Keeping the Moon
Encyclopedia
Keeping the Moon is a young adult novel by author Sarah Dessen
. It is her third novel and was first published in 1999.
. That all changed when her mother started taking aerobics
classes, which lead to both of them losing weight and her mother becoming a well known aerobics instructor. Eventually her mother had a line of fitness equipment, a television
show and TV specials, improving their financial status greatly. Colie remains insecure, however, and alienated from other students at school.
When Colie's mother goes over to Europe for a tour of her new fitness line one summer, Colie spends the summer with her aunt Mira in Colby, North Carolina
. She is in bad spirits when she arrives in Colby, NC. She meets her Aunt Mira and her hippie
tenant Norman, characters who do not improve her first impression of Colby. She explores the town and arrives at the Last Chance Grill where she meets perfectionist
Morgan and in-your-face Isabel, who immediately rejects Colie. Colie is convinced that no one in Colby will want her, similar to her life back home. Later, Morgan makes Isabel apologize for her rude commentary, and later Colie helps out at Last Chance when a tourist rush comes in and Isabel and Morgan are in need of an extra hand. She lands a job at the Last Chance Bar and Grill without even trying, and things change. Morgan and Isabel help Colie build confidence and start loving herself.
Colie endures the aftermath of “chick night” and enjoys her new found confidence
. Her new friend Josh calls, and Norman gets jealous. Colie realizes that she has to mend their friendship, and asks Norman for a second shot at being in a portrait
for his art school
. Meanwhile Morgan decides to go to Durham
to surprise her fiance, Mark, which worries Isabel because of past problems with Mark. Morgan gets hit with reality when she finds Mark married to a pregnant stripper
, and she takes it out on Isabel by locking her out of the house. Colie and Norman become more interested in each other while they are working on the portrait, and when the art sessions end, Norman invites Colie over for a date for the unveiling of Colie’s finished portrait.
of the novel, is a 15-year-old teenage girl. When her mother became a famous exercise guru, she shed her weight, but not her insecurity
. Her mom ships her off to her aunt’s house in Colby, NC for the summer, and the relationships and connections that she makes there help her realize that she is actually worth something, and help her gain self-confidence
.
Mira Sparks - Mira is Colie's aunt. She is overweight and very kind. She makes cards that are for people that have lost their loved ones. She buys a lot of sugared cereal and enjoys eating the grilled chicken salad at Last Chance. Mira is also friends with Morgan and Isabel. She lives with Norman and Colie and has a cat named Cat Norman (named after Norman).
Morgan - Morgan works at Last Chance with Isabel, Colie, and Norman. She has noted many times that she is engaged with a baseball
player named Mark. Unfortunately, Morgan's fiancè cheats on her with a pregnant stripper whom Mark was married to. Morgan is very organized and straightforward about things. She has been friends with Isabel since high school and they are very close. She is said to be very tall, skinny, and has long blonde hair.
Isabel - Isabel works at Last Chance with Morgan, Colie, and Norman. It is stated that lots of boys flirt with and hit on her. Isabel is very lazy and reads Vogue
in her free time. She is best friends and roommates with Morgan. Isabel acts grumpy around Colie and is very judgmental. Colie sees a picture of a rather ugly girl in a green sweater and a frog necklace on Isabel's mirror. When she asks who it is, Isabel quickly explains it is her cousin. Later on, Colie discovers that the ugly girl was really Isabel, proving that she and Isabel have something in common
Norman - Norman is an "art freak." His father does not support the idea of him being an artist, so this resulted in fights. Norman moved out of the house when he was 17. He works with Morgan, Isabel, and Colie at Last Chance as a cook. He has a small crush on Colie and collects sunglasses
. He has a whole series of paintings that have sunglasses.Norman is shy and kind. He lives with Mira and Colie because he has nowhere to go. In the end, he makes a painting of Colie and becomes Colie's boyfriend.
Kiki Sparks, a famous exercise guru, is Colie’s mother. She and Colie shared a period of their lives which they called the “Fat Years,” and during that time, she had to have the strength for the both of them. Throughout the story, she sometimes gets so caught up in her work, that she forgets that Colie is her daughter.
Caroline Dawes, a snobby girl from Colie’s school, is described as Colie’s worst enemy. She teased Colie when she was fat, and once she lost the weight, she kept the rumors about her circling the school. She is said to be tall, tan, and skinny with long black hair that she frequently swings around.
Josh, the cousin of Caroline Dawes, meets Colie at a fireworks
show in Colby, NC. When he meets her, and when Caroline tells him things about her past leaves the beach, and does not say why.
claims that Colie “[learns] some pretty important lessons about friendship and learning to love [her]self.” On the other hand, The Celebrity Café noted that the book deals with “teenage issues” that Colie had to overcome. Although Publishers Weekly noted that Keeping The Moon was a “kind of Cinderella
story” Colie does “begin a happy metamorphosis” and makes “marvelously contentious friendship[s].”
Sarah Dessen
Sarah Dessen is an American writer who lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.- Background :Sarah Dessen was born in Evanston, Illinois on June 6, 1970. She moved with her family to Virginia then North Carolina where she now resides with her husband, Jay, daughter Sasha Clementine, and dogs...
. It is her third novel and was first published in 1999.
Summary
Nicole Sparks (Colie) and her mother used to be poor and moved often. They also were very overweightOverweight
Overweight is generally defined as having more body fat than is optimally healthy. Being overweight is a common condition, especially where food supplies are plentiful and lifestyles are sedentary...
. That all changed when her mother started taking aerobics
Aerobics
Aerobics is a form of physical exercise that combines rhythmic aerobic exercise with stretching and strength training routines with the goal of improving all elements of fitness...
classes, which lead to both of them losing weight and her mother becoming a well known aerobics instructor. Eventually her mother had a line of fitness equipment, a television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
show and TV specials, improving their financial status greatly. Colie remains insecure, however, and alienated from other students at school.
When Colie's mother goes over to Europe for a tour of her new fitness line one summer, Colie spends the summer with her aunt Mira in Colby, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. She is in bad spirits when she arrives in Colby, NC. She meets her Aunt Mira and her hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
tenant Norman, characters who do not improve her first impression of Colby. She explores the town and arrives at the Last Chance Grill where she meets perfectionist
Perfectionism (psychology)
Perfectionism, in psychology, is a belief that a state of completeness and flawlessness can and should be attained. In its pathological form, perfectionism is a belief that work or output that is anything less than perfect is unacceptable...
Morgan and in-your-face Isabel, who immediately rejects Colie. Colie is convinced that no one in Colby will want her, similar to her life back home. Later, Morgan makes Isabel apologize for her rude commentary, and later Colie helps out at Last Chance when a tourist rush comes in and Isabel and Morgan are in need of an extra hand. She lands a job at the Last Chance Bar and Grill without even trying, and things change. Morgan and Isabel help Colie build confidence and start loving herself.
Colie endures the aftermath of “chick night” and enjoys her new found confidence
Confidence
Confidence is generally described as a state of being certain either that a hypothesis or prediction is correct or that a chosen course of action is the best or most effective. Self-confidence is having confidence in oneself. Arrogance or hubris in this comparison, is having unmerited...
. Her new friend Josh calls, and Norman gets jealous. Colie realizes that she has to mend their friendship, and asks Norman for a second shot at being in a portrait
Portrait
thumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...
for his art school
Art school
Art school is a general term for any educational institution with a primary focus on the visual arts, especially illustration, painting, photography, sculpture, and graphic design. The term applies to institutions with elementary, secondary, post-secondary or undergraduate, or graduate or...
. Meanwhile Morgan decides to go to Durham
Durham, North Carolina
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...
to surprise her fiance, Mark, which worries Isabel because of past problems with Mark. Morgan gets hit with reality when she finds Mark married to a pregnant stripper
Stripper
A stripper is a professional erotic dancer who performs a contemporary form of striptease at strip club establishments, public exhibitions, and private engagements. Unlike in burlesque, the performer in the modern Americanized form of stripping minimizes the interaction of customer and dancer,...
, and she takes it out on Isabel by locking her out of the house. Colie and Norman become more interested in each other while they are working on the portrait, and when the art sessions end, Norman invites Colie over for a date for the unveiling of Colie’s finished portrait.
Main characters
Nicole “Colie” Sparks, the protagonistProtagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
of the novel, is a 15-year-old teenage girl. When her mother became a famous exercise guru, she shed her weight, but not her insecurity
Insecurity
Insecurity is a feeling of general unease or nervousness that may be triggered by perceiving of oneself to be vulnerable in some way, or a sense of vulnerability or instability which threatens one's self-image or ego....
. Her mom ships her off to her aunt’s house in Colby, NC for the summer, and the relationships and connections that she makes there help her realize that she is actually worth something, and help her gain self-confidence
Self-confidence
The socio-psychological concept of self-confidence relates to self-assuredness in one's personal judgment, ability, power, etc., sometimes manifested excessively.Being confident in yourself is infectious if you present yourself well, others will want to follow in your foot steps towards...
.
Mira Sparks - Mira is Colie's aunt. She is overweight and very kind. She makes cards that are for people that have lost their loved ones. She buys a lot of sugared cereal and enjoys eating the grilled chicken salad at Last Chance. Mira is also friends with Morgan and Isabel. She lives with Norman and Colie and has a cat named Cat Norman (named after Norman).
Morgan - Morgan works at Last Chance with Isabel, Colie, and Norman. She has noted many times that she is engaged with a baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
player named Mark. Unfortunately, Morgan's fiancè cheats on her with a pregnant stripper whom Mark was married to. Morgan is very organized and straightforward about things. She has been friends with Isabel since high school and they are very close. She is said to be very tall, skinny, and has long blonde hair.
Isabel - Isabel works at Last Chance with Morgan, Colie, and Norman. It is stated that lots of boys flirt with and hit on her. Isabel is very lazy and reads Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
in her free time. She is best friends and roommates with Morgan. Isabel acts grumpy around Colie and is very judgmental. Colie sees a picture of a rather ugly girl in a green sweater and a frog necklace on Isabel's mirror. When she asks who it is, Isabel quickly explains it is her cousin. Later on, Colie discovers that the ugly girl was really Isabel, proving that she and Isabel have something in common
Norman - Norman is an "art freak." His father does not support the idea of him being an artist, so this resulted in fights. Norman moved out of the house when he was 17. He works with Morgan, Isabel, and Colie at Last Chance as a cook. He has a small crush on Colie and collects sunglasses
Sunglasses
Sunglasses or sun glasses are a form of protective eyewear designed primarily to prevent bright sunlight and high-energy visible light from damaging or discomforting the eyes. They can sometimes also function as a visual aid, as variously termed spectacles or glasses exist, featuring lenses that...
. He has a whole series of paintings that have sunglasses.Norman is shy and kind. He lives with Mira and Colie because he has nowhere to go. In the end, he makes a painting of Colie and becomes Colie's boyfriend.
Kiki Sparks, a famous exercise guru, is Colie’s mother. She and Colie shared a period of their lives which they called the “Fat Years,” and during that time, she had to have the strength for the both of them. Throughout the story, she sometimes gets so caught up in her work, that she forgets that Colie is her daughter.
Caroline Dawes, a snobby girl from Colie’s school, is described as Colie’s worst enemy. She teased Colie when she was fat, and once she lost the weight, she kept the rumors about her circling the school. She is said to be tall, tan, and skinny with long black hair that she frequently swings around.
Josh, the cousin of Caroline Dawes, meets Colie at a fireworks
Fireworks
Fireworks are a class of explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display. A fireworks event is a display of the effects produced by firework devices...
show in Colby, NC. When he meets her, and when Caroline tells him things about her past leaves the beach, and does not say why.
Major themes
Publishers WeeklyPublishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
claims that Colie “[learns] some pretty important lessons about friendship and learning to love [her]self.” On the other hand, The Celebrity Café noted that the book deals with “teenage issues” that Colie had to overcome. Although Publishers Weekly noted that Keeping The Moon was a “kind of Cinderella
Cinderella
"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
story” Colie does “begin a happy metamorphosis” and makes “marvelously contentious friendship[s].”