The Challenge: Read 12 books of 200 pages or more in 12 months. That's one book per month. The Time frame: January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012 The Reason: Studies have shown that reading helps keep your mind healthy and active. The mind you save may be your own. Books I've Read So Far: January - 11 Books Read February - 8 Books Read March - 4 Books Read April - 11 Books Read May - 10 Books Read June - 8 Books Read July - 11 Books Read August - 4 Books Read September - October - November - December - What I'm Currently Reading A Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire George R.R. Martin Book Count 2012: 67

Title:  The Memory Keeper's Daughter
Author:  Kim Edwards
Pages:  401
Genre:  Fiction

This book didn't really grip me from the beginning because it's kind of slow moving, but I plodded along until I found myself submerged in it and needing to know how it was going to turn out.

David Henry was a doctor, and on one blizzard night, was forced to deliver his own twins.  He and his wife Norah had Paul first, completely healthy and a robust child, and then Phoebe came along.  Born with Down's Syndrome, David gave the baby girl to the nurse, Caroline Gill, with instructions to place the child in an institution.  David later told Norah that their daughter had died.  And so the avalanche of pain and secrets begins.

Caroline stopped at the institution, willing to carry out David's wishes because she was secretly in love with him, but when she got there, she was not willing to leave Phoebe in a place like that.  So she did the only thing she could do, kept the baby, moved away, and raised Phoebe as her own.

The death of their daughter caused a rift in the happiness David and Norah previously shared.  The rift continued to expand over the years, until David began to hide behind his photography and Norah began to have affairs.  Finally they divorced, but the secrets each were hiding were never even discussed.

It wasn't until after David's sudden death, and by sudden death I mean it seemed to have been tossed into the story like an afterthought, that Caroline takes the bull by the horns and shows up at Norah's house with pictures of the daughter she never got the chance to know. 

Paul grew up resentful of his mother's affairs and of his inability to be close to his father, and he became quite surly, and even more so once his mother revealed the truth about his twin sister.

Once you get into the book, it's really great.  I gave it a 5-star rating, even with the slowness of the read.  I'd recommend it to anyone to read.

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