3'5 en realidadHace dos o tres años leí Una canción para ti, también de esta autora. No había oído hablar de él ni de Sarah Dessen en la vida, lo cogí de la estantería de una amiga por un impulso. Y al pasar la última página me quedé con una sensación extraña y a la vez maravillosa que Atrapa la luna me ha transmitido de nuevo.La historia cuenta con una premisa simple: una adolescente que pasa un verano en un pueblo pequeño durante el que se enfrentará a sus problemas. Pero es que Sarah Dessen tiene una forma bonita de contar todo esto; aunque sea un auténtico cliché ella encuentra las palabras que marcan la diferencia y que hacen que pienses que no habías leído sobre ello nunca. Todos hemos leído (o visto una película) alguna vez sobre una chica joven superando sus inseguridades, pero este libro tiene la particularidad de que, si miras bien, casi todos los personajes están (a su manera) pasando por un proceso similar al de Colie. Y es muy bonito ver cómo todos se ayudan entre sí a su manera. Si tuviera que definir brevemente esta novela, diría que es una historia de amor; amor entre amigas, a la familia, amor romántico... pero sobre todo a uno mismo.El primer personaje al que conocemos es a Kiki Sparks, la madre de Colie. Al principio no me caía muy bien porque me transmitía el mensaje de ser feliz = estar delgada, pero con el paso de las páginas me di cuenta de que estaba equivocada sobre ella. Después tenemos a Norman, el hippy artista que vive con la tía de Colie y que trabaja de cocinero en el Última oportunidad. La tía de Colie, Mira, me ha parecido maravillosa, una mujer fuera de lo común con costumbre a coleccionar cosas que funcionan a medias y a hacer tarjetas de pésame personalizadas. Y luego están Morgan e Isabel, las dos chicas que trabajan con Norman en el Última oportunidad. Morgan es la chica dulce, trabajadora y un tanto perfeccionista que tiene una sonrisa para todo el mundo. E Isabel... oh, Isabel. Para mí ella ha sido El personaje de esta historia. Es gritona y antipática a más no poder y no se corta un pelo a la hora de decir lo que piensa, a pesar de que a veces pueda hacer daño. Pero esa última parte ha sido vital en esta historia, ya que sin su forma de ser Colie se habría quedado estancada sintiendo pena por sí misma toda su vida, y a hay veces en las que viene bien una voz amable como la de Morgan, pero también es importante que alguien te grite de vez en cuando para darte un empujoncito. De hecho cuando apareció por primera vez en la historia la aborrecí bastante pero luego me fui dando cuenta de cómo era en realidad y de lo mucho que estaba ayudando a Colie.—Colie, no debería sorprenderte que la gente te trate con respeto. Deberías esperarlo.En muchas escenas he estado con la garganta en un puño por lo que pasaba y lo que sentía Colie al respecto, porque la he podido entender tan bien en algunas situaciones... Pero si algo me ha encantado sobre ella es el cómo la autora ha reflejado el hecho de que aunque haya perdido todo ese peso sigue siendo insegura. El ser delgado no hace que todo en tu vida vaya bien de repente. El final también ha sido muy bonito y emotivo, como casi toda la novela. La única pega que le pongo es que me he quedado con ganas de más; de saber cómo les irá a Colie y a sus amigos después de que acabe el mejor verano de sus vidas.
“It’s so, so stupid what we do to ourselves because we’re afraid. It’s so stupid.”Colie and her mother, Kiki Sparks, fitness guru, used to be quite heavy. Because of this, Colie went through a lot of teasing back home in school. Upon her mother’s transformation into Kiki Sparks, both Kiki and Colie lose weight and become much healthier, avoiding all fatty foods and living a healthy lifestyle. Because Kiki is going on tour in Europe for the summer promoting her fitness regimen, Colie is sent to stay in Colby with her aunt, Mira. She’s sure this will be her worst summer yet. But little does she know she will actually meet quite a few people that will end up changing the way she thinks about life, especially about herself.“Self respect, Colie. If you don’t have it, the world will walk all over you.”What hit me the hardest about this story was that I saw a lot of myself in Colie. Colie took everything personally. She felt everyone else’s emotions as if they were her own. She struggled a lot with being so overly sensitive, thinking with her heart more than her head. I am extremely emotional myself, and I felt for Colie. I knew her struggles, having lived through some of them myself, and I so wanted her to learn to shed the emotions to better herself. Trying to live to please others is exhausting. Learning to love yourself and live life successfully that way is what’s most important.Though Sarah Dessen is known for her “ya romance” novels, I think they’re much more than that. From what I’ve read, her books are more “coming of age” stories that always pack such valuable lessons between the pages. Colie learns so much over this summer, both about herself, as well as the way she sees others. Her mental and emotional growth throughout this book is what’s most important. Secondary would be the adorable romance that also takes place.“You should never be surprised when someone treats you with respect, you should expect it.”Keeping the Moon portrays such a gorgeous and extremely important message regarding self-respect. Especially during our teenage years, it’s the hardest to remember to always respect yourself first. Trying to live up to others’ is tough… learning that’s not necessary, and that being yourself is the most important, is even tougher. I love the Sarah Dessen’s stories always have these beautiful lessons for teenagers these days. Being a teenager is extremely difficult, and having books like this around is priceless. Another wonderful story by S. Dessen!Find this review and others like it at Lost in Literature!
What do You think about Keeping The Moon (2004)?
Colie has no faith in herself. Her mother is a star—a fitness queen who exercised her way out of 100 plus pounds, homelessness, and the country. Leaving Colie to experience the summer with her aunt in a nameless town where the only notable eatery is called Last Chance. But Colie knows better than to anticipate a new start for herself. She has moved often enough to expect the inevitable taunts, the derision, and the isolation.Sure enough, even though she’s no longer Fat-Colie or Hole-in-One-Colie, the first thing everyone comments on is her lip ring.Especially Isabel, who along with her sister Morgan, runs the Last Chance. But then something strange happens. Times three.An apology.An emergency.And a job offer.Suddenly Colie isn’t alone. She may even learn to “keep the moon.”Perhaps more than any of the author’s other characters, Colie felt very real to me. Her dilemmas. Her reactions to others. Her complete ineptitude to navigate teenage society. To Colie, the past is inescapable. Until . . . friendship. Keeping the Moon is full of quirky humor and wonderful details—along with an engaging subplot of first romance—but the story’s true center is friendship. One of the most powerful forces on earth.
—Anne Osterlund
Can I just say I would give this book a billion stars? awww It was just so cute and heartwarming, it is about Colie, a girl who struggled with her weight in the past, that now is in perfect body shape, thanks to her mother who became a fitness star and who helped her through her weight-loss path. She is sent to her Aunt's house at the beach, in order to spend there her holidays. When she arrives, she doesn't really expect that she will find friends and love, together with herself. my favourite quotes were:“If you try anything, if you try to lose weight, or to improve yourself, or to love, or to make the world a better place, you have already achieved something wonderful, before you even begin. Forget failure. If things don't work out the way you want, hold your head up high and be proud. And try again. And again. And again!” “for once, you believed in yourself. you believed you were beautiful and so did the rest of the world.” “But it's strange, when you've always been told something is true, like the moon will come back. You need proof. And while you wait, you feel the entire balance of your world just tipping. It's crazy. But when it's over, and it does come back, that's the best, because it's all you want, everything narrows to just that. It's this great rush, like for that one second everything's okay with the world again. It's amazing.”
—Vale (BooksAndTea58)
I want to finish Cinder first and since its my Class schedule book im going to kind of try to rush it now.. I have been suddenly crazy busy the last few days and havent had time to start but things have calmed down a bit now so im about to give it a go. so would you like to start maybe 1st of January? :)
—Hannah
