K is for Keepsake

(For the 2013 A to Z Blogging Challenge, I will be featuring one book each day, that begins with that day's letter, that made an impression on me.  This means that for some reason, I didn't just read that book and forget about it.  No, I still think about it after some period of time has passed.) 

Title:  Keepsake: A Novel 

Author: Kristina Riggle

Original Publication Date: 2012

Date I First Read: 2013

Basic Category: Fiction 

Basic Summary:  A single divorced mother solves her emotional issues by shopping.  She might lose her children because her younger son was injured in a pile of falling stuff in their house.  She has a hoarding issue, but so did her mother (and the hoarding issue killed her mother.)   It is all a matter of keepsakes  . . . and there is a lot more to the story than first meets the eye.  

What I Remember About the Book:  I just read this book a month ago.  I pulled it off the new book shelf at the local library thinking it looked like something I'd like.    I couldn't put it down, and I had no urge to peak at the ending, either.  (Sometimes, in the middle of a book, if I am vaguely bored, or embarrassed or turned off by a character or situation, I will peak at the end to see if it worth it to continue reading to the end.)   I had to know how things were going to work out.   The author unrolls all of the emotions for each member of the family slowly and deliberately, but it is all very clear, even when things don't seem clear specific characters themselves.   It is well-done.  

I have thought about this book every day in the last month . . . whenever I see myself making a pile or not wanting to get rid of something, I remember this book.  That is why I think this will be one that lingers in my mind as some of these other books have.  

What I Took Away From the Book:  Clean!  Throw away! Do I really need to purchase that now?  Save money! Things aren't  always the memories.  Save a few things that mean the most, and get rid of the rest.  

Rating (1-5 stars):  5