The People We Keep is a classic tale about growing up and attempting to fit in with the rest of the world. This novel has a certain satisfying simplicity to it. This serves as a reminder that not everyone will receive the love and acceptance they merit. Especially when we cause our own problems and flee rather than fix them. However, there are those people we have met that we will remain close to. Whether they remain by our sides or merely impart lessons to us that help us get through life.
What Is It About?
It’s a story that provides a few glimpses into the life of April Sawicki, a young woman from a small New York village. She is restless and yearns for a life that would take her out of her small town and away from the direction she believes life would ultimately take her. She observed that life was urging her to settle down with her high school beau and practically live from there because people don’t usually leave their hometowns. Then, after an altercation with her father. She loses it and decides to leave to change her destiny and rescue herself.
Writing Style:
The writing is straightforward, but that makes it more approachable because it occasionally becomes lyrical. People don’t take up evangelistic works. The tale is so simple to be drawn into that you can finish the book in one sitting. This novel could have started like any other where a little town girl leaves to make her path. But it ended up being very different from what you would have expected. You enjoy recommending this book to other people.
The vocabulary was purposefully simple and childlike, yet the narration as a whole came across as naturally innocent. As it keeps a strong sense of wisdom as it watches life and happenings from April’s perspective. Because of the setting’s late 1990s, pre-internet period. April is a brave woman who was also lovely, innocent, and fragile. Her need to make friends, learn new things, and leave an effect on people was essential to her survival.
This book is not a love story. Yes, there were a few love connections throughout. You could assume that April would eventually settle down and be “happy” in whatever situation she found herself in. But as you read more and learn more about what happened, you’ll realize that this was much more than just a love story. The title says it all.
Overall, The People we Keep will leave its impact, serving as a reminder to everyone that even though we all dream of wealth and prosperity. Finding our tribe and the need to fit in are more important than any other desire since a home is where our hearts are. The opportunity to grow up in a loving home is not a reality for many people.
