For Keeps

by Natasha Friend

Overview

Josie's never met her dad, and that's fine with her. To Josie, Paul Tucci is just a guy who got her mom pregnant and then moved away. It all happened sixteen years ago, when Josie's mom was still a teenager herself. But now Paul Tucci is back in town, and Josie has to deal with not one but two men in her life - her father and her first boyfriend, who Josie fears will hurt her just like Paul hurt her mother.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101186732
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	04/06/2010
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
File size:	206 KB
Age Range:	12 Years

About the Author

Natasha Friend was born to an English professor father and a poet/actress mother. She was raised in a house without a television. At the time, she thought this was the worst form of child abuse. Now, she understands the method to her parents’ madness: they wanted her to be a reader. Spending most of her childhood at the Hamilton Public Library, Natasha found her mecca, the young-adult section, and her hero, Judy Blume. She, too, wanted to write stories about girls who felt alone. Girls whose parents were screw-ups. Girls with spunk and spirit and resolve.

Natasha began dictating stories to her father, who typed them up on his 1930’s Remington typewriter. Most involved rainbows, unicorns, and poor orphan girls discovering treasure. She knew she was supposed to be a writer in seventh grade, when a sweet boy gave her a love poem and she felt compelled to correct it for syntax and rhyme scheme. Today, Natasha is the award-winning author of Perfect, Lush, Bounce, For Keeps, and My Life in Black and White. When she isn’t writing, she is building forts and making chocolate-chip pancakes. Natasha lives on the Connecticut shoreline with her husband, three children, and dog, Beckett.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Fast-paced and full of little twists, Josie+s story is a sweet and savvy coming-of-age tale. Hopeful and endearing." -Kirkus

Editorial Reviews

Having been deserted by her father before she was born, Josie fears abandonment and heartbreak. Her mother fuels this fear with her own reluctance to pursue relationships. Luckily Josie's best friend, Liv, encourages her to make connections with her family and with the very cute and enigmatic Matt. When the parents of Josie's estranged father move back to the area, Josie forges a friendship with her grandfather that gives her some insight into her roots. A tragedy brings the truth about Josie's family to light and provides an unexpected opportunity to forge new relationships. Believable characters and smart dialogue make this story both memorable and entertaining. Fast-paced and full of little twists, Josie's story is a sweet and savvy coming-of-age tale. The story is only slightly marred by its unfortunately saccharine ending, in which everything conveniently works out for the best. Readers will root for Josie and Matt's budding romance, sympathize with the difficulties surrounding unconventional families and be inspired by Liv's honesty and quirkiness. Hopeful and endearing. (Fiction. 14 & up)

Kirkus Reviews

Fast-paced and full of little twists, Josie+s story is a sweet and savvy coming-of-age tale. Hopeful and endearing." -Kirkus

From the Publisher

This isn't just an issue-driven story. There is a real plot, filled with fast, immediate dialogue.

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