Judge A Book By Its Cover

Picoult, Jodi. Keeping Faith. Perennial. New York, New York. 2000.

Keeping Faith is an emotional book that will draw you in with its horrific details and twisted plots. Many readers enjoy books by the author Jodi Picoult and say Keeping Faith is one of her best. Entertainment Weekly say it's " Addictively Readable."

Keeping Faith is a book about an eleven year old girl named Abby, who lives with her father and step mother on an old beat up farm in the middle of the midwest. The closest building to their farm is a white church with a gold cross on top of the building. This is where Abby spends most of her time praying for Grace. Grace is Abby's nine year old sister.

Abby lost her birth mother at the age of nine. It did not take long for her father to find a replacement. Abby and Grace dislike their new mother very much because they feel she thinks she is their real mother. Not only are there many problems between the girls and their new mother, but Grace seemed to have caught the same illness as her mother did.

Abby struggles to take care of her sister with bedside feedings and weekly baths. Its way too much for an eleven year old girl to handle, but she must save her sister. Their step mother refuses to help because she thinks there should only be one child in the house. She never really enjoyed children. Abby tells her father of the horrible ways their step mother treats them, but he just shrugs his shoulders and heads off to work everyday.

Abby's only hope is running to her safe heaven. The big white church on top of the other hill. Abby gets up every morning and runs to the church. She prays for Grace to be healed and her father to care about his two girls again. Abby's step mother doesn't approve of her morning runs but Abby will not stop. She won't give up the one thing she can control. her faith.

Jodi Picoult's work on Keeping Faith is mind blowing. The well written and well detail scenes are breath taking. It has the power to make grown men cry. Readers are left with an unbelievable feeling of sorrow for these little girls. They may also feel a great deal of compassion from how they strive through their battles. This book is best for ages thirteen and up.

5 out of 5 stars.

Contributed by C. Brown
Feb. 8th 2007