Book Review: Safekeeping

Written in 2012 and marketed as the "Novel of Tomorrow", Karen Hesse does not disappoint in resonating with a contemporary audience.

Author: Karen Hesse

Released: September 2012

Genre: Fiction, Young Adult

Pages: 304 or 192 depending on the edition. The shorter of the two books does not include pictures within.

Audiobook Length: 5 hours (approx.)

Review

I was awestruck to find that this book was published in 2012.

Safekeeping was marketed as the "Novel of Tomorrow". Only ten years post-publication, it seemed to have a familiarity that resonated with our times that it wouldn't have had just a decade ago.

The way that Karen Hesse described the American Political Party (APP)!

Safekeeping either reinforces the idea that we see stories through the lens of our lived experiences or she's prophetic.

I did wish there was more discussion on the political happenings swarming around the main character. This is much the same complaint I had of M.T. Anderson's Feed. Yet, this book and that one are both GOOD reads and great audiobooks. Regardless, I was content by the end as I felt it was a political story I already knew; even if it was written in 2012.

Plot

Radley's upper-middle class parents warned her that all hell would break loose if the American Political Party took power. Following the assassination of the American President and political upheaval, Radley rushes back to the United States from her position as a volunteer in Haiti. However, upon landing in the US Radley's parents are not there to greet her.

Without money, she journeys back home on foot. Radley is forced to hide at night to avoid capture for breaking curfew. She uses her wits to gather food wherever it may lay.

She finds America a far different country than how she left it just months earlier.

Additional Comments

Karen Hesse began writing Safekeeping prior to the mid-term elections of 2010, when politics was reaching, as she stated, "such a dizzying level of intolerance".

About the Author

Karen Hesse was born in 1952 in Baltimore. As a child, she enjoyed both the park and the library which were roughly equal distances from her home.

She graduated from high school at the age of sixteen and attended Towson State College for one year as a theater major, then attended the University of Maryland for three more years where she graduated with a B.A. in English with double minors in Psychology and Anthropology.

Karen Hesse has written numerous books and short stories for both juvenile and young adult readers. As an author, she has been awarded numerous awards for her work.

Content Warnings

• Mention of sexual assault

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Verdict

Score: 9/10

I listened to this book in two sittings. Beautiful in audiobook format and undoubtedly just as much a page-turner in traditional format.

Yes, get it. Pick it up at your library, local bookstore, or favorite online retailer.

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