Ann Tatlock

Dear Readers, 

Adulthood is hard enough for an adult to understand let alone an 11 year old girl.  Roz knows that her daddy is not a good daddy, but all she wants is for him to be able to live with them again.  She doesn't understand why they had to leave even though he promised that he would change.

 

Promise to Keep by Ann Tatlock takes on this topic.  I love Ann's books. She writes these books that take on topics from completely different perspectives.  As I read about Roz I kept thinking that she should see her Dad for what he really is, but from an 11 year olds perspective he isn't a terrible man.  No matter what he has done.

 

Roz and her family move to the quiet little town of Mills River.  It is the wonderful town where even though the turbulent 60's are going on in America, not much has changed in Mills River.  Kids are still free to roam on their own and neighbors gladly show up on your doorstep with a casserole in hand during times of trouble.  It has the soda fountian resturant and a library that Roz and her friend Mara visit often.  It reminded me of Mayberry.

 

I don't want to say too much more about the book as it is one of those journeys you need to take with Roz and her family.  You need to meet them and understand where they are coming from and where they are trying to get to.  You need to meet Tillie and understand why she believes that the house that she lived in is still hers, even though Roz's grandfather bought it for them to live in.  But Roz's family needs Tillie and she needs them.

 

This is a growing up book, but not in the perfect way that most of us wish our childhoods were.  It is about not letting what happens to you in childhood define you the rest of your life. It is about learning and growing in ways that I pray most of us never will or have experienced.  It is the story of family and how sometimes you are family even when you are not related by blood.

Happy Reading