The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

After finishing my last book, I had no idea what to read. I am never good at choosing books, so I usually ask other people for their suggestions. As I passed a classmate in the hallway one day, she suggested this book claiming that it was amazing. I figured, why not? I was already on my way to the library, and when I saw it on the rack I immediately picked it up and checked it out. I didn't really know what it was about, but after reading the blurb and beginning the book I became more interested. Edwards creates a couple who is pregnant, and surprised when they have twins. The husband is even more surprised that their second child is born with down syndrome. Fearing early death and suffering for the child, he tells the nurse to take her away, sending her to a better facility. I am fine with the decision to give her up since he felt they could not provide for her. Also, they didn't want to suffer and feel devastated if she died young. This is understandable. What I don't like, though, is that the husband lied to his wife. She was unconscious while giving birth, so she didn't know her daughter was born with a disability. Instead of telling her the truth, her husband claims, "Our little daughter died as she was born" (20). This really angered me because I feel that the wife has the right to know the truth. It also surprised me because it seemed as though they had a better relationship - not one based off lies. So far, I like this book, but sometimes it is overly descriptive. This can be too much to absorb and sometimes annoying. I am looking forward to seeing how things unfold, and I predict that she will eventually find out the truth about her daughter. I also predict that she will go on a search to find her.

Along For the Ride - Finally Done

I finally finished this book, and it was great. I could not put it down this weekend until it was done. The book as a whole was very inspirational, and had many life lessons in it. Sarah Dessen emphasizes the importance of taking advantage of second chances, and that it is okay for people to change. She helps the reader follow along with the emotions of the characters, feeling how they feel and thinking what they think. This book is extremely realistic; it tells the story of a girl who's parents got divorced. Living with her over-achieving mother she feels suffocated, so she visits her father in his beach town for the summer. There, she meets new people, has friends for once and experiences things she thought she never would. This book illustrates how people grow up, and how we interact with others. I loved it, and I recommend it to anyone who likes realistic fiction romances.

Along For the Ride - Almost Finished

As I continue to read this book, I see the characters develop more. I am continuously learning something new about them, or finding something that reinforces their personality further. For example, I already knew that Auden didn't have much of a childhood - her parents, mainly her mother, molded her into an adult from the time she was very young. It seemed that Auden didn't mind this, probably because she didn't expect to be treated any differently. She appears to have been a very thoughtful and considerate child, explaining to Eli that she never woke her parents up to get her water because "[They] needed their sleep" (271). In the long run, her parents had a negative effect on her considering the fact that they got divorced. Auden is not as put together as she once was, and she seems embarrassed to display her emotions in front of people. It is probably a new feeling for her; one that is uncomfortable. She opens up in front of Eli, though, showing her comfort around him and he handles the situation very well. He does what his mom always did when his sisters cried: bake rice krispie treats. Eli is a very caring person, but people don't always get to see that under his sad exterior. People aren't always what they seem...they can change and grow. Sarah Dessen does a great job of fulling developing characters, and I enjoy seeing how things unfold.