This novel is a hit! The People We Keep is about a powerful yet painful journey a young sixteen year-old embarks on. It is a novel about finding oneself and discovering the many forms love can take. If you want a simple plot, empowering characters, and something that most likely will move you - read The People We Keep.

I found this to be a sobering and heartwarming read about love and the people we keep. I think this is a great novel to gift anyone as the message within is solid whilst not being overtly stated or cliché. This book is one I enjoyed and do think is worth your time.

The People We Keep by Allison Larkin is a journey-based plot revolving around April and her travels away from her hometown. The plot is about freedom, struggle, pain, and finding oneself. The plot is simple in concept but executed in an exquisitely beautiful manor making it a plot you will undoubtedly enjoy even if, like me, there are a few tears involved.

The characters are superb. April is sixteen when she starts on her journey and you follow her growth throughout the story. She is a determined but flighty individual who will pull on your heartstrings. The relationships she makes along the way are wonderful, a few a touch cliché and bring the story to life as the interactions are genuine. The People We Keep truly is about April and those she meets and based on how these characters are written, it makes this novel absolutely worth your time.

A 10/10 ending. It was for me, emotional and fantastic. This is a novel about April's journey and a journey you should take with her.

The People We Keep is about found family and the understanding that who you keep in your life are based on who you choose. They are the people who want to be there and the people you want to be part of it. The whole novel had me emotional and I am sad writing this. I am sad for myself. I feel sad for those that don't know love. I feel sad because people can be terrible, even those that are meant to care for you and that pain stings. It hurts knowing that love is sometimes conditional when it should be freely given and April's journey cumulated all of those feelings and brought them to light in this novel; it made me hurt and it could have hurt you too.

I also feel happy sad. I don't think I can say happiness as the core of the novel is a depressing story about a young homeless woman living life on the edge after escaping a terrible home life. She didn't finish high school. She was isolated. She was scared. She was hurt and it is a testament to the story that I felt all of April's pain and underlying hope. That's why the emotion of happy sad exists because this novel is sad but the hope and power of choosing who you keep in your life is what makes life complex and powerful. I thought the ending was wonderful because it encapsulated something I feel strongly about, the people we keep are the people that matter.

You don't choose your family. You don't choose your work mates. You don't choose a lot of people who come into your life but the people that stay, you choose that. I bawled my eyes out when the flowers arrived in the hospital room, all of April's contacts sending her support, all of the people she chose to keep who also chose to keep her. This is why the novel was exhausting because it was raw and I loved it. It was beautiful seeing April finally realise she could stop "running." There was no more reason for loneliness as her journey was complete, she found what she was looking for and that was a core group of people that she wanted to keep.

The People We Keep is an amazing and heartbreaking novel that I know I will ruminate on for a long time. I am so glad I read this and encourage you to do the same if you haven't, this is a great read and I loved it a lot.