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Keeping the Good Light
Seventeen-year-old Eliza Brown was born and raised on a small island with barely enough room for the lighthouse her family must attend to around the clock. Each day she rows a mile to attend school on City Island. But chores and family responsibilities have not allowed Eliza to have a social life there. Then when a family tragedy brings her to live with her older sister's family on City Island, Eliza's life changes forever. Her new life is filled with challenges, friendships, and some painful decisions. Where does a spirited and rebellious young woman like Eliza really belong?
240 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 7, 2012
This book just didn't work for me. It lacked depth and quality of writing. Also, there was too much mixing of historical language with modern-day expressions. It gets two stars because I made it to the end.
July 10, 2019
2.5 stars.
It's 1903 and sixteen-year-old Eliza Brown lives with her family in a lighthouse near City Island off the coast of New York. She has to take a boat to school on City Island, weather permitting. Her older sister has moved to the island after marrying the minister.
The back of the book reveals that after a family tragedy, Eliza goes to live with her sister Amanda Jane. Because we know this is coming, the beginning of the book felt slow and a little boring. We're a full 86 pages in (to a 224 page novel) before Amanda Jane reveals the plan.
Further, the logistics of the plot made no sense to me. First, .
On one hand, Eliza's story is quite contemporary: she sneaks out at night, kisses boys, gets drunk, wonders what she will do with her life after high school.
On the other, Eliza is trapped by geography and time. Few opportunities exist for women. She either works the lighthouse all her life, becomes a teacher, or gets married. Those are her options. From her vantage point at the lighthouse, City Island is "the outside world," not New York or Philadelphia or anywhere else. I am frustrated that Eliza has very little agency throughout the story. She makes a terrible decision though the women in her life try to dissuade her, and the opportunity that saves her comes by pure luck/chance, not through her working toward something, and not through her relationship with Sophie (who had lived in New York and would have more connections).
Then the story ends just as Eliza's story really starts. As they do.
Also, Ralph and Alfred are names that are way too similar for them to both be potential suitors.
It's 1903 and sixteen-year-old Eliza Brown lives with her family in a lighthouse near City Island off the coast of New York. She has to take a boat to school on City Island, weather permitting. Her older sister has moved to the island after marrying the minister.
The back of the book reveals that after a family tragedy, Eliza goes to live with her sister Amanda Jane. Because we know this is coming, the beginning of the book felt slow and a little boring. We're a full 86 pages in (to a 224 page novel) before Amanda Jane reveals the plan.
Further, the logistics of the plot made no sense to me. First, .
On one hand, Eliza's story is quite contemporary: she sneaks out at night, kisses boys, gets drunk, wonders what she will do with her life after high school.
On the other, Eliza is trapped by geography and time. Few opportunities exist for women. She either works the lighthouse all her life, becomes a teacher, or gets married. Those are her options. From her vantage point at the lighthouse, City Island is "the outside world," not New York or Philadelphia or anywhere else. I am frustrated that Eliza has very little agency throughout the story. She makes a terrible decision though the women in her life try to dissuade her, and the opportunity that saves her comes by pure luck/chance, not through her working toward something, and not through her relationship with Sophie (who had lived in New York and would have more connections).
Then the story ends just as Eliza's story really starts. As they do.
Also, Ralph and Alfred are names that are way too similar for them to both be potential suitors.
November 28, 2017
Inside book jacket summary calls this "in the tradition of L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables. This is not quite as wholesome, but equally entertaining.
April 9, 2009
I am currently reading this book for a book report, so far so good
D.N.V
The first thing we know about Eliza is that she is lonely, she sends a bottle out and she asks for a friend. Eliza Brown lost her brother, the one person she loved the most in her life. She moved with her sister and her husband, who just happens to be a pastor of their church. She is being courted by Charles Boxly,and her close friend reveals that he has feelings for her. And she has been asked to take over the fourth grade class! To add to that she re-encounters Ralph, the mysterious friend of her dear departed brother , Peter. She falls in love with him, and he falls in love with her. She loves his mysterious nature, his carefree laugh. His beautiful face, his adventures, the stories he tells her, his dangerous side. But what happens when she finds out that his adventures his stories, his life! That he has told her are all fake, are all lies. Her life is all turmoil, but she finds where she truly belongs when she recieves a friend from her bottle. Will life for her really be okay now?
D.N.V
The first thing we know about Eliza is that she is lonely, she sends a bottle out and she asks for a friend. Eliza Brown lost her brother, the one person she loved the most in her life. She moved with her sister and her husband, who just happens to be a pastor of their church. She is being courted by Charles Boxly,and her close friend reveals that he has feelings for her. And she has been asked to take over the fourth grade class! To add to that she re-encounters Ralph, the mysterious friend of her dear departed brother , Peter. She falls in love with him, and he falls in love with her. She loves his mysterious nature, his carefree laugh. His beautiful face, his adventures, the stories he tells her, his dangerous side. But what happens when she finds out that his adventures his stories, his life! That he has told her are all fake, are all lies. Her life is all turmoil, but she finds where she truly belongs when she recieves a friend from her bottle. Will life for her really be okay now?
August 29, 2010
I really enjoyed this book even though I picked it up on a whim while rummage "saleing" with my parents. This is the story of a stubborn young girl stuck living with her family at stepping stone lighthouse on the Long island/city island/New York coast. Someone who is very dear to her dies and she is heartbroken, but things start to turn around almost too fast for her. She has various people whom are intersested in her hand and she has trouble deciding whom or what is right. Around that time she also goes on a bit of a rebellious streak which causes some problems yet opens a few doors. In the end she finds her calling in "Keeping the Good Light" (a recurrent saying in the book and it isn't exactly related to religion just so you know) for children like her. Overall a pretty good book though some parts I found Eliza to be a bit too over the top in various ways.
May 17, 2011
Eliza is growing up in a lighthouse, and finds life stifling. Moving to her sister's house offers more choices, but still she is unsure and discontented, wondering if she should "settle" for good enough. This was a quick read and pretty good. It does offer a nice peek at the time period (1903) and the setting (New York).
October 4, 2012
An EXCELLENT read! Makes you really want to live in a light house, at least it made me want to live in a light house.
June 8, 2016
This was an okay book. I had a slow plot at times, and at others it would randomly speed up in time. For a romance, it was good, but for an overall book, it sucked.
Go ahead. Abandon this book.
Go ahead. Abandon this book.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews