Review of Keeper of the Night (Hardcover)

Isabel was the first to come upon her mother's lifeless body and the empty bottle of sleeping pills.Since that day, Isabel's dad-her Tata-is emotionally haunted by the ghost of his dead wife to the point where he can no longer function as parent to his three young children, choosing instead to spend long hours our on his fishing boat.

Isabel's brother, Frank, has chosen to deal with his sorrow and anger through self-mutilation; and Isabel's little sister, Olivia, is now wetting her bed at night and waking up with nightmares.

Though she needs time to heal and find herself within the remains of her life, Isabel has discovered that her new role in life is of caretaker of the family.To make matters worse, a new American girl has arrived in Guam and threatens to take apart the comfort of Isabel's high school world, her native culture, and her traditional lifestyle-the last things that she felt she had ownership of.

The beauty of this book shows in the easy flow of the words, in the detailed descriptions of the island of Guam, and in the souls of the characters; yet it is unmistakable anguish seen in the pain of the children that stays with you long after the book has ended.The dialogue is honest, so honest that it almost feels as though the reader is invading the privacy of Isabel and her father-a father who still sleeps on the floor of his bedroom, comforted each night by the blanket his daughter lays over him once he has fallen to sleep.

There is nothing assuming or ridiculous about Isabel's thoughts on life, friends, or her mother's death.In fact, her feelings about her friendships leave the reader both annoyed with her childish ways and reminiscent of similar patterns from youth. It's hard to think of a young adult novel that uses its secondary characters so fittingly-Auntie Bernadette, Mrs. Cruz, Teresita, Mary Kelly, and even Mrs. Johnson are all responsible for moving this novel along at a pace that keeps the reader transfixed and hopeful.

While Kimberly Willis Holt is best known for her gentle southern characters, she has introduced the island of Guam with definite exotic warmth.



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