The Memory Keeper’s Daughter

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter, by Kim Edwards (adult: NEW Fiction Edwards)

by Melanie, almost a 12th grader

Norah and David, a young married couple, are having a baby. A snowstorm requires David to deliver his own baby, but it turns out they’re having twins. He realizes that the second baby, a girl, has Down’s syndrome. David then makes the split-second, life-altering decision to have his nurse take her away and put her in an institution. He tells his wife that their baby girl has died. The book follows the lives of both twins, Paul and Phoebe, as they grow up and become adults.

This book is really well written. It has an interesting plot line and was not predictable. Overall, it was a great story. It was very interesting to watch the story progress and see the character developments — especially since this book dealt with such deep emotions and inner character conflicts.

This Lullaby

This Lullaby, by Sarah Dessen [YA Fiction]
by Melanie, entering 12th grade

Remy, a college bound 18 year old girl, lives with her writer mother and older brother who breeds reptiles. Her mother has had 4 ex-husbands and is about to be married again. The book follows the life of Remy as she deals with her disfunctional family, her three best friends, and her love life. She begins the book deciding to break up with her boyfriend because she wants to be single for the summer, and it goes on from there.

Another classic Sarah Dessen book. Well-written as always and an enjoyable read.

Love Story

Love Story, by Erich Segal (adult Fiction)

by Melanie, entering 12th grade

Set in Cambridge, Massachusetts, this novel traces the lives of Oliver Barrett IV, a Harvard student/jock who comes from a very wealthy upperclass family, and Jenny Callaveri, a student at the all-girls school, Radcliffe, near Harvard. They meet at the Radcliffe library and begin dating. Love Story follows the couple as they fall in love.

Segal has a very unique writing style that makes you have to finish the book. For having been written in the 70’s, this book is not at all boring or anything else that one might assume.

Keeping the Moon

Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen (YA Fiction)
by Melanie, entering 12th grade

Colie, the main character, is forced to spend her summer vacation with her eccentric aunt while her famous exercise video mother tours Europe without her. Colie didn’t have any friends back home, and becomes friends with Isabel and Morgan, two girls who she works at a diner with. There’s also Norma, the artist who lives in her aunt’s basement and who also works at the diner.

And the moral of the story is…self-confidence and the importance of friends. Overall it was well-written and provided a quick entertaining read. If you’re a fan of Sarah Dessen, it’s another great novel by her.

March

March, by Geraldine Brooks (adult Fiction)
by Melanie, entering 12th grade

Told from the point of view of Mr. March, father of the more commonly known Little Women. This book was told with a mixture of flashback, letters, and present-day accounts of his service time in the Civil War.

This novel recently won the Pulitzer Prize, and in my opinion, definitely deserved it. Being told from a previously not considered point of view made for a very interesting plot and perspective.