This book was otherworldly, dreamy and ultimately too full of ghosts and God for me to really dig it. The plot was sound enough, and the telling true-sounding. The characters seemed fairly real and were for the most part likable. But I'm not a ghost story kind of guy, and I was also put off by the last chapter which was All God All The Time.

So- a good story, but not for me. ( )

Wow, this was such a simple story, but it had a lot of depth. This book was not what I expected after reading the summary. The fact that Lyza and her pater (father) could see spirits threw me for a loop, but it all tied together nicely.
I always enjoy stories told from a child's perspective. This story makes you realize the responsibility some children have to take on, especially in that time period.
The author used beautiful language in this book. The words were often like poetry. For example "The moon pitied my foolishness and lit the way." Or "In letters as tiny as if they'd been written on the eyelashes of a baby kitten..."
While this book wasn't an edge of your seat type of book, you grow to care about Lyza and her family, and you want to see that everything gets resolved. I would recommend this book to young adult historical fiction fans ( )

My Summary: The Keening was a great read! I read it all in one sitting, unable to stop myself from turning the pages, wanting to know what would become of Lyza and her father.

My Summary: Lyza has always lived on a secluded cliff with her parents, whom she affectionately refers to as Mater (Mama) and Pater (Papa). Her mother is the glue that holds their family together, taking care of both Lyza and her eccentric father, who sometimes goes days without food as he carves life-like statues out of wood. Lyza has always been sheltered and loved, but she knows what people think of her family: they think her father is insane, and they all pity her mother for being married to a supposed 'psychopath'.

When the flu pandemic of 1918 hits the town nearby, everyone becomes a target - including Lyza's mother. Within 10 hours of discovering she had a fever, Lyza and her father are burying the woman that loved them both more than anything.

Now, left alone with her father, Lyza must find a way to keep her uncles from shipping him off to a work-farm, selling their house, and leaving her an orphan. But Lyza is not well herself - everytime she falls asleep, she sees visions of a boat floating on the surface of murky, black water, and she knows that it is somehow connected to her mother's death. Add to that the fact that her father is keeping a secret from her - an enormous secret that challenges everything she knew about her life.

My Thoughts: I thought the writing was really very good, but a lot of the story had a very rushed feel to it - I felt like if the author had taken more time to explain things, it would have made the novel a lot better. Also, the conflict is wrapped up pretty quickly, and this might not appeal to people who don't enjoy a religious aspect in their reading material... Other than those things, though, I thought it was a pretty solid story! I finished it all in one sitting, and I really like the way the author revealed little tidbits of information to you as the story went along instead of dumping all the information you needed into the first couple of paragraphs.

Final Thoughts: All in all, I thought it was good, but I wouldn't purchase it myself... borrow it from the library, if the plot intrigues you! (It's pretty great, and you never know - you might like it a lot more than I did!) ( )

At 14, Lyza lives in a world populated by the spirits her father claims to see - the ones that he carves faces of and sets adrift in boats to the sea. Her mother, an accomplished seamstress, holds the family together - homeschooling Lyza, making the extra money necessary for essentials with her work. Mater's family, the Bradleys, are estranged. They think that Lyza's Pater is crazy and belongs in "the farm" - the insane asylum. As Lyza mentally prepares herself for a trip to Portland, Maine, to take the high school exam, her best friend Jake insists that he has to go with her - he needs to see Portland, a real city.

With the influenza epidemic raging, Lyza and her family are witness to many funeral marches past their house to the graveyard, and father's carving becomes almost obsessive, with Mater needing to coax him back to the house to eat. Suddenly, Mater falls ill, and within a day or so, Pater and Lyza are rowing to an island set a short distance out to bury Mater themselves beside her father. As Pater waits for Mater to come back, Lyza's mission quickly becomes apparent - she must keep the Bradleys from sending her father to "the farm". In her attempts to do so, she uncovers family secrets and an ally she didn't know she had. She also discovers her own strengths and talents.

The writing is ethereal, almost dream-like. At the end, I read the author's note that this story came in a dream, and that the dream-like qualities are purposeful. This is a rather quick, but pleasant read. I liked Pater and Lyza, and was rooting for him all the way. There are some skillfully engineered surprises as well.

QUOTES

That's how Mater came back to Kingsley Cove after college, with a common-law husband, a baby in her belly, and a cut on her forehead - a lifelong reminder of just how dangerous her family could be.

Grief made most folks fade into strangeness. Had it brought Pater to the other side of normal?

"See," he'd said, pointing to a man twisting his arms around like he must be pedaling something, his eyes blank yet staring, his mouth stammering through some list, "Without your Mater, that's how your father would be." ( )

Starting this story I was expecting to read about the terrors of living during the huge influenza epidemic. I was expecting to feel sad every other page, to have more and more characters whom I’ve come to love die. This book was not like that at all. Yes, this is a historical fiction novel that takes pace during that time, but it does not play as big of a role as expected. Characters do die in the story, but that is not the basis of the story. The plot follows Lyza as she is discovering new, unbelievable things about her life while trying to care for and protect her father after the death of her mother.

Lyza’s pater (pater =father, mater= mother > this took me a while to understand) is not normal. He spends most of his time carving realistic faces into anything available. Most days he forgets to eat, and he wouldn’t even get dressed if not for the constant reminder from Lyza’s mother. Lyza’s mother’s family is dead set on committing him somewhere, but Lyza and her mother would never let that happen. But when Lyza’s mater is gone, she is left with the bulky task of protecting him. Soon she will find out that maybe Pater isn’t crazy, he just sees more than everyone else. Maybe she does too…

I really enjoyed this story. The tone of the narrator was much more adult, but that was expected considering the time period it takes place in. There was something very special about this novel, I’m not exactly sure what. I was also very impressed with the writing itself. There was a sort of paranormal aspect to this story, yet I wouldn’t group this book with other novels with the same type of aspect. It was so much different than others. The paranormal plot didn’t seem paranormal. That probably doesn’t make sense… in other words, it didn’t seem like it was made up. It seemed like that it very well could be something some people live with. I know that is vague, but I don’t want to give the plot away.

When I was younger, all I used to read were historical fiction novels. My two favorite books growing up were The Witch of Blackbird Pond and Fever 1793, so that could be a big reason why I enjoyed this so much. If you enjoy historical fiction novels, I highly recommend this one.

(See the review in all its glory here:http://ilikethesebooks.blogspot.com/2010/11/keening-by-la-faye.html ) ( )