Independent Reading: Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen

Sarah Dessen is #1 on the New York Times Bestselling Author, School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, 1998, A YALSA Best Book for Young Adults, 1999, New York Public Library Book for the Teenage, 2001, and Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist, 2003. She has written many books two of which I have already read. All her books focus on teenage girls and she usually will tie in different characters that have a small role in one book, but a large role in another. The book I chose Keeping the Moon was published September 1st, 1999 it was her third novel she now has ten books, one novella, and the current book she is writing. In 2003 the film how to deal with Mandy Moore was based off of Someone like you and That summer both written by Sarah Dessen.

Keeping the Moon, also released as Last Chance is about fifteen year old Nicole Sparks or Colie. This books narrates her summer that she spends her Aunt Mira in fictional Colby,a small beach town presumably in North Carolina. Each Sarah Dessen book has some sort of theme, some are simple and some can be more complex. This book is a very simple theme, friendship, a theme that evolves to be very complex. Colie was once overweight so was her mother, however her mother started aerobics and they both became very skinny, Colie evolving into a small case of anorexia.

When she arrives in Colbie she is very hesitant to make friends, she always had been however when she starts work at The Last Chance burger joint she makes new friends.

Her main best friends are two girls who have graduated from high school, it is never made clear how old they are however. Morgan is very tall and very welcoming of Colie, Isabel however is very rude and difficult towards Colie. The two only become friends when Isabel meets one of Colie’s arch enemies, who calls her a slut and a bitch.

Norman is the young man, probably seventeen or sixteen who lives in Aunt Mira’s basement, he is the cook at the Last Chance and takes an interest in Colie, the two start out as friends but become involved near the end.

Aunt Mira is very eccentric and reminds Colie of who she used to be, more of what she and her mother used to look like. Colie is somewhat afraid of Mira in the beginning but the two become good friends while talking. Colie learns that Mira’s life is very difficult, she is made fun of all over Colby but when Colie confronts Mira with this, she learns how strong Mira is.