Book Review and Interview: Keeper! (GIVEAWAY included!) CLOSED!

Welcome to Turning Pages, today is a very exciting day for me (and hopefully you guys too!). About three days ago, when I check my blog I noticed I had over 100 followers! Since my 50 follower giveaway is still going on, I don't want to interrupt it with another huge giveaway:/

But trust me! We will definitely celebrate 200 followers!:D

Not only does this post include my review, but also my very first interview with a author! How freaking awesome is that? Since I had so much fun reading this book and interviewing Kathi, I just want to spread the love and giveaway my copy of Keeper to one of you guys!

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Let's get started with our interview...

Can you tell us a little about yourself and your book?

I grew up in Houston, but my grandmother lived in Galveston and I spent quite a bit of time there with her, so Galveston was like my second home when I was a child. I have a deep love for the Texas coast, so I kne

w that I wanted to write a book set there.

What influenced you to write children's books?

The experience of reading to my own children lead me to try my hand at writing them. As a young mother, I became enchanted with the really wonderful books that I was sharing with them and so embarked upon my writing journey. My kids are now grown up, and I'm happy to say that they still love children's books.

Do you ever plan on writing YA, or Adult novels?

I have written for YA's. I have a collection of short stories called KISSING TENNESSEE, a collection of poetry called POEMS FROM HOME ROOM, and a memoir called MY FATHER'S SUMMERS that are all written for young adults. And I also truly believe that KEEPER can hold its own with young adults--there's romance, danger, longing, a very young teenage mom, a gay relationship--all of which gives it a place among teens.

As for writing for adults, I think that every children's book has to appeal to adults too. Aside from that, however, I don't know if I'll ever write in that category. Not sure. Maybe.

When writing this book did you know where it was going, or did it come to you as you were writing?

It did take me a while to figure out where I was going. In early drafts, I actually wrote the ending first and it took a long time before I realized, oh, this is the end, not the beginning. That was helpful, but it was also a sidetrack.

You chose to have the story take place on a beach and ocean setting, why?

I've always loved the beach, and also loved mermaids. For years I've wanted to write a mermaid story. Where else to put it but the beach?

What was the biggest obstacle you had to over come when writing Keeper?

With every book I write, the big obstacle for me is always overcoming my own insecurities, believing that the story at hand has worth, relying upon the process of writing to get me there. I'm also a big procrastinator. I can find a million other things to do except write.

The story talks a lot about crab gumbo, is this your favorite dish? (Do you recommend I should try it?)

I do love crab gumbo. But I think I love chicken and sausage gumbo better. Yes, try a bowl of gumbo. It's all delicious.

The characters in Keeper have many different names, BD (Best Dog), Too, Dogie, what made you choose these names?

BD was the name of my

grandmother's dog, only his name stood for Bird Dog. I changed it slightly to Best Dog, and when I created Too, I thought, "he's a Best Dog too," thus Too's name.

I named Dogie after an old television show called "Rawhide." It was a western and they had a them song that went "keep them dogies rollin'." I thought, my character is rollin' in his bus, so I named him Dogie.

Are any of the characters based off of real people? (or animals?)

BD and Captain are based upon my grandmother's dog and a seagull that she rescued when it crashed into her kitchen window one night after a storm. Signe actually reminds me a lot of my own mother who was also a teenager when she became a mom. The rest of the characters are pretty much made up.

If you had the chance to meet any famous person, who would it be? Why?

I would love to meet President Obama. I think it would be great to talk to him about his own children's books, but also I would like to urge him to be brave and stand his ground.

Where do you prefer to write?

I love sitting at my desk, in my own studio. I can write pretty much anywhere, but home is where I do my best work.

Besides writing what else do you enjoy doing?

I enjoy going to plays and movies, reading, going out to hear music. I like to travel too, especially when I'm with a friend or family.

If you could have any super power what would it be?

I wish I could be JOB WOMAN. My power would be to find a great job for everyone, a job that they truly loved and that paid well. That would be my super power.

And lastly do you have more books out or in the works?

I have a whole list of projects that I hope to get through before my last day here on earth, which I hope is a lot of years away.

Thanks so much for these smart questions.

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Now my review(:

Title: Keeper

Author: Kathi Appelt

Format: ARC

Series: Nope

Publisher: Atheneum Books

Published Date: May 2010

Summary:

"To ten-year-old Keeper, this moon is her chance to fix all that has gone wrong...and so much has gone wrong. But she knows who can make things right again: Meggie Marie, her mermaid mother who swam away when Keeper was just three. A blue moon calls the mermaids to gather at the sandbar, and that's exactly where she is headed — in a small boat, in the middle of the night, with only her dog, BD (Best Dog), and a seagull named Captain.

When the riptide pulls at the boat, tugging her away from the shore and deep into the rough waters of the Gulf of Mexico, panic sets in, and the fairy tales that lured her out there go tumbling into the waves. Maybe the blue moon isn't magic and maybe the sandbar won't sparkle with mermaids and maybe — Oh, no..."Maybe" is just too difficult to bear. Kathi Appelt follows up to her New York Times bestseller,The Underneath, with a tale that will pull right at your very core — stronger than moon currents — capturing the crash and echo of the waves and the dark magic of the ocean."

Cover Opinion: 4/5

I loved the cover, everything from the cover ties in with the story! Also throughout the book there are different pictures (probably because its a children's book!), which I really enjoyed looking at(:

Characters-

Favorite:

I can easily say I loved most of the characters in this book! I thought the animals were very cute, Too (Dogie's little pup) can tell if theirs a storm coming. BD, is Meggie's loyal sidekick, and Captain is a cute and very hungry (his favorite food is watermelon) seagull!

Least:

I don't hate Signe, but how can you leave a ten year old home alone, even if its only thirty minutes? I mean, you live right on the beach, she could go out there and drown. I really like that Signe took care of Meggie when her mom left, but still why could Meggie just quickly come to the store with her?

Story line: 4.5/5

I really enjoyed this book, it was a quick and easy read. When I first started I was a little confused, because it started backwards. Instead of starting at the beginning, it began where Meggie was waiting for the water to rise, so she can untie the boat. And every chapter would switch back from her telling what happened to Meggie waiting for the moon to show, so she can get the boat.

Besides that I had a lot of fun reading, and would really love to read another Appelt book(:

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Now, finally what you've all been waiting for....the giveaway!

Just like any other giveaway, if you want to raise your chance of winning, there are a lot of ways to get extra points(:

Just fill out this FORM, and good luck!:D