last Chance is a place
you want to go to, hang out at. You can tell Dessen spent quite a few days
living there.
All in all, Keeping the Moon is a fantastic young adult book that makes me
want to ride my bike or hang out with friends under a sky full of a fireworks.
It shows you that it's not always smart to "judge a book by it's cover," an d
how things that may be broken, can still have meaning and life. It's a book
that'll definitely have me picking up more of Sarah Dessen's stories
because I'm sure each one has just as much, if not more, heart.
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