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474th out of 508 books
—
634 voters
The Keeping Days (Keeping Days #1)
Fourteen-year-old Tish, living in Yonkers, New York, chronicles her family's problems and experiences during a seven month period in 1900.
Paperback
Published
by Vivisphere Publishing
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Jun 28, 2011
Mariel
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Miss America 1983
Recommended to Mariel by:
The reigning butter queen of 1900
I found this dusty time capsule in my backyard. It arrived on the back of a 1980s has-been actor (and he arrived on the back of a flaming jet pack!). The dry ice revealed a neon sticker that said "1900". "Remember me?" It said, "We loved this in our childhood. It reminded us of growing up in 1900! We were bosom buddies, skipped through prairies with our blind older sister and ate pickled limes and fixed up teenaged girls with older gentlemen! And warmed the hearts of dried up bitches so they cou...more
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I enjoyed this book, but might have been more in love with it if I'd read it as a moody teenager. I had a similar reaction to this book as I did to "Ballet Shoes"--that I didn't really like the characters enough to want to hang out with them, even though I really WANTED to like them. Tish Sterling's mother is the most dynamic character, relatable character (who hasn't had a mother like her, or felt overworked and underappreciated?), though she is often dismissed as a martyr and gets the short en...more
I should prepare to get stoned by the Maudlers, eh? People say there is a lot of homage to MHL. How about Alcott (the scarlet fever section)and I know the bit about someone copying a poem and winning a prize with it is from somewhere -- LMM, maybe? The various spinster aunts are right from LMM. It's like Johnston read all the kidlit we loved, turned her brain on blend, and made a frothy kidlit milkshake.
The mother character drove me crazy. I found her to be unlikeable, and I hated her habit of s...more
The mother character drove me crazy. I found her to be unlikeable, and I hated her habit of s...more
I really loved this series as a teenager. It's historical fiction told in the first person, my favorite when I was a kid! When I found it at the library, I thought I would reread it and see if it still as great as I thought. As a teen, I loved it so much that I saved my money and bought the whole series. They are somewhere down in the basement in a box, so it was easier just to check it out of the library.
Rereading this now, I don't find it as moving. I think it is because I'm no longer a "sensi...more
Rereading this now, I don't find it as moving. I think it is because I'm no longer a "sensi...more
Okay, first off: I am only at the place at which Bron is engaged to Sidney, so no spoilers, people!
I don't mind that she is giving homage to Maud (Or stealing, as some call it), I love that this is a book looking back at the past but which feels so fresh and relevant. It's like peanut butter and chocolate: a great combination. In this case, the combination is a modern tone while giving us the old-fashioned life porn we crave but without the niceties that can muck it up. Basically, she had me whe...more
I don't mind that she is giving homage to Maud (Or stealing, as some call it), I love that this is a book looking back at the past but which feels so fresh and relevant. It's like peanut butter and chocolate: a great combination. In this case, the combination is a modern tone while giving us the old-fashioned life porn we crave but without the niceties that can muck it up. Basically, she had me whe...more
Sep 26, 2009
Vicki
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
tween & teens
Recommended to Vicki by:
Daly City librarian
I had to dig into my memory banks to find this book. I vaguely remember a series from my youth that included a girl named Tish and a boy named Kenny, and couldn't remember anything else. So a search of the Library of Congress, then a purchase on amazon.com, and here it is...The Keeping Days. It's a great little young adult novel based in the early 1900s in Yonkers. Tish, the main character, *can* be overly sensitive, and a bit emotional, but she really is a believable character. I really enjoyed...more
6/2010 Standing by my five-star rating. Tish's voice rings true in the overwrought way I remember from my own adolescence. I love the first chapter better than maybe any other first chapter in a series. It never fails to make me cry. I think the Sterling family is real and endearing. I love the fact that Tish is a little older than Betsy Ray (from the Betsy-Tacy series) and their experiences are so dissimilar while sharing a great deal. Hodel Resnikov is someone I think I remember from high scho...more
Okay, I soooooo enjoyed reading this. It was funny, clever, and SPOT-ON what being in a family is. Plus, Tish's mother is SOOO much like mine. I wish I would have read it as a teen because I think I would have loved it even more, but it's still very likeable for an adult. It reminds me of the movie 'Meet Me in St. Louis' but perhaps that's just because they're the same era. Anyway, I like memoir-type books like this and I thought it was a goodie. I'm off to read the next in the series.
Because I was up until three a.m. reading this, I figure I have to give it four stars. I had never read it before.
Don't know if it can really be compared to any of the Betsy-Tacy books, but if so, I'm afraid meeting Tish causes me to find Betsy Ray (even) more spoiled and vacuous than before. Maud is probably the better writer, though I would have to consider this . . . Johnston's scope is more ambitious.
Don't know if it can really be compared to any of the Betsy-Tacy books, but if so, I'm afraid meeting Tish causes me to find Betsy Ray (even) more spoiled and vacuous than before. Maud is probably the better writer, though I would have to consider this . . . Johnston's scope is more ambitious.
It's always refreshing to have a non-perfect family in young adult novels, especially historical ones. And they wrestled with some real problems--it was not all sweetness and light.
And yet, I couldn't really get into this book. It was hard for me to really like any of the characters, and I've realized that I must love the characters to love the book.
Except Ken. I kinda loved him.
And yet, I couldn't really get into this book. It was hard for me to really like any of the characters, and I've realized that I must love the characters to love the book.
Except Ken. I kinda loved him.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed this book. The cover wasn't much. Plus, when I looked at the checkout slip, there wasn't much action...1976, 1982, 1984, 1990! Granted, the system may have been computerized after that date, but still! I'm looking forward to reading some of the other books in the series.
I quite liked this book. It's very real and has extremely well developed and believable characters. I particularly liked the mother - she's just so snarky and hilarious - especially in her dealings with Aunt Kate; although I can see that she'd be difficult to live with... I loved the way Tish was such a teenager - this book depicts what teenage girls, and boys for that matter, go through very well.
One of my favorite series, but for a long time I couldn't remember the name of it. Unearthed the titles in a report I wrote for 7th grade. I will defintely be re-reading them. Also exc ited to discover there are more in the series.
Really a charming book for an adolescent girl---a bit old fashioned, but that's why I liked it. The next book in the series is just a bit more syrup-y.
My grandmother gave me this entire series 20 years ago, and I loved them. I have often thought about going back to them and re-reading as an adult.
I just re-read this... I can't find the whole series - it's out of print, but I loved these books as pre-teen!
I remember very little about this book other than that I read it as a teenager and loved it.
This series was a favorite of mine as a young teen.
A fantastic book -- one of my favorites.
I still have my set.
really good
Jul 26, 2008
Kira
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommended to Kira by:
Found them on my own in junior high...
The Keeing Days Books: Absolutely the best series of books I read starting when I was 13 - I loved loved loved Tish and her family and I have the entire series waiting for my five nieces and hopefully my own daughter...all six books are wonderful and I think that Norma Johnston's writing style is my favorite out of any author I have ever read, no matter how many favorite books came along over the years after these.
I only wish for other girls that these were still currently in print.
I only wish for other girls that these were still currently in print.
This book was outside my comfort zone, but I enjoyed it. Very true-to-life. Not sure if I'll read all of the rest of the series, but it was a good, new experience for me.
I'm not sure I'd give this five stars if I were reading it for the first time now. But I loved these books as a child/teen. I don't think I'd read any of these since I was a teenager, so this is the first re-read in a long time. Anyway, the five stars was based on my memories and the feeling I had for these books as a child. I'm going to let it stand.
A fourteen-year-old girl confronts issues of family, faith, bigotry, and the general angst of being an adolescent. The story takes place in Yonkers, NY in the year 1900. Sadly, this wonderful young adult novel is out of print. I devoured it in a couple of sittings and can't wait to read the rest of the books in the series.
I first read this book when I was in seventh grade. I have reread it so many times that its falling apart. Its actually part of a series called The Keeping Days and they are all wonderful. Every time I read I get something out of it. Even as an adult I still love to read it and hope to pass it on to my daughter someday.
I loved this series when I was in my teen years!! It fit what I was going through at time. I wish these books were easier to get, I would love to own all of them!
I love the whole Keeping Days series, they are like the comfort food of books. I've read them all many many times.
I loved the entire Keeping Days series when I was a kid. I wish I still had the books.
Oct 09, 2010
Jorayne
marked it as to-read
haha her name is tish!
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