By: Natasha Friend Date/year pub: 2010 Genre: Realistic fiction

 The main setting is in the Weiss-Longo house. The setting is also in the present day 2010, so this book took place not too long ago from today. Olivia, Popps, Wyatt, and Dodd Weiss- Longo live there too. The Weiss-Longo house is the place that Josie Gardner forgives her dad Paul Tucci. It would be different if the setting were someone else because the Weiss-Longo family plays an important role in main events in the story.

 One of the main characters in this books name is Olivia Weiss-Longo. In the book main character Josie Gardner described her hair to look like snow whites. She is also very short. Olivia is spunky because she wears peculiar things and acts unordinary. She is also daring because she never holds back a thought or feeling; she speaks her mind. Finally, she is crazy because she is never afraid of taking risks, and acting very hyper.  The other main characters name is Josie Gardner, she is tall, and has many freckles. Josie is quiet because she doesn’t often to speak to people. She's also sensitive, because she overreacts about little things that occur. Finally she is caring because she protects and takes care of her family and friends.

 The main conflict in the story is a Man vs. Self, because one of the main characters, Josie gardener, is often trying to decide if she should forgive her father for leaving her and her mother, and moving to Arkansas; abandoning them before Josie was born.

 Josie Gardner and her mother, Kate Gardner run into Paul Tucci’s parents at the grocery store. Paul Tucci’s got Josie's mother pregnant in high school, but moved to Arkansas before Josie was born, and never told anyone that it was his. One day Paul Tucci’s dad has a type of heart attack in the coffee shop that Josie happen to work in. at the hospital she meets Paul Tucci for the first time, and Josie's mom sees him also for the first time in 17 years. A couple days later Josie's mom Kate invited Paul Tucci to dinner, and he apologizes for everything. Josie eventually or gave him for everything after learning the truth.

 The theme is: Expect the unexpected.  Josie and her mother Kate run into Paul Tuccis parents when she thought they lived in Arkansas.  Paul tuccis dad has a type of heart attack I the coffee shop that Josie happened to work at. Kate and Josie thought Paul Tucci never tried to contact the after he moved to Arkansas, but really her parents weren't letting him; they hid letters and blocked his calls.

 In For Keeps the point of view is through Josie Gardner. This helps the readers understand the book better because Josie Gardner is one of the books main characters. If it was anyone else's point of view this novel would not make sense, because Josie is one of the main characters in this book, and in many of the main events in the story; if and when she would make an action the readers would be confused, because they don’t know why she did what she did.

 Kate Gardner, Josie Gardener’s mother, found letters in her parents house basement that were from Paul Tucci that she had never seen before and were sent at the time that Kate was still pregnant with Josie. This symbolizes that Paul Tucci did try to communicate with the Gardner's after he was forced to move to Arkansas, this also symbolizes that he cared.

 I would diffidently recommend this book, because its funny, heartfelt, and has a lot of intriguing “drama” situations. Though, I would not recommend this book to be read by young children, because it has inappropriate language and quite a few conflicts that someone young of age wouldn’t be able to comprehend.