Keeping the Moon

Reader reviewed by BooksObsession

Since
her aerobics-obsessed mother is going to Europe for business, Colie is
sent to live with her wacky Aunt Mira in Colby, North Carolina. Even
though Colie has recently lost over forty pounds and shed the "geeky
and fat" look, her self-esteem is still not fully healed. So, Colie
sees this as an opportunity to start over and be a new person, since no
one in Colby will know about her past. After meeting best friends
Morgan and Isabel, and the artistic Norman, Colie is starting to enjoy
the summer and the person she's created to be. That is, until an old
classmate from her hometown shows up and starts the gossip all over
again. Colie feels defeated and hopeless, until her new friends start
teaching her life-long lessons about beauty, guys, and life. Slowly,
Colie is able to mend her shattered self-image and embrace the person
she was all along.



This is one of the most realistic books I've read in a long time.
It was almost strange how this is all fiction, because it seemed like
something that could happen to one of my very own friends, or myself.
The characters in this novel were all very distinct, and I got to know
each one personally. I liked how they were all different - Morgan, the
caring perfectionist, and Isabel, the bold and flamboyant one. However,
it didn't seem like I really was able to dig deep into their characters
until after the first half of the book was over. To me, the novel
dragged in some chapters and I was ready for a new twist in the plot or
a change of setting. But, halfway through it picked up and also a touch
of romance was added, which is always a good thing. ;)



I think I also really enjoyed this book since I could relate to
Colie so easily. I could feel her pain when she had flashbacks of being
teased in middle school. My own personal stories were revealed through
her character and that really fascinated me.



After finishing the last page of the book, I just took this deep
breath and sat there smiling to myself. The ending was perfect, all the
loose ends were tied together and I was satisfied. But I didn't want it
to be over! The best parts of the book were during the last couple of
chapters, when a lot of events finally started to happen.



I feel like this was a deep, and thought-provoking book. If you
look close enough, there's a lot of important lessons buried inside of
it, and even the title has a little hidden symbolism in it - which is
brought up halfway through the novel. I'm glad I took the time to read
this book, but it's not one of my favorites of Sarah Dessen's other
novels. I just feel like there was a whole lot of potential for this
book, but it didn't execute enough plot. I loved how realistic it was,
though! 

Reader reviewed by Aimee

My life has never been easy. But with authors like Sarah Dessen writing such awesome books as Keeping the Moon, The Truth About Forever and This Lullaby make it much easier to take. Colie learns to believe in herself, something not many Americans can do. But with a little effort, we can make it. Sarah Dessen brings hope back to young readers hearts, as she put hope in mine.

-Aimee