Keeper of the Night

by Kimberly Willis Holt

Overview

Isabel's mother died peacefully. At least that's what Isabel likes to think since no one in her family will talk about the truth. But in spite of their avoidance, in spite of their brave faces, the truth has a way of revealing itself at night, in her family's behavior. Her father sleeps curled up on the floor right where Mama's body was found. Olivia wets her bed and wakes repeatedly from nightmares, and Frank has started carving his anger into his bedroom wall. It's up to Isabel to help her family get beyond the pain and loss—to be the keeper of the night. But who will help Isabel?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780312661038
Publisher:	Square Fish
Publication date:	09/27/2011
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.00(d)
Lexile:	690L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Twenty three years ago Kimberly Willis Holt stopped talking about wanting to be a writer and started to pursue her dream. Because of her family's Louisiana roots she considers herself a southerner, but her father's military career took her to places beyond the South, including Paris and Guam.

She's the author of more than fifteen books for a wide range of ages, many of which have won awards and honors. Her third novel, When Zachary Beaver Came to Town won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. She writes and gardens in Texas.

Read an Excerpt

Keeper of the Night

A Dutiful Daughter

My mother died praying on her knees. Her rosary beads were still in her hands when we found her. She left no note, said no good-byes, gave no last hugs or kisses. Only the empty bottle of sleeping pills that had rolled under her bed proved that she'd meant to leave.

I found her first. But I didn't know she was dead. I thought she was praying.

That morning, I eased her door shut, tied on her apron, and made breakfast for my little brother and sister. I felt proud to scramble their eggs and butter their toast.

Later I tied blue ribbons in Olivia's hair and dipped the comb into a glass of water before parting Frank's. I had no idea it was the first of many mornings I'd be doing that.

KEEPER OF THE NIGHT. Copyright © 2003 by Kimberly Willis Holt.

Reading Group Guide

Questions for Discussion

1. In the opening chapter Isabel writes of finding her mother and of then getting her brother and sister off to school. "That morning I eased her door shut, tied on her apron, and made breakfast for my little brother and sister. I felt proud to scramble their eggs and butter their toast. Later I tied blue ribbons in Olivia's hair and clipped the comb into a glass of water before parting Frank's. I had no idea it was the first of many mornings I'd be doing that." Her reactions to her siblings vacillate between duty and pride. How do these reactions manifest themselves during the course of the novel? Do they stay constant? Does one overpower the other? Why or why not?

2. Isabel searches for a sense of place after her mother's death. First that place is Malesso as she rejects their temporary exile at her aunt's house in Tamuning. Isabel writes: "We're stupid staying in Tamuning while our lives take place in Malesso." But she also searches for that sense of place by trying to establish a seating configuration both at home and with her classmates. More figuratively, she considers her place within her childhood group of friends, her friendship with Roman, and with relationships with her aunts and the people of Malesso. Discuss how that sense of place changes throughout the novel.

3. Why doesn't Isabel enter the contest for fiesta queen?

4. Both Olivia and Frank show signs of distress after their mother's death. Isabel records those signs, but only once does she seek help, and that is with the logistical problem of washing Olivia's wet sheets. What in her character and situation explains why she keeps these observations to herself?

5. Frank carves "I hate you" on his wall and "I hate" on his body. Whom or what does he hate so much?

6. Isabel, Frank, and Olivia are individuals, yet each contains characteristics of both parents. What traits of their mother do you see in each character? What of Tata?

7. Isabel writes two compositions based on a true, personal experience. One is a poem about Frank and she receives an "F" on that poem. She does the assignment over, writing about an imagined trip to Disneyland, and receives an A+. Why is each treated differently? What do you think each composition means to Isabel?

8. Isabel talks to Ed about her mother's suicide and tells him, "I still can't figure out why she killed...herself." Ed replies, "You probably never will. That's the sad part. Most survivors don't even know why. But you can learn something from what your mother did." What does Isabel learn from her mother's suicide?

9. Who is the keeper of the night and what is s/he keeping?

10. Look at the jacket of the book. It suggests certain elements about Keeper of the Night. Before you started reading, and you had only looked at the jacket, what did you think the book was going to be about? As you were reading were you surprised, disappointed, or pretty much finding what you suspected would be there? Talk about your response with other members of your group. Now look at the jacket again. How do you think the jacket conveys your interpretation of the book?

Editorial Reviews

Evocative . . . haunting . . . magic.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

“Beautifully written.” —School Library Journal, Starred Review

“Exquisitely presented . . . stunningly beautiful.” —Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

“Heart-rending. . . . [Holt] has created an endearing, complicated narrator in Isabel; she manages to sound both lyrical and like the eighth grader she is.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Holt's plain, direct prose belies the deep pain the narrator feels as she tries to understand her mother's life and death.” —Bookpage

“Beautifully written, this tale reaches into the heart of Guam and touches gold.” —Seattle Times

“[E]xtended families, unhurried lives, the wisdom of elders, the individual quirks and eccentricities and the deep love holding up the surface of everyday life will all be familiar to readers of Holt's previous work.” —Times Picayune

From the Publisher

The Barnes & Noble Review
Kimberly Willis Holt, author of the National Book Award–winning When Zachary Beaver Came to Town, crafts a moving story of one girl's struggle to cope with her mother's suicide.

Told in short chapters through the narrator's words, Holt's tale takes us to modern-day Guam, where we see how Isabela and her family try to get on with their normal lives despite the tension that surrounds them. At first, Isabela is the "dutiful daughter," tending to her anguished family, but she slowly begins acting out herself, particularly when Mary Kelly -- a non-native from a wealthier family -- moves to the area and a potential romantic interest of Isabela's gravitates toward Mary instead. But when things slowly come to a head and Isabela's brother, Frank, winds up in the hospital after cutting himself, the family begins healing communication.

Holt weaves together a beautiful, sophisticated story that won't disappoint her loyal fans. As usual, the author is keenly attuned to people and their relationships, always remembering to keep young Isabela feeling the pain of difficult family situations but distant enough to focus on her own friendships and problems. Different from Holt's previous work -- especially with the atypical setting of Guam -- this tour de force is a novel not to miss. Shana Taylor

bn.com

In a series of exquisitely presented snapshots, a young teen struggles to cope with the aftermath of her mother’s suicide. Her grief-stricken father having effectively abdicated his responsibility, Isabel must mind the family store, from which she watches both helplessly and resentfully her brother Frank’s descent into his own brand of madness. Holt makes the most of her Guam setting, subtly and inexorably involving readers in a way of life utterly foreign to most of them and getting it so thoroughly under their skin that taking in the story is like dreaming of the tropics. Isabel narrates the story in tiny present-tense vignettes, the longest of which approaches three pages. This narrative technique takes readers in and out of memory, showing how Isabel’s mother’s depression had repercussions that began in the past and echo loudly into the present. It also enables the development of several subplots that parallel the primary narrative, introducing a colorful and unforgettable array of secondary characters, whose lives touch, support, and mirror Isabel’s. Stunningly beautiful. (Fiction. 10+)

Kirkus Reviews