For Keeps, by Natasha Friend

Title: For Keeps

Author: Natasha Friend

Rating: 4/5 stars

Release Date: April 28, 2011

Publisher: Speak

Format: Paperback Edition

   For Keeps was something that I'd describe as a quick, beachy read. 200 pages more or less, and a great coming of age story that will have you inspired.

   *Goodreads Summary:* For sixteen years, Josie Gardner and her mom, Kate, have been a team. It's been the Gardner Girls against the world, and that's how Josie likes it. Until one day, they find out that Paul Tucci, Kate's high school boyfriend-the father Josie has never met-is back in town. Josie's mom suddenly turns back into the heartbroken teenager she was when Paul moved away. Meanwhile, Josie's on the verge of having her first real boyfriend. And when Josie learns some surprising truths about Paul Tucci and the past, she begins questioning what she thought she knew, and finds out what happens when a girl gets the guy she always wanted and the dad she never knew she needed.

    Sounds very captivating, huh? Well, it was.

   This plot made my heart race, and my stomach churn for what would happen next. Families are all different, and finding the past of yours is important, and I believe that Josie made that clear.

  Josie was one heartstopping heroine. She was fearless, brave and was ready for what the future would bring her. I'd like to be like her someday, and I think that she will cause all of us, once read, to become like her too. Natasha Friend has created a great role model for any teenage girl, waiting for their problems to be solved, just like Josie's were.

  What a fantastic novel, go give it a try.