The Memory Keeper Paperback – February 25, 2014

Compelling and AccurateThe Memory Keeper is a work of fiction, but the writing is so compelling and the history so vivid it is hard to remember one is reading a novel and not a history book.The narrator is Tomas, a man born in 1820 who has reached the age of 70. He has lived his entire life in San Juan Capistrano and is telling its story as he and his family experienced it. The detail brings this book to life and we feel his joy and sadness as events unfold.For those who find history dry, but have a compelling curiosity about life in one of the original settlements of California, this is the right book for you. Lorna and Larry Collins are talented writers who know their subject and love their town. And Tomas will lead you by the hand and take you on a journey into the past that you will long remember.

The Memory Keeper is an engrossing saga that follows the life of Tomás Romero, a Juaneño Indian and his family in California during the eighteen hundreds. This well-researched novel describes a multi-cultural environment that included Spanish clergy, Mexican colonizers, American, Irish and German settlers and the Juaneño and Luiseño and other Native American groups who were among the original inhabitants of Southern California. The Memory Keeper would be an invaluable addition to any middle or high school history curriculum. As a former middle school teacher and principal I see The Memory Keeper as a welcome accompaniment to other such novels that maintain needed records of California’s past and feature Native Americans as their central characters such as Ramona and The Island of the Blue Dolphins.

I really, REALLY loved reading this story. Being from California I am no stranger to the area. I remember the orange groves that seemed to go on and on forever and the thrill of riding the train from LA to San Diego many years ago. I love to read about places I have been and I enjoyed learning the early history of San Juan Capistrano and the Mission where I have visited and attended Mass. Mostly I loved how the family of characters made this period of history come to life in words that touched my heart and compelled me to read on and on wishing the story would not end.

The Memory Keeper written by Larry K. and Lorna Collins keeps the reader interested and involved from the beginning to the end. I have always lived in California and I am very familiar with many missions, including the one at San Juan Capistrano. I have enjoyed the beauty, the spiritual value of each mission I have visited. However, until this book I did not know or understand the wonderful history involved with each mission. This is a book that will educate you, entertain you.

When you live within a few miles of a place that has so much history and recognize the names of the people who were a part, you would not want to miss a book that fills in all the details. It is written about a fictional character, which allows an interesting story to prevent it from sounding strictly like a history book. I loved it and would recommend it to my friends.

This book was recommend to me by Roger Royal. I believe a cousin. I was intrigued because I love history and the California Missions. Have visited most. This story was phenomenal. I absolutely loved it. Can't wait for the sequence. I will be reading more of your books.

The saga of the Acjachemen natives facing the Spanish - Mexican arrival, accompanied with San Juan Capistrano and other missions is a most insightful history of early California

Educational without being "preachy." Great story.