The Keeping Room (Novel)

The Keeping RoomBy Anna MyerseISBN 978-0-8027-3532-4Walker Books for Young Readers, 1997This is a historical novel about the Revolutionary War, 1775-1783. A father must leave his family and fight the British. He leaves his wife and children with his thirteen-year-old boy Joey in charge.Here is the opening paragraph:“My father’s troops wait on their horses just outside our front door. I can hear the murmuring voices of the men and the snorts and pawings of their mounts, anxious to be down the road to meet the enemy.”His father loses the battle and becomes a prisoner of the British. As commanding officers and other men in charge of the troops rotate through their house, Joey must learn to come to terms with his emotions.Joey becomes a prisoner of the British and learns empathy for the slaves that his father keeps. His experiences show him that he must question what he believes and what his father believes.His desire to make his father proud leads him to a defiance that has tragic consequences. His final lesson in disciplining his spirit and controlling his own temper and reactions.The setting is believable. The dialogue is realistic. The characters are well drawn. The story draws the reader in and takes you to the historical period.I give this novel a 4.5 out of 5. It is an exceptional example of historical genre for the young reader.

This is a great little story that can bring South Carolina and the American Revolution in touch with students. A really good Novel for all students but especially single gender boys.

Great story! I read it with my 8 and 11 year old boys.

We bought this book for a class for my daughter and she was able to read it in just 2 days because she enjoyed it so much.

I liked this book but I am more of a comedy personIt was too sad and dramatic for me

Fantastic book about the Revolutionary War which tells the tail from multiple perspectives.

The Keeping Room is an excellent 4th grade reading level book. It is a great historical fiction novel told from the perspective of a young boy-the son of Officer Joseph Kershaw.Excellent. Great read. Great history.

This book was very ...modern. The characters were stilted stereotypes, the reasons for the comflict from either side were mentioned only breifly in passing. The ending was predictable and the book had the feeling that the author crammed in every politically correct topic that she could think of. Even throwing in remarks on topics that have absolutly nothing to do with what is going on in either dialogue or action. All in all it seems to have been written to showcase modern political correctness rather than history.