The Keeper Summary
Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

The Keeper Summary

Naylor uses her experience of living with a mentally ill husband to write a sensitive novel about Nick Karpinski and Jacob, his mentally ill father. Nick is torn between his love for his father and the need to get help for him. He watches his father's behavior and relationships with others become more and more bizarre and unreasonable as he sinks ever deeper into mental illness.

As an eighth grader, Nick is developing a whole new social life. He feels a part of a group for the first time and takes a girl to the movies. Nick's father talks and acts strangely, so Nick makes excuses for not inviting his friends to his apartment because he is unsure of their reaction. Nick finds the courage to force his family into a situation that brings intervention on behalf of his father, and he discovers the meaning of true friendship...

(read more from the Short Guide)