YOUth Review: The Keeper by Jessica Moore

The Keeper by Jessica Moore is about an average middle-class woman named Katie. Her life is unexpectedly flipped upside down when she meets a man named Jamie on a night out with friends. As the relationship develops, the red flags begin to pop up. Jamie makes her lose her friends, her self-esteem, and herself through abuse. Chapter to chapter, this book shows the development of Katie and Jamie’s relationship in the past as well as the present-day investigation into her murder. When Katie’s body was found, the police were quick to disregard it as a suicide, but the women at the local domestic violence shelter knew that she was murdered.

This book discusses a very sensitive, but important topic of violence against women and domestic abuse. I found that Moore did an incredible job at demonstrating how men are able to isolate and manipulate their partners in abusive relationships. We see this with Katie and Jamie’s relationship. How he slowly takes control and secludes her from those she loves. It allows us as readers to have a better understanding of the intricacies of abuse. I also appreciated how the author included more stories of domestic violence through the voices of the women in the shelter. It is from their realities that we can see the common thread to their stories, and that thread is violence. These different voices also demonstrated how no matter the women’s socioeconomic background, race, or religion, they all experienced abuse and forever fear for their lives because of it. The keeper sheds light on how women are constantly being ignored and brushed off as “crazy feminists” when we bring up our concerns. It exposes how systems that are meant to keep us safe, constantly fail us.

I would definitely recommend this book to others, but warn them to be aware of the sensitive topic matter.

-Tia. B