For Keeps

I have been hearing a lot about Natasha Friend's For Keeps and am lucky enough to have scored it on a recent library visit. Last night I read almost the entire book in one sitting, finishing it up before I left for school this morning.

Josie is sixteen, her mother Kate is just thirty three, having had Josie while still in high school. Josie doesn't know her dad - she's never met him, and her mother has told her the story of their break-up and how Josie's father, Paul, moved away to Arizona, the two never talking again. Mother and daughter are best friends, having grown up together, and life is good. When Kate starts dating, Josie has to get used to the idea of sharing her mom. And when Paul's parents (Josie's grandparents) move back to town and Paul pays a visit himself, Josie is introduced to the father she has never known and finds out a little bit more about why her dad was not a part of her life.

Several reviews I read likened this book to the hit show Gilmore Girls. I think I would have come up with some of those same comparisons myself, yet I sort of wish I wouldn't have had that idea already in my head when I started reading. I really liked this one- I liked the characters, the story, the writing. This isn't a book that will make my list of best books of the year, but I will recommend it to people looking for some good YA reading. Definitely worth it.

Visit Natasha Friend's website.