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What Members Thought
This is one that is already being mentioned as a Newbery contender. I listened to it, and think I might have liked it better if I'd read it. The author narrates her own book, and I found her voice REALLY annoying and not a good choice. Am not sure what the publisher was thinking in choosing her to do this. I would have turned it off, except for the fact that it is being mentioned on many of the Newbery predictions.
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I keep waffling about this one. I was not a fan of The Underneath. I felt it was boring and slow. Keeper is not boring but it is slow. Appelt works very hard to be artful in her use of language and the story kept me reading to see what happens. But when I finished I had too many questions. Why is her name Keeper? Surely she had a name before her mother left, but we have no idea what that is or why she is called Keeper. It seemed hard to believe that these people all lived so close to each other
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I didn't know what to expect from this book - I've read a bit of Kathi Appelt's other middle grade novel The Underneath - which I had mixed feelings about. In that one, I got pulled into the story but the language was getting in the way for me. The Underneath is written in a poetic prose style, and while I don't have interest to judge the writing itself, I couldn't shake the feeling that I wanted to hear the story straight. I'd be interested to get a kid's perspective, but of all the good books
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I started listening to this on CD in my car tonight & still can't believe how much I disliked the narrator's voice--emphasizes how disjointed the story is at the beginning. I kept trying to hold onto some thread of story, so that I could make sense of what was happening and who this protagonist is, but I just couldn't. I'm going to try reading it instead of listening, and maybe that will help. Audiobooks are best when the reader understands from the beginning what happens, or at least the plot r
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I think this suffered a little for me because I loved The Underneath so very much. I liked Keeper just fine, but it didn't have quite the same level of lyricism to the writing and the setting wasn't nearly as strong (I can forgive a lot if a setting is great). The characters were very engaging and the setting was good, just not great. Part of the problem for me might also be the almost complete lack of plot and I tend to be somewhat of a plot-centered reader.
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The story and the characters were great, but the pacing of this kept me from loving it. The writing was very repetitive (several entire chapters contained absolutely no new information) and I didn't see the point of it. Was it to make the reader feel the slow passage of time as Keeper sits out on a boat in the middle of the night? Maybe so. Either way, I think there will be other readers like me frustrated by how slowly the plot moved.
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While The Underneath didn't quite hit the spot for me, I did admire Appelt's writing and wanted to give this a try. It's similar in approach - a slow, rhythmic, repetitive style that makes it one of those books you can't really rush through. Keeper is forced to be patient as she waits for the tide (and we get flashbacks into her awful day that led up to where she is now) and we are forced to be patient as Keeper's series of mistakes and accidents is revealed to us.
The characters really shine, b ...more
The characters really shine, b ...more
I liked this book a lot, might have liked it even better if I had read it all at once, I read it over a long period of time.
Stories about the different forms love can take always steal my heart. Keeper does just that.
The author goes back and forth in time and back and forth with the characters--I found it quite confusing. I also don't think a children's book should be used as a platform to condone homosexuality.
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Grades 4-7. RL 770. Ten year-old Keeper has the WORST day ever, making everyone around her miserable. So she decides to take a boat out during a blue moon to make a wish and find her mermaid mother, who will know what to do.
A blend of fantasy and realistic fiction, I struggled with the writing style-- but I powered through. It was a very sweet story. I cried (which most books don't get me to do). Be prepared for a SLOW, quiet book. ...more
A blend of fantasy and realistic fiction, I struggled with the writing style-- but I powered through. It was a very sweet story. I cried (which most books don't get me to do). Be prepared for a SLOW, quiet book. ...more
A beautifully written book, this is the story of a young girl and her ersatz family who live on an isolated spit of land on the coast of Texas, none of whom are related by blood but all of whom are related by need and love. A joy to read. Highly recommended. Will probably appeal to middle grade girls and certainly to me.
Lots of good things in this book, but all overshadowed by the problem that it's just too. long.
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Mar 28, 2010
Rachel
marked it as to-read
Apr 28, 2010
Maggi Rohde
marked it as to-read
Aug 11, 2010
Kathryn
marked it as to-read
