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Monday, February 11, 2008
I have a kid?
Title: Keeper and Kid
Author: Edward Hardy
Bookmark: Receipt from the purchase of a different book at a local Half Price Bookstore.
I must confess, I love stories about the trials and tribulations of unsuspecting males who suddenly find themselves with a young kid to raise/take care of/amuse/babysit/etc. I loved Kolya and About a Boy, so I thought, why not read a book about this situation?
Keeper and Kid tells the story of James (Jimmy) Keeper, a guy who has been married once, divorced, and is not interested in being married again. He and his girlfriend, Leah, are also not interested in children.
Then, while Leah is away on a business trip, Jimmy's ex-mother-in-law calls to tell him that his ex-wife, Cynthia, is in the hospital. It's serious. Jimmy visits. Cynthia expects to recover, but asks him to take the dog they shared during their marriage. Jimmy agrees.
Two weeks later, Jimmy calls to check on the whole collect the dog thing only to find out that Cynthia has died. Then when he goes to pick up the dog, he finds out the dog has run away. However, he won't be going home empty-handed. He will be taking Leo, the three year old son he didn't know he had.
Chaos ensues.
Three year olds are apparently a lot of work. Especially ones with mothers who recently have died. Leo has a penchant for hiding things, an imaginary friend, and a lot of stuff (toys, furniture, clothes) for which Jimmy has little room. He was potty-trained, he never sleeps through the night, and he wakes up extraordinarily early.
Then Leah returns from her business trip to discover a child living in the house she and Jimmy recently bought. She leaves Jimmy. Jimmy is crushed.
More chaos ensues.
All in all, it's a good book. I was hoping for more of the hilarious "kids say the darndest things", kids do the funniest things, etc, that normally arise in these situations (well, the movie versions anyway) but that didn't really happen until towards the end of the book.Labels: fiction
posted by Kate at
3:10 PM
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