Keeping The Moon [Turtleback]

Sarah Dessen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 30, 2004

A sparkling new novel from the author who gets a teenager's voice and life "exactly right"...Sarah Dessen!

While her mother, aerobics queen Kiki Sparks, spends the summer touring Europe, fifteen-year-old Colie Sparks is stuck in sleepy Colby, North Carolina. But she's not complaining. For one thing, her Aunt Mira is a sweet, laid-back eccentric; for another, no one knows that back home in Charlotte Colie is seen as a formerly-fat "golf-course slut," the school scapegoat. Then, by fate or by accident, Colie lands a waitressing job, where she meets Morgan and Isabel. The two wisecracking--and wise--20something waitresses help her turn her life around, and realize the potential that has been there all along. Sarah Dessen's newest novel is poignant, humorous, and full of characters to cherish--what readers are coming to expect from this extraordinary young talent.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A plot description of this contemporary problem novel may make it sound like a kind of Cinderella story, but Dessen's (Someone Like You) ironic sense of humor and her knack for creating characters with both quirky personalities and universal emotions set her book apart. Colie's fitness-celebrity mom (a female version of Richard Simmons) long ago motivated her to lose 45.5 pounds, but Colie feels just as insecure as she did when she was overweight, and she is a pariah at school. During Colie's 15th summer, her mother goes on an extended tour of Europe, and Colie is sent to outlandish Aunt Mira in Colby, N.C. There Colie is influenced by a singular group of mentors: the young women next door, Isabel and Morgan, who give Colie a makeover as well as a waitressing job; Mira's young boarder, Norman, who has moved out of his bullying auto-dealer dad's house so he can pursue a career in art; and Mira herself, a greeting-card illustrator who is as enormous and eccentric as she is immune to the ostracism of the locals. As readers will anticipate, Colie begins a happy metamorphosis; unexpectedly, her transformation is interrupted by the arrival of a mean-mouthed schoolmate who is all too eager to cut Colie down. Readers will lap up the snappy dialogue, colorful episodes and unexpected pearls of wisdom. The lessons Colie learns about beauty, none of them new, come across with freshness and vitality. Ages 12-up. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up-Because her aerobics-star mother is taking her famous weight-loss program to Europe, 15-year-old Colie leaves her home in Charlotte to spend the summer with her endearing but uncompromisingly unusual Aunt Mira in coastal Colby, NC. Colie has recently dropped 45 pounds, but unlike her positive-thinking mother, the teen has not succeeded in shedding her negative self-image. With this change of scene, she hopes to escape her role as social victim. Unfortunately, Mira attracts lots of negative gossip. Worse still is the reappearance of Colie's hometown nemesis who continues to spread slanderous rumors about her. Colie feels hopeless until she accepts a job in a restaurant, where two fellow waitresses, both past their high school angst, share their beauty, boy, and life-management secrets with her. Sincere, perfectionist Morgan and the more flamboyant Isabel are great characters and the workings of their friendship is smooth, insightful, and just fun to read. The nifty and not-so-nifty relationships between men and women are observed through the eyes of a teen just on the verge of exploring such things on her own level. The love interests are varied, from a deceitful professional athlete for Morgan to a sincere artist surviving as a short-order cook for Colie. Through it all, readers are shown that "ya-ya" type friendships are a balm to protect young women while they're kissing toads they thought were princes. Teens will just want to cheer when Colie realizes that she has always had within what people were looking for externally.
Cindy Darling Codell, Clark Middle School, Winchester, KY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Turtleback: 228 pages
• Publisher: Demco Media (July 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0606307990
• ISBN-13: 978-0606307994
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (205 customer reviews)

More About the Author

I've been writing, in one way or another, for as long as I can remember. I was always a big reader, mostly because my parents were. I used to get frustrated with my mom because she bought me books for Christmas when what I really wanted were the gifts my friends got, things like sweaters and jewelry. But I did love to read. When I was eight or nine my parents gave me an old manual typewriter and a little desk in the corner of our den, and I'd sit there and type up my stories. I was the kind of kid that people always sighed over and said, "She has such a wild imagination," which usually meant "I wish Sarah would try to stick to the truth." I have a tendency to embellish: I think it's just a weakness of fiction writers. Once you learn how to make a story better, it's hard not to do it all the time."The books I read when I was teenager, the good ones anyway, have stuck more in my mind than anything since. I still love books, but while I couldn't tell you complete plots of novels I read even six months ago, I do remember even the smallest descriptive details from Lois Lowry's A Summer to Die or Judy Blume's Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. I think it was because back then books were still somewhat new to me, and when I found an author who seemed to say just what I was feeling, it really struck me and resonated. I hope that my books do that for the people who read them: I think it's the best thing to which any writer can aspire. "As far as my other life, my non-writing life, I live in the country with my husband, some lizards, and two dogs who are completely spoiled and rule me completely. I like to work in my garden---although I have not yet perfected the art of keeping everything alive----and, in my weaker moments, shop. I have a bit of an addiction to the Gap clearance rack, to be honest. I have this strange need to buy huge quantities of black pants. How many pairs of black pants does one person need? (Obviously for me, the answer is 11 and counting. But I digress.) What else can I tell you? I love Starbucks mochas but they make me way hyper. I subscribe to too many magazines. I make a mean bean salad. I could go on, but the truth is, my books are much more exciting than I am, and that's a good thing. It's always more fun to make stuff up anyway."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Appreciate yourself!, August 13, 2006

By 

Kaitlin Blank "Katie" (Vancouver, BC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Keeping the Moon (Paperback)

Coli (short for Nicole) has a famous mother, who showed women around the country that they can be determined to get fit. Now Colie has lost weight just like her mother, but she still doesn't seem to fit in with other people. Now her mother is touring in Europe, and Colie has to stay in North Carolina with her Aunt Mira.

Then, out of the blue, she ends up with a job at the "Last Chance Bar and Grill". Colie still lacks confidence, especially after running into some classmates who still tease her and spread hurtful rumors. But with the help of fellow waitresses Isabel and Morgan, she finds a part of her she can really love and appreciate. She has true friends here, not to mention a boy who she never expected to be with.

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:) This novel brought me lots of smiles. You know, it really did make me think twice about how well I appreciate myself. Girls today don't always have that great of an outlook on themselves, but this book has opened my eyes. I hope it can do the same for others as well.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Keeping the Moon, June 4, 2001

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Keeping the Moon (Mass Market Paperback)

I loved this book! I recommend this book to anyone who loves to read. Keeping the Moon really makes you think about life. I enjoyed reading about Colie and her fitness trainer mom,Kiki Sparks.I also like reading about her Aunt Mira and her new friends that she made. They are Isabel, Morgan, and Norman. The characters seem so real. I think that teeneagers especially would like it because it has to do with a teenage girl and her life at school, and with other people. This book tells you all the hard times that she went through and how she kept going even though she didn't think she could. I'm sure that most people can relate to this book in a certain way. I really liked this book and I'd definitely read it again!

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Under the Funny Moon, August 11, 2006

By 

Jillian V (Beverly Hills, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Keeping the Moon (Paperback)

I am also 15, the same as Colie, and I know this is a book that you could read over and over again and can never seem to put down. I like that it's witty and clever, too. What's funny is that it's called keeping the moon and the book I read right before it, Under the Baseball Moon, is also one of my favorite love stories of all time. I guess now I'm looking for one more "moon" book,, but I definitely recommend this one.