Keeper of the Night

Kimberly Willis Holt
Henry Holt May 2003 0-8050-6361-7 $16.95
180 pages 8-1/2 x 5-3/4 Ages 12 and up

In 1997, Karen Hesse delighted the world of children’s literature with her acclaimed novel Out of the Dust (Hyperion, 1997). Awarded the Newbery Medal, Out of the Dust told the poignant story of a young girl named Billie Jo dealing with the death of her mother and unborn brother, set in the harsh climate of Dust Bowl-era Oklahoma. The story’s unique format of short poems lent emotional intensity to the tale, and was perhaps the main reason for the great praise of the novel. Kimberly Willis Holt must have been watching closely. Her newest novel, Keeper of the Night, closely imitates Out of the Dust on several levels. However, despite these parallels, Holt manages to create a gripping and powerful tale in its own right.
          Keeper of the Night is narrated by thirteen-year-old Isabel, an eighth grade student in present day Guam. Similar to the plot of Out of the Dust, Isabel’s mother has died and the responsibility to hold the family together has fallen upon Isabel’s shoulders. But unlike Billie Jo’s mother, Isabel’s mother has committed suicide, and Isabel has not only her father and herself to help, but also two younger siblings, Frank and Olivia. Among a richly drawn cast of characters, from two very different Aunties to a friend who raises chickens for cock fighting, Isabel struggles to care for her family. Things come to a head when Frank, who has been secretly carving the words “I hate you” on his bedroom wall, begins to carve the words onto his arm and ends up in a psychiatric hospital.
          What makes the book so memorable is its careful construction. Little vignettes, no longer than a page, are narrated by Isabel and offer a glimpse into her newly changed life, filled with both her grief and guilt and her old “normal” middle school concerns.
          Lunchtime at St. Cletus. Fish stew day. Sit with Delia and Tonya day. Eat sour mangos and hot sauce day. Pass notes in class day. Tell secrets about naughty Lola and the boys day. Nothing’s changed.
          The concise prose of the short chapters often seems poetic, and aches with Isabel’s emotions as she tries to reconnect with her now distant father, take care of her brother and sister, and remember who her mother used to be. Several of the aptly titled short passages are lists; lists that Isabel writes in her notebook to try to regain control, spelling out exactly what she needs to do each day. But subsequent pages show that the lists are not working, and bring the reader into the secret world of Isabel’s nights, where she wanders the house waking her sister from both nightmares and her new bedwetting habit, checking on her father who cannot bring himself to sleep in his old bed, and listening to her brother carving on the walls of his room.
          Unlike Out of the Dust’s Billie Jo, Isabel is surrounded by adults who attempt to reach out in their own ways to help her. When Frank’s actions bring the plot to a climax, a counselor steps in to help Isabel and the family. However, the resolution seems a bit too quick and unbelievable. Despite this flaw, Keeper of the Night is a beautifully written novel that conveys well the emotional turmoil of losing a parent.
          Holt’s own experience living in Guam helped form her portrayal of the island setting, and she adds rich details that contribute to the poetic text but never overwhelm the story. She is equally careful to prevent the poetry of her language from masking the rawness and complicatedness of Isabel’s emotions, leaving the reader with a very believable and unforgettable narrator.
          No doubt Billie Jo would approve.

— Lauren Aimonette Liang