[Guest Post] Dualed Blog Tour, Interview with Elsie Chapman + GIVEAWAY!

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2013, author, book, books, dystopian, fighting, giveaway, interview, sci-fi, writing, young adult, young adult fiction

Dualed (2013)
by Elsie Chapman
Publication Date: February 26, 2013
Goodreads.
Amazon.
Barnes and Noble.
IndieBound.

I’m very excited to be featuring Elsie Chapman today as part of the Dualed Blog Tour!

Two of you exist.
Only one will survive.

The city of Kersh is a safe haven, but the price of safety is high. Everyone has a genetic Alternate—a twin raised by another family—and citizens must prove their worth by eliminating their Alts before their twentieth birthday. Survival means advanced schooling, a good job, marriage—life.

Q: Share with us some of the inspiration behind DUALED! How long did it take you to write and sell DUALED? And now that you are a 2013 debut author, how does that effect your writing schedule??

The first draft of DUALED took me five weeks, but revisions and took me much longer. In the end, almost everything evens out, it seems. And I think it took me about three months to sell DUALED.

I couldn’t be happier with how it all worked out! But I’m definitely feeling more of a time crunch now that there’s one book already in the works. Because with follow-up books that you might be drafting or editing, you’re still having to edit or promote your first book at the same time. I’m still struggling with better time management, and I’ve learned it is wholly possible to survive on four hours of sleep a night.

Q: You or your Alt? If you lived in Kersh, who do you think would win the dual? What would you use to fight your Alt (weapons, strategy, fighting skills)?

I hate to say it but I think my Alt would probably kick my butt. Not only do I know my own tendencies and weaknesses, I also couldn’t imagine she’d be any worse. But of course it would still have to come down to a battle, so I think if I stood any chance at all, I’d probably have to rely on doing something sneaky.

Don’t forget to check out the other blog tour stops and enter the tour-wide giveaway for a finished copy of Dualed (open internationally, as long as The Book Depository ships to your country.)

Click here to go to Rafflecopter giveaway!

[review] The Promise of Stardust by Priscille Sibley (2013)

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book, book review, book tour, family, fear, giveaway, love, mothers, novel, TLC Book Tour

The Promise of Stardust (2013)
by Priscille Sibley
Finished Paperback, Read for a TLC Book Tour
Publication Date: February 5th, 2013
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
buy a copy from Amazon.
Goodreads.

A few people always know what they want to do when they grow up. Priscille Sibley knew early on she would become a nurse. And a poet. Later, her love of words developed into a passion for storytelling.

Born and raised in Maine, Priscille has paddled down a few wild rivers, done a little rock climbing, and jumped out of airplanes. She currently lives in New Jersey where she works as a neonatal intensive care nurse and shares her life with her wonderful husband, three tall teenaged sons, and a mischievous Wheaten terrier.

Filled with grace, sensitivity and compassion, The Promise of Stardust is an emotionally resonant and thought-provoking tale that raises profound questions about life and death, faith and medicine, and illuminates the power of love to divide and heal a family in the wake of unexpected tragedy.

Matt Beaulieu was two years old the first time he held Elle McClure in his arms, seventeen when he first kissed her under a sky filled with shooting stars, and thirty-three when he convinced her to marry him. Now in their late 30s, the deeply devoted couple has everything-except the baby they’ve always wanted.

When an accident leaves Elle brain dead, Matt is devastated. Though he cannot bear the thought of life without her, he knows Elle was afraid of only one thing-a slow death. And so, Matt resolves to take her off life support. But Matt changes his mind when they discover Elle’s pregnant. While there are no certainties, the baby might survive if Elle remains on life support. Matt’s mother, Linney, disagrees with his decision. She loves Elle, too, and insists that Elle would never want to be kept alive on machines. Linney is prepared to fight her son in court-armed with Elle’s living will.

My Thoughts:
Please note that this is a DNF(did not finish) review. I very. very rarely DNF books, but I will tell you why.

I’m the minority of people who The Promise of Stardust just didn’t connect with. Perhaps it is because for me, there was no ethical grayness on the issue of saving the baby if the mother (who would’ve REALLY wanted a baby anyway) is on life support: “Well, of COURSE they should try save the baby. It is ONLY a few months. If Elle is already “brain dead,” it’s not like she’ll be in pain and she would’ve wanted the baby if she was alive.” I realize that this might be a careless thing to say, especially since I have no experience with having a family member on life support, but the “right” thing to do seemed right in front of me the entire time.

However, even though I was on Matt’s side, I can’t say I cared for him.
The story is from his point of view, so I was hoping to feel sympathetic towards him. Unfortunately, it never happened. He spent most of his time trying to blatantly convince me how angry/depressed/frustrated he was with verbose, uncompelling metaphors that left me bored–and fake, as if he was trying too hard to make me pity him. I wish more of his characterization was left to the imagination. I can tell you are angry, dude. You really don’t have to tell me. He was a flat character. He wasn’t real to me and felt more like a dramatized character formed out of Hollywood’s perception of what a depressed widow should act like. Mope around. Refuse help. Break stuff. *yawn*
I wanted more from Matt’s mother, hoping she would convince me to take her side. But for a woman that was supposed to be a confident nurse, she felt like a weak, clueless old lady.

I was also not a fan of the lawsuit or medical scenes, for the jargon left me befuddled most of the time. I think my confusion made the book seem longer than it was. I need a glossary.

dump the minutiae and get to the point.-Matt (from The Promise of Stardust)

My thoughts exactly.

I did not enjoy The Promise of Stardust as much as I hoped I would, but I’ve read many glowing reviews for it. I suppose I hoped it would be an enlightening, philosophical story about ethics. Or a heartwarming story that would make me shed a few tears. Unfortunately, I was left disengaged and annoyed with the stubborn, flat characters that I couldn’t get past the first hundred pages. I do plan on finishing it up soon to give a well-considered, complete review.

Rating: C (DNF Rating)

Want to know what others thought of The Promise of Stardust? Check out the other TLC tour stops!

[Guest Post] Harken Blog Tour, Interview with Kaleb Nation + TWO GIVEAWAYS!

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2013, author, book, books, conspiracy theory, giveaway, interview, writing, young adult, young adult fiction

 Harken (2013)
by Kaleb Nation (twitter.)
Publication Date: January 13th, 2013
Read a 3 Chapter Preview.
Goodreads.
Amazon.

I’m very excited to be featuring Kaleb Nation today as part of the Harken Blog Tour!

After surviving an assassination attempt, teenager Michael Asher discovers that he is at the center of a worldwide conspiracy reaching higher than any earthly power. A supernatural organization desperately wants him dead. He doesn’t know why. Everyone who might have the answers has already been killed.

Q: Will Harken be translated into other languages? What language would you most like to see Harken translated into?

HARKEN is in English right now, but hopefully we’ll see some other translations soon. I’d love to see it translated into Japanese! I haven’t had any of my books in that language yet.

Q: What was the cover choosing process like?

The first cover designs looked nice but didn’t really capture the feel of HARKEN. You can see some of the rejected covers here.
I wanted a cover that captures something iconic from the book. What sets HARKEN apart from everything else out there?
Meanwhile, my readers were anxiously waiting to read HARKEN, which at that time was known as the #SecretKalebBook on Twitter. Some of them started to write #SecretKalebBook on their hands to show their support as I wrote. That got me thinking. How could we design a cover that shows something special from the book but also gives a nod to the people who’ve been waiting for years to read it? That’s where the idea of using Michael’s scale-covered hand came from… and as an added bonus, the word HARKEN is over his hand, just like my readers had been doing! 

Q: Do you think you will have the urge to “fix” or tweak some things in Harken the more you read it?

YES! I am a perfectionist. I was altering tiny details all the way to my deadline. Books are such massive projects that it’s impossible to get everything entirely perfect, and yet I still find it hard to let it go. Because of this, I’ve never fully read any of my books after they were published – I know if I open it, I’ll want to change things!

Don’t forget to check out the other Harken blog tour stops and enter the tour-wide giveaway for a Harken themed Kindle Paperwhite and a Harken prize pack! I know I want it!


Click here to go to Rafflecopter giveaway for a chance to win your very own HARKEN KINDLE PAPERWHITE!

And to thank you for reading (or scrolling) this far here’s a SECOND giveaway for a Harken prize pack right here on the blog!

• – a giant HARKEN poster (signed)
• – a HARKEN glow-in-the-dark wristband
• – a Kaleb Nation postcard (signed)
• – a HARKEN glow-in-the-dark silver ring

HOW TO ENTER:
Want to win a Harken Prize Pack? Leave a comment telling me if you’ve read Harken yet. (mandatory entry)
1 Winner, INTERNATIONAL, giveaway ends on February 26th, 2013 midnight EST, Good luck!

OPTIONAL Extra Entries (please list them in the same comment, don’t worry–I can do math):
+1 Like the Harken fanpage (leave Facebook name)
+1 Follow Kaleb Nation on Twitter (@KalebNation) (leave Twitter username)
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+1 Follow by email/Wordpress (leave the email/username you used in your subscriptionn)
+1 Share giveaway on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, or Blog Post (one entry per share, leave me a link)

[review] The Death of Bees by Lisa O’Donnell (2013)

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book, book review, crime, family, novel, romance, TLC book tours

The Death of Bees (2013)
by Lisa O’Donnell (Twitter.)
Publication Date: January 2nd, 2013
Publisher: Harper
Edition Read: Finished Hardcover, Read for TLC Book Tours

Buy a copy via Amazon.
Goodreads.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Lisa O’Donnell won the Orange Screenwriting Prize in 2000 for The Wedding Gift and, in the same year, was nominated for the Dennis Potter New Screenwriters Award. A native of Scotland, she is now a full-time writer and lives in Los Angeles with her two children. The Death of Bees is her first novel.

Today is Christmas Eve. Today is my birthday. Today I am fifteen. Today I buried my parents in the backyard. Neither of them were beloved.

Marnie and her little sister Nelly are on their own now. Only they know what happened to their parents, Izzy and Gene, and they aren’t telling. While life in Glasgow’s Hazlehurst housing estate isn’t grand, they do have each other. Besides, it’s only one year until Marnie will be considered an adult and can legally take care of them both.

Written with fierce sympathy and beautiful precision, told in alternating voices, The Death of Bees is an enchanting, grimly comic tale of three lost souls who, unable to answer for themselves, can answer only for each other.

My Thoughts:
Well, this was a pleasant surprise. Despite it’s twisted, morbid plotline of two sisters burying their parents in their backyard (and a dog that has an uncanny knack of digging up body parts from flowerbeds,) The Death of Bees filled me up with warmth and made me smile. Built with a unique cast of memorable characters, with their own fears and quirks, O’ Donnell crafts a brilliant tale about family ties. Sometimes real families aren’t formed by blood ties. Perhaps Marnie and Nelly are by far not the most innocent girls, but I still found myself cheering them on every one of those three hundred pages.

Characters:
I love multiple perspectives, and O’Donnell does it exceptionally well. We unravel the story with Marnie and Nelly (the two sisters) and Lennie (their 70 year old gay, misunderstood “sex offender” neighbor.) What usually happens in books with multiple perspectives is that the voices blend together and don’t sound like two different people. Perhaps because each character is so distinct from each other that there was never a problem differentiating between them. Marnie has a dark, rebellious edge, while Nelly autistic eloquence sounds like the Queen of England (with a bit of swearing). Nelly reminds me of Becky of Glee’s inner voice.

[review] The Goddaughter by Melodie Campbell (2012)

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book, book review, ebook, humor, novel, novell, romance, TLC book tours

The Goddaughter by Melodie Campbell (2012)
by Melodie Campbell (Twitter.)
Publication Date: September 1st, 2012
Publisher: Raven Books (Imprint of Orca Books)
Edition Read: E-book gifted by author for TLC Book Tours

Buy a copy via Amazon.
Goodreads.

Stolen jewels, a cross-country chase, and a reluctant mob goddaughter make for a whole lot of laughs!

Despite her best efforts to lead a law-abiding life, Gina Gallo cannot quite escape her mob family. Since she’s a certified gemologist, Gina has become a key player in the family’s gem-smuggling operations. Now she has met a great guy, a reporter named Pete, and she’ll do almost anything to keep him from discovering her shady side. But when a gem delivery goes awry, Gina has to take Pete along for the ride.

My Thoughts:
The Goddaughter was surely a rapid read at 134 pages and seemed like the perfect light, funny read to balance out the pile of post-apocalyptic reads I’ve been devouring lately–unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy The Goddaughter as much as I hoped. I’m afraid the short length might have ruined the book for me. For much of the book I was thrown in an unrelenting whirlwind of action and not quite enough character development to make me invested the the story.

I already knew that The Goddaughter was supposed to be short, and wasn’t expecting a deep story or complex characters, but I wanted more than just two gorgeous, sexy people jumping from one random place to the next. The story moves FAST, I was at chapter two before I began to grasp what was happening. Eventually I gave up and just believed whatever the author threw at me: Toronto? okay. Wait, they are back in the states now? If you say so.

I know Gina, the protagonist, was supposed to be snarky and funny, but I found her too impulsive. She easily steals the spotlight from Pete, which became just a guy that Gina dragged along. He was cute, but that was there was no depth. I’m not even sure what his background is, except he’s supposed to be the perfect guy. The only time that might’ve been funny was when she compared on Pete’s scent to yummy bread. I hope it was a joke and she wasn’t serious. Overall, if you are looking for a no-brainer, pick The Goddaughter up. There was a lot of action, so if you are looking for a fun read, this might be your thing. But for me, the story fell short as unmemorable.

Rating: C++

Want more of Melodie Campbell’s The Goddaughter? Don’t forget to check out the rest of the TLC tour stops!

[Interview] The Author Behind The Book, Margaret Frazer

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blog tour, book, dystopian, fiction, futuristic, giveaway, interview, sci-fi, technology, YA, young adult

Circle of Witches (2012)
by Margaret Frazer
Publication Date: May 19th, 2012
purchase a copy via Amazon.
purchase a copy from Smashwords.

Today I’m interviewing Magaret Frazer as part of her Circle of Witches blog tour!

A GOTHIC ROMANCE. MISTY MOORS. ANCIENT SECRETS. FORBIDDEN PASSIONS.

Her mother had always been afraid. That’s what Damaris remembered. From the time she was a little girl until the day her mother died, she had seen the fear in her eyes.

But now she understood. Now she was afraid, too.

Young Damaris wanted more than anything to be happy at Thornoak, the ancient manor owned by her aunt and uncle. Adventuring through the wide, open beauty of the Dale in the company of her rambunctious cousins she rediscovered a joy she had thought lost with the death of her parents. And in the deep, storm-tossed eyes of Lauran Ashbrigg she was surprised to find an entirely new emotion.

But even under the warm and inviting sun, Damaris is chilled by the undeniable fact that the family which claims to welcome and love her is hiding truths from her: The truth of the Lady Stone. The truth of the Old Ways. The truth of moon and star and witchcraft.

The truth of her mother’s death.

Has being a writer changed the way you read? Are you more critical of other’s writing? Or have you become more appreciative of it?

Both. I’m more appreciative of books that I can simply relax and enjoy for their strength and their grace and their storytelling, but I’m also become more critical of people whose storytelling suffers because you can tell that they didn’t put their whole soul into it.

But the main problem I have is that when I read anyone’s book I tend to be editing: There should be a comma there; a semi-colon would have been nice. I’ll find myself saying to myself, “Please stop doing that! Just read the book!” But it can be hard to get out of perpetual galley-proofing.

Who do you envision reading Circle of Witches? What kind of reader do you wish to impact the most with your story?

Well, I hope that anyone who reads it will be impacted and drawn in. I’m not someone who tends to categorize by age. But because it’s more of a gothic romance than anything I’ve written before, I’m hoping that younger readers will come to it. Young adult books are filled now with magic and otherworldly action, and I think Circle of Witches offers a different way of looking at those things. An understanding of magic that’s deeper; that’s rooted in the world around us and the way that people relate to each other.

What book of yours should a casual reader start with?

It’s very hard to say because readers are so different. They take different things away from your books. For example, I’ve previously written two series and, ideally, you’d start those series with the first book. But both of my series got stronger (according to reviews) as they went along and new elements developed in them. Do you want royal intrigues? Then you’d want The Maiden’s Tale or The Bastard’s Tale. Do you want something that goes deep into ordinary medieval life, getting a feel for a different way of life and a different approach to living than is familiar now? That would be The Servant’s Tale or the The Reeve’s Tale. Or if you want to go adventuring with traveling players and spies, then there’s the Joliffe series.

But I think Circle of Witches is also a strong choice for new readers. It’s an exciting story, set in a beautiful part of the world (the Yorkshire dales), centered around a heroine who is desperate not to learn the truth of the lies that have surrounded her for her entire life. And I think readers will find it an intriguing problem – most people go seeking the truth, but this is a character who will challenge them in unexpected ways as things go right and things go wrong in her life.

[review] Charlotte Street by Danny Wallace (2012)

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book, book review, camera, humor, journalism, novel, romance, stalking, TLC book tours

Charlotte Street (2012)
by Danny Wallace (Twitter.)
Publication Date: October 23rd, 2012
Publisher: HarperCollins; William Morrow Paperbacks
Edition Read: ARC, Read for TLC Book Tours

Buy a copy via Amazon.
Goodreads.

Jason Priestley (no, not that Jason Priestley) is in a rut. He gave up his teaching job to write snarky reviews of cheap restaurants for the free newspaper you take but don’t read. He lives above a video-game store, between a Polish newsstand and that place that everyone thinks is a brothel but isn’t. His most recent Facebook status is “Jason Priestley is . . . eating soup.” Jason’s beginning to think he needs a change.
-synopsis from Goodreads.

My Thoughts:
Being swamped in a towering pile of projects and midterms, it took me over a week to finish Danny Wallace’s new novel, Charlotte Street. For a brief moment I considered the ramifications if I didn’t finish reading the book in time for the blog tour; I’d probably either have to make some lame excuse like me accidentally dropping the book over my balcony, or I would have to piece together a glowing review from other people’s thoughts and pretend I knew what I was talking about. How ironic it would be to write a “fake” review for a novel about a guy that writes reviews for a pizza he hasn’t eaten, and a film he didn’t watch. Fortunately, I was able to finish the novel with nineteen days to spare and you are reading a review from someone who actually finished all 400 pages.

[review] 15 Seconds by Andrew Gross (2012) + GIVEAWAY

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book, book review, crime, family, mystery, novel, promotion, psychological, psychological thriller, suspense, thriller, TLC book tours

15 Seconds (2012)
by Andrew Gross (Twitter.)
Publication Date: July 10th, 2012
Publisher: HarperCollins; William Morrow
Edition Read: Hardcover, Read for TLC Book Tours

Buy a copy via Amazon.
Goodreads.
15 Seconds Reading Group Guide.

Andrew Gross is the author of the New York Times and international bestsellers Eyes Wide Open, The Blue Zone, The Dark Tide, Don’t Look Twice, and Reckless. He is also coauthor of five number one bestsellers with James Patterson, including Judge & Jury and Lifeguard. His books have been translated into more than twenty-five languages. He lives in Westchester County, New York, with his wife, Lynn.

15 seconds can tear your life apart . . .

Henry Steadman is a successful Florida plastic surgeon on his way to deliver a keynote address at a conference when his world falls apart. Stopped by the police for a minor traffic violation, the situation escalates and he is pulled from his vehicle, handcuffed, and told he is under arrest. Several other police cars arrive and the questioning turns scary, but after it subsides, and Henry is about to move on, the officer is suddenly killed in his car and there is only one suspect: the very person he was about to arrest not ten minutes before. Henry! When a second friend turns up dead, Henry realizes he’s being elaborately framed. But in a chilling twist, the stakes grow even darker, and he is unable to go to the police to clear his name.
-synopsis from Goodreads.

My Thoughts:
Andrew Gross threw me on a roller coaster with 15 Seconds, Harlan Coben was not kidding when he said it was a “stay-up-all-night thrill ride.” Every time I glanced to the page number, I was another 100 pages in. The suspense glued me to the book (Which I finished in one sitting) until the last page was turned. Gross just knows how to keep his readers excitedly guessing. However, despite how much I was enthralled with the story, there are times when I couldn’t suspend my disbelief.

Plot:
I was disappointed that I already guessed where the story was headed before the first hundred pages and how the characters were tied to each other (though I did expect a more complex plot.) It didn’t stop me from wanting to experience the story–but was a slight let-down when the plot wasn’t as brilliantly complex as I hoped. I really wanted a mind-blowing plot twist–but everything was resolved too easily before tension can be built.

Characters:
Henry: The stereotypical nice guy, rich plastic surgeon, and handsome. I pitied him since he gets himself in a mess by seemingly being at the wrong place at the wrong time–but then it turns out he was at the very right place at the right time. He also does hilariously stupid things like attempting to chase a murderer by going crazy on a highway…which only makes him more human. I like him, but I was frustrated at his LUCK: how a nationally wanted serial killer can walk into a prison is beyond me (even if he has a poorly made fake id.) I also thought he got off way too easily; he isn’t completely innocent and owed a few apologies.

[review] Shout Her Lovely Name by Natalie Serber (2012)

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book, book review, book tour, daughters, family, fear, giveaway, love, mothers, novel, TLC Book Tour

Shout Her Lovely Name (2012)
by Natalie Serber
Paperback ARC (Thank you, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt!), Read for a TLC Book Tour
Publication Date: June 26, 2012
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
buy a copy from Amazon.
Goodreads.

Natalie Serber received an MFA from Warren Wilson College. Her work has appeared in The Bellingham Review and Gulf Coast, among others, and her awards include the Tobias Wolff Award. She teaches writing at various universities and lives with her family in Portland, Oregon.

Mothers and daughters ride the familial tide of joy, regret, loathing, and love in these stories of resilient and flawed women. In a battle between a teenage daughter and her mother, wheat bread and plain yogurt become weapons. An aimless college student, married to her much older professor, sneaks cigarettes while caring for their newborn son. On the eve of her husband’s fiftieth birthday, a pilfered fifth of rum, an unexpected tattoo, and rogue teenagers leave a woman questioning her place. And in a suite of stories, we follow capricious, ambitious single mother Ruby and her cautious, steadfast daughter Nora through their tumultuous life—stray men, stray cats, and psychedelic drugs—in 1970s California.

Gimlet-eyed and emotionally generous, achingly real and beautifully written, these unforgettable stories lay bare the connection and conflict in families. Shout Her Lovely Name heralds the arrival of a powerful new writer.
–synopsis from Amazon.

My Thoughts:
Natalie Serber took me by surprise and sent me on a heartfelt journey of family ties in her debut short story collection, Shout Her Lovely Name. Serber’s prose reads like beautiful poetry, inviting the reader to fill in the story with its clues. Through these eleven character-driven, poignant short stories about mothers and their children, Serber displays versatility, humor, and tears. I am fully enamored with her writing, and pleasantly surprised that this is only her debut.

Writing
Serber experiments with writing structure in her first story about a mother struggling to help her daughter fight an eating disorder while her husband is in denial; it is written almost like an instructional manual combined with a monthly journal. I could imagine a mother documenting her exhausting journey with her anorexic daughter, whom she wants to hold on to. It is one of the brightest highlights, and one that I plan to reread.

[review] Keepsake by Kristina Riggle (2012)

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book, book review, family, hoarding, love, novel, promotion, romance, sisters, TLC book tours

Keepsake (2012)
by Kristina Riggle (Twitter.)
Publication Date: June 26th, 2012
Publisher: HarperCollins; William Morrow Paperbacks
Edition Read: Paperback ARC & Digital ARC from Edeilweiss (Many thanks to HarperCollins!), Read for TLC Book Tours

Buy a copy via Amazon.
Goodreads.

The Author Behind The Book (from Kristina Riggle’s Website):

Kristina Riggle lives and writes in West Michigan. Her debut novel, Real Life & Liars, was a Target “Breakout” pick and a “Great Lakes, Great Reads” selection by the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association. The Life You’ve Imagined was honored by independent booksellers as an IndieNext “Notable” book. Things We Didn’t Say was named a Midwest Connections pick of the Midwest Booksellers Association.

Kristina has published short stories in the Cimarron Review,Literary Mama, Espresso Fiction, and elsewhere, and she works as co-editor for fiction at Literary Mama. Kristina was a full-time newspaper reporter before turning her attention to creative writing. As well as writing, she enjoys reading, yoga, dabbling in (very) amateur musical theatre, and spending lots of time with her husband, two kids and dog.

From the critically acclaimed author of Real Life & Liars and Things We Didn’t Say comes a timely and provocative novel that asks: What happens when the things we own become more important than the people we love?

Trish isn’t perfect. She’s divorced and raising two kids—so of course her house isn’t pristine. But she’s got all the important things right and she’s convinced herself that she has it all under control. That is, until the day her youngest son gets hurt and Child Protective Services comes calling. It’s at that moment when Trish is forced to consider the one thing she’s always hoped wasn’t true: that she’s living out her mother’s life as a compulsive hoarder.

The last person Trish ever wanted to turn to for help is her sister, Mary—meticulous, perfect Mary, whose house is always spotless . . . and who moved away from their mother to live somewhere else, just like Trish’s oldest child has. But now, working together to get Trish’s disaster of a home into livable shape, two very different sisters are about to uncover more than just piles of junk, as years of secrets, resentments, obsessions, and pain are finally brought into the light.
-synopsis from Amazon.

My Thoughts:
Trish is not abusive, and her son, Jack, absolutely adores her. But one day, Child Protective Services are at her door threatening to take her seven-year old Jack out of her custody–not because she hit her children, but because she has too much junk in her house.
Trish is a compulsive hoarder; her walls are lined up with columns upon columns of boxes filled with stuff she doesn’t even remember. She hasn’t seen her dining table in ages, nor the paint on her walls, and her fridge is filled with rotten food. To makes matters worse, the family she has long shunned out of her life comes back to “help” her organize her junk…and her life–whether she likes it or not.

Structure:
Kristina Riggle’s Keepsake mainly alternates between two sisters, Trish and Mary’s point of view, with the odd chapters dedicated to Trish, and the evens to Mary. While Trish represents the defensive, troubled hoarder, Mary represents the condescending judgments of someone who just “doesn’t get it.” Through Mary’s eyes, I can feel her disgust, but through Trish, I can also see her intentions. By using alternating viewpoints, Riggle opened my eyes to the inside world of a compulsive hoarder, their conflicts with their family members, and themselves.