A review by acdhamija
Keeper by Kathi Appelt

3.0

Appelt, Kathi. Illustrated by August Hall. Keeper. 2010. 399 pp. $16.99. Atheneum. 978-1-41695-060-8. Ages 9-13. Keeper’s small world consists of the human and animal inhabitants of the three houses clustered together on a patch of Texas coastline. The residents - Keeper’s caregiver Signe, the troubled former soldier Dogie, and the aging and lovesick Mr. Beauchamp are all looking forward to the blue moon, until Keeper manages to get herself in trouble and disrupt their plans. Blaming herself, Keeper decides to sail away at night to a nearby sandbar, where she can ask her mother Meggie Marie - who Keeper believes is a mermaid. Along the way, tragedy strikes and it will take real magic to reunite Keeper with her family. With chapters told from each character’s perspective - human and animal - it takes longer than usual for the story to take off. However, the skillfully interwoven details and the satisfying conclusion make the story will make the story well-worth the slow start. Mature themes of parental abandonment and a homosexual love affair are sensitively and inoffensively handled. From the New York Times Bestselling author of The Underneath. Recommended. Ages 9-13.