Title: Keeping the Moon
Author: Sarah Dessen
My Rating: 3.0 out of 5.0
Author: Sarah Dessen
Format: Paperback
Release Date: May 11th, 2004My Rating: 3.0 out of 5.0
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 Review:
Keeping the Moon was a great surprising read, I never thought I would be the big chick-lit fan. However, this book may have just turned me, Sarah's a great author and weaves the characters beautifully. Colie her Mother, and Aunt. I was surprised mostly by how well her characters flowed together. Dessen pulled on some emotional strings and weaved a drama of finding yourself and knowing/accepting who you are. I wasn't sure how well this would pan out, and just how well this would play out, but furthermore Dessen pulled it together and put a work of art together.
Colie was a different character, and her mother took the cake. Colie's mother was a fitness guru, almost like Richard Simmons. She was energetic and exciting; she was a character who know who she was and what she wanted from herself and those around her. She was inspiring and able to motivate just about anyone, except her own daughter. Yeah, of course she made her daughter lose a lot of weight and look like an average american teenager. Yet there was something she couldn't pass on to Colie, self confidence.
Colie was a character that surprised me on just how complex and unique she could be. While I never and still don't understand women/girls today, Dessen opens that world slightly with Colie's perspective. The dancing even if there isn't a reason or your just to sad/depressed and want to dance the worlds worries away, was a new perspective and answer to me. Furthermore the insight and the general perceptions on how her life should be, or what she was afraid of bright some sense to my misguidance.
So, when I read this book I figured Colie, a bigger girl when she was young and having lost all this weight and daughter of a wealthy motivated health nut, would be happy with the life she had. I was wrong, completely. Which surprised me; Colie was a girl who was afraid of those around her, lacked the confidence to stand up for herself and demand respect, furthermore she almost didn't trust the one guy that seemed over and over to ask her out, to push his luck with a girl who he probably may never have a normal shot at. It was sad, at just how pathetic she was, until she opened up and saw herself completely and understood that reflection. I loved the development of Dessen's work here.
Her friends, Isabel and Morgan provide different aspects and good character relief. First Morgan is the loving compassionate girl who is in love with a baseball player. Isabel is the exact opposite, she's colder has a harsher personality that seems to grit on everyone's personality. I love the two characters because they compliment each other so well. Isabel demands respect and knows who she is and what she expects out of everyone. Whereas Morgan is more wishy-washy; she is more lenient and gives people the benefit of the doubt, and I love how they compliment each other.
Furthermore, there was one character that I loved more than any Norman, I believe. He was an eccentric character that seemed to follow his own road and do his own thing, regardless of what other people said about him or the people he hung out with. It was refreshing to see his persona, and realistically his add assortment of sunglasses that made him real. It was the quirky aspects of his character that made him real, but also deeper into the story you realize he isn't perfect, but he's just good enough to catch your eye and make him memorable. His persistence with Colie, and his tolerance made him unique and seemed to remind me of who I would like to be and would hope to be.
Outside of Norman though, I have to say I thought the book could be a bit sexist. However, I do have to say that there are a lot of bad men out in the world, but the one quote that stuck with me came from Isabel; something along the lines of "[It's the bitches that prepare you for men.]" I know women are harder on each other, but I don't think that men can be all that terrible. Maybe I am wrong, and we do let you down moreso than I think; but it gives those guys that are decent and try to be the best they can a bad name.
Beyond the sexist bit, the reason this book fell short was the romance. There wasn't any or if you want to say there was, it came too late for me. It wasn't until nearly the end of the book that a spark took hold and I was left at the end of the book asking why it took so long for it to finally show up. I was confused and with such great characters, I just couldn't understand why it was drug out so long. Yeah, I understand the purpose of the book was for Colie to find herself and feel accepted in the world, but that part of the book ended prior to the small romance bit.
Colie was a different character, and her mother took the cake. Colie's mother was a fitness guru, almost like Richard Simmons. She was energetic and exciting; she was a character who know who she was and what she wanted from herself and those around her. She was inspiring and able to motivate just about anyone, except her own daughter. Yeah, of course she made her daughter lose a lot of weight and look like an average american teenager. Yet there was something she couldn't pass on to Colie, self confidence.
Colie was a character that surprised me on just how complex and unique she could be. While I never and still don't understand women/girls today, Dessen opens that world slightly with Colie's perspective. The dancing even if there isn't a reason or your just to sad/depressed and want to dance the worlds worries away, was a new perspective and answer to me. Furthermore the insight and the general perceptions on how her life should be, or what she was afraid of bright some sense to my misguidance.
So, when I read this book I figured Colie, a bigger girl when she was young and having lost all this weight and daughter of a wealthy motivated health nut, would be happy with the life she had. I was wrong, completely. Which surprised me; Colie was a girl who was afraid of those around her, lacked the confidence to stand up for herself and demand respect, furthermore she almost didn't trust the one guy that seemed over and over to ask her out, to push his luck with a girl who he probably may never have a normal shot at. It was sad, at just how pathetic she was, until she opened up and saw herself completely and understood that reflection. I loved the development of Dessen's work here.
Her friends, Isabel and Morgan provide different aspects and good character relief. First Morgan is the loving compassionate girl who is in love with a baseball player. Isabel is the exact opposite, she's colder has a harsher personality that seems to grit on everyone's personality. I love the two characters because they compliment each other so well. Isabel demands respect and knows who she is and what she expects out of everyone. Whereas Morgan is more wishy-washy; she is more lenient and gives people the benefit of the doubt, and I love how they compliment each other.
Furthermore, there was one character that I loved more than any Norman, I believe. He was an eccentric character that seemed to follow his own road and do his own thing, regardless of what other people said about him or the people he hung out with. It was refreshing to see his persona, and realistically his add assortment of sunglasses that made him real. It was the quirky aspects of his character that made him real, but also deeper into the story you realize he isn't perfect, but he's just good enough to catch your eye and make him memorable. His persistence with Colie, and his tolerance made him unique and seemed to remind me of who I would like to be and would hope to be.
Outside of Norman though, I have to say I thought the book could be a bit sexist. However, I do have to say that there are a lot of bad men out in the world, but the one quote that stuck with me came from Isabel; something along the lines of "[It's the bitches that prepare you for men.]" I know women are harder on each other, but I don't think that men can be all that terrible. Maybe I am wrong, and we do let you down moreso than I think; but it gives those guys that are decent and try to be the best they can a bad name.
Beyond the sexist bit, the reason this book fell short was the romance. There wasn't any or if you want to say there was, it came too late for me. It wasn't until nearly the end of the book that a spark took hold and I was left at the end of the book asking why it took so long for it to finally show up. I was confused and with such great characters, I just couldn't understand why it was drug out so long. Yeah, I understand the purpose of the book was for Colie to find herself and feel accepted in the world, but that part of the book ended prior to the small romance bit.
