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Book Review By BethG
The Keeper's Son by Homer Hickam, Jr.

The story is set during World War II, on Killakeet Island, off the coast of North Carolina. The Island is the home of the Killakeet Light, which the Thurlow family has taken care of for generations. Jack Thurlow has always hoped one of his sons would take over for him when he died. But a tragic accident, swept his young son Jake away in a small boat in a storm. The other son Josh was blamed for the incident. Josh has never come to grips with the incident and cannot stay on Killakeet. He joins the navy and serves in Alaska. He is suddenly called home due to a fake summons by the island doctor who said his father was gravely ill. His father really wants him to try to convince Josh to stay at Killakeet. The rest of the town wants him to hook up with his old school chum, Doasie, a headstrong young woman. But then World War II interrupts and Josh is busy fighting German submarines with his coast guard cutter. Will Josh survive long enough to find out what really happened to his brother, make peace with his father, and fall in love with Doasie? Though the characters are fictional, the story is based on actual fighting that took place on the east coast during WWII.


Plot & Themes
Tone of book? - thoughtful
Time/era of story - 1930's-1950's
Family, loving relations Yes
Special relationship with - father
Internal struggle/realization? Yes
Struggle over
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
War/Revolt/Disaster on civilians Yes
Conflict:

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status:
Age: - 20's-30's
Ethnicity/Nationality

Main Adversary
Identity: - an organization
Age: - long-lived adults
Profession/status:
How sensitive is this character?
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 6 ()
United States Yes
The US: - Southeast
Europe Yes
European country: - Germany
Water? Yes
Water: - warship - submarining
Island? Yes
Island: - Atlantic Ocean Island

Writing Style
Sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - vague references only
Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog
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