Aug 21, 2012

Book Review: Keepsake by Kristina Riggle

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB; choose sentences at random from your current read. Identify the author and title for readers.


Title: Keepsake: A Novel by Kristina Riggle
Published June 26, 2012; William Morrow Paperbacks
Genre: contemporary fiction, women's fiction
Source: publisher
" Jesus, Ron. I would never hurt Jack. You know how much he means to me. You also know how hard it is for me to keep up the house, especially since I had to start working full-time after you left me." My voice was breaking up like melting ice. (ch. 5)
About the book: Two sisters, Mary and Trish, tell the story about their lives as they discover secrets of their mother through keepsakes they find in Trish's over cluttered house. Trish is about to lose her young son Jack because of the state of her house, and her teen son Dee has already moved out, unable to live in a house full of paper, packages, boxes, and other unimaginable clutter. Trish's house has become a hoarder's dream and a normal person's nightmare.

In the clean up that follows involving, in various degrees, Dee, Mary and Trish, their father, and even Trish's estranged husband Ron and her psychiatrist Seth, the women discover items that belonged to their mother, items that tell a story they were unaware of and that explain a lot about their childhood and the mental state of their mother, now deceased. It also leads to the sisters' secrets being revealed that help explain Trish's compulsive buying and hoarding.

 My comments: Reading the novel made me think of some of the unnecessary extras in my house, including some of my books! That's how persuasive it was. It was well written and tackles a problem that we read about a lot in the news - compulsive buying and keeping, though in Trish's case it was extreme.

This book is on its way to another reader, a giveaway through BookCrossing.

13 comments:

  1. I think it would be interesting to read about someone who compulsive buys. Thanks for the great review!

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  2. Yes to the books I should be giving someone!

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  3. Nice teaser! Sounds like an interesting book. :]

    Here's My TT

    -Stephanie @ Bookfever (New GFC follower)

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  4. I found the teaser to be slightly somber.

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  5. This sounds like a great book to read and then pass on to another reader!! I enjoyed your teaser and comments, Harvee.

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  6. I know it's not a new concept--the whole uncovering secrets about one parent or another as the characters go through their stuff, but it never fails to interest me. My mom is still finding interesting tidbits among her mother's things . . .

    As for hoarding, I often joke about my book hoarding issues. I gave away a huge amount of books when we moved last year--it was quite freeing. I still have quite a collection of books left--but at least I (mostly) have space for them. I am getting better about giving books away as a I read. Or I was. I need to get back into that habit!

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  7. I enjoyed this book and thought the author did a good job with the subject matter.

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  8. Sounds like a book I'd enjoy!! I can't imagine living with someone who was a hoarder. Can't stand stuff everywhere. Besides, I'm claustrophobic.

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  9. This does sound like an interesting book. I joke about my book hoarding, but as long as I keep them nice and neat, it's not really hoarding...lol. It's just collecting :)

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  10. I can't wait to read this one! I read another book about hoarding, but it was only one of several plot threads, and it was in a more comic vein. I'd like to buy this one soon and see what I think of it.

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  11. Something different. I like it. :)

    My TT

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  12. This one is on my Kindle and I really need to get to it soon!! Just the other day when I went upstairs to my book/craft room I have to admit to being a lot overwhelmed with all the books and scrapbook stuff I have..I'm sure this one will make me rethink a lot of stuff!!

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