The Memory Keeper's Daugther: The Middle

The Memory Keeper's Daughter turns into a book that deals with NUMEROUS issues that we all can relate to. The middle of the novel deals much with Paul on the middle of his own journey, one of being a teenager, full of angst and a feeling of loneliness he cannot seem to fill. As a typical teenager he takes it out on his parents, blaming his empty feelings on them, not knowing that it indeed was his dad's fault, that he had a companion given away at birth. Paul's parents just want to bond with him but as typical teenage behavior he rejects them, time after time, leaving the family distant and hurting with no one willing to talk about it.

Paul as a character is a very lonely kid, but as is often the case, lonely people can tend to shun everyone away. He rejects talking to his parents or finding anyway in which he be similar to them, feeling like he just does not fit in with his own family. The doctor is a very similar character to Paul. He too is very lonely and haunted by it, always thinking about what he gave up and how his life is so empty. Caroline is their foil character, she took advantage of what was given to her and eludes the emptiness that Paul and David feel.

To look deeper into Paul's behavior he exhibits very common teenage behaviors. He shows no desire to be like his parents, in fact he tries to avoid everything they do. This shows how he has some hidden anger towards them that he may not even be aware of. Also, the fact that he rejects any kind of support highlights how lonely he is, Paul need someone in his life to help him, he needs to meet up with his sister and I really hope by the end of the book he does!

The Memory Keeper's Daugther: What a way to start a book

The Memory Keeper's Daughter starts out with a bang, giving the reader no question to how the rest of the book will go. Within the first fifty pages we see much happening that will shape the plot. A Doctor, young and very in love with his wife cannot live with a sick child so he gives it away having a nurse "take care" of the "mistake" without even telling his wife. Two characters that really shine in this part of the book are the doctor and his nurse, Caroline. The doctor shows true internal conflict. He's not an evil man although he may appear to be so, he just suffered with having to live with a sick sister and saw the constant pain she was in. He thinks it is best to not put him and his family through that considering he has so much to loose. So in some respects the doctor is an admirable man, looking out for the best for his family, but who would give away a child leaving then unprotected and having little to look forward to in their hard lonely life? The nurse is complete foil characters with the doctor. She on the other hand has little going for her and nothing to loose. She has known all her life that one day an opportunity would come to her that would decide the rest of her life forever. When she cannot give up the baby, even knowing how much it might change her life to keep Phoebe, a down syndrome baby.

So far The Memory Keeper's Daughter has a very heavy and emotional plot. However, I think it would be a good novel for teenagers so far because it deals with something teens have to deal with all the time: making choices. We all make choices everyday but once in a while we have to make a choice that will change the course of our lives drastically. In the beginning of this book both the doctor and the nurse make a choice that will change their lives forever, one now having a life of raising a fatally ill child and the other having to live with the guilt that he abandoned his own flesh and blood. The choices we make do not just effect us. One day when the Doctor's wife and son find out that a member of their family is out there, sick and alone how will they feel? Would they ever understand the doctor's choice?

Harry Potter and the Prisoner Of Azskaban

Everyone knows the Harry Potter book series, the tale of a boys journey of being a wizard with his parents gone and the worlds most powerful dark wizard after him. The third instalment in the series did not disappoint. Harry meets an escaped killer who changes his opinions on the magical government and his life in general. Without giving it away, the ending was suspenseful, exciting, and shocking when an infamous killer is found to be innocent and Ron's long time pet is not who he is thought to be. Harry, Ron, and Hermione are all relatable characters because despite their magical ability they are teenagers. Harry gets much attention and has a more troubled life while Ron is his slightly jealous best friend, and then there's Hermione, the school nerd. Harry Potter is relatable to teenagers completely because its the story of a high school, just exaggerated with ideas of magic. It's a book series read by millions of children and adults around the world and i would recommend Harry Potter to anyone.

Lovely Bones

Overall, Lovely Bones is a great book. Alice Sebold writes the tragic story of a Susie Salmon, who after her murder ascends to heaved and watches the lives of her family, friends, and her killer unfold without her. This is not a light read as even from page one there is graphic description of Susie's death, yet I would recommend it to teenagers . It is somehow relatable in that even in heaven Susie thinks about her problems as a fourteen year old girl, such as her issues with the boy she likes moving on and her friends making up rumors about her vanishing. It is also relateable to teenagers because it is told from the point of view of a teenager, so she sees the events taking place similar to how we would see them. Susie as a person is naiive, she had no time to find herself before her death.

Without giving it away, the ending was for the most part sweet. Basically, the ending shows how life moves on, even after the worse of tragedy. Lovely Bones has much connection to The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Ablom. In both novels the main character ascends to heaven after their untimely death and it is not the perfect new world that they expect. In heaven they get to look down on earth from a different perspective and learn more about their lives.