Edward Hardy (1) (1957–)

Jimmy Keeper has a good life going for himself. In his mid-thirties, Keeper, veteran of an amiable divorce, has just purchased a little house with his live-in girlfriend Leah and is making ends meet pretty successfully in a no-pressure job helping his best friend run an antiques salvage business. He loves Leah, he loves his job, and he loves the circle of friends he plays poker with every week. But things change.

All it took to change Keeper’s life forever was one phone call telling him show more that his ex-wife Cynthia wanted to see him from her hospital bed. The call may have been unexpected, but what really blew Keeper’s mind was the news he received a few days later that Cynthia had unexpectedly died in the hospital. But even then his biggest surprise was yet to come: news that Keeper was the father of Cynthia’s three-year old son, product of the one last fling they had before Keeper met Leah, and a little boy he had not known even existed.

What happens when Jimmy Keeper is immediately given full legal custody of his son Leo is both funny and touching. Keeper and Kid is the tale about what a man who can barely take care of himself, a man who in many ways does not seem ready even at his age for adult responsibilities, goes through when he is given sole responsibility for a little guy who both needs and demands his attention twenty-four hours a day. Keeper suddenly realizes that there is no time off for good behavior and that his day now centers on the needs of his son. And he is almost as unhappy about his new situation as Leah was when she took one brief look at Leo and decided to end her relationship with Keeper.

Any man, and I suspect more than a few women, who has suddenly found himself the sole caretaker of a small child will understand why Jimmy Keeper felt so totally helpless within hours of having taken custody of his son, a little boy who will eat only round food, has a great vocabulary, is terrified of cats, loves to stay up late, gets up at the crack of dawn, wets and soils his pants because of the trauma of losing his mother and who hides things to punish people. Keeper is just not ready for Leo.

Edward Hardy has created an interesting mix of characters and it is difficult not to root for Keeper in his quest to get Leah back while learning to cope with the demands of fatherhood. In the process, Keeper learns a lot about himself, his family, his friends and especially his former sister-in-law. Let’s just say that the three-year old is not the only one who starts to grow up in Keeper and Kid. This one is fun.

Rated at: 4.0 show less

KEEPER AND KID is an exceptionally poignant coming-of-age story with a twist or two depending on the reader’s personal experiences and opinion. One twist is that the main character is a male who we witness “come of age” and the other is that this touching story is written by a male. Edward Hardy gives the reader a story that everyone will treasure and characters they will care about.

James Keeper is a man who is not exactly dependable and can scarcely take care of himself, but suddenly show more finds a great responsibility thrust upon him. At 36 years old, Keeper has divorced and gone on to build a rather carefree life in which he works with his best friend in an antique store, has a new love interest named Leah, and maybe his most crucial obligation each week is hosting the Sunday night card game with his friends. One phone call from his former mother-in-law changes James Keeper’s whole world.

Keeper learns that his ex-wife Cynthia is very ill and he goes to see her in the hospital. Days later, he suddenly finds himself no longer a carefree bachelor but now in the role of responsible father of three-year-old Leo, the son that James never knew was his or even existed! Coping with fatherhood is much more than Keeper had even imagined. The reader will soon see that it isn’t just Leo who grows up in this story. Time out may be something for Leo, but certainly there is no time ‘off’ when you are the dad. Leo is demanding 24/7 and after a while, Leah even has had enough and leaves James to fend for himself with precocious Leo who is now legally Jimmy Keeper’s son and responsibility.

Leo, who looks like his dad, has his certain childish quirks. James learns that beside Leo being a three year old who thinks he is really a bear, eats only round foods, and doesn’t like to bathe, he is also displaying the depth of losing his mother in the way a child often will, through behavior. Dealing with the loss of his mother, Leo begins to soil his pants, hide things from others, and just become a bit bratty to punish other people as his way of dealing with the devastation he feels at losing his mom.

Leo forces Keeper to grow up and learn more about himself and those he cares for. James deals with Leo’s fear of cats, amazing vocabulary, desire to stay up really late while still getting up very early, and in doing so, becomes Leo’s father and a better man. The characters in the story are appealing and interesting so that one wants to root for them all. This is a heart felt story that can only make you smile as you read it. The love that comes from the pages of this book is palpable and is backed by the humor and pathos of the characters and thus makes this a must read for anyone who loves a character study, coming-of-age, and family story. show less

LOVED this first novel by fellow Ithacan Ed Hardy!
Keeper, a slacker in life, works at a junk yard (aka architectural salvage) in Providence, loves his girlfriend but won't commit; and receives an odd phone call from his ex-wife's mother informing him that his ex-wife is quite ill.
Without giving away the story, the 3 year old in the book is simply adorable - the quirky dialogue is texceeding realistic, endearing, and this book just warmed by heart from beginning to end.

Keeper and Kid by Edward Hardy is about a single dad trying to be a father to a 3 year-old child he never even knew he had. It’s about the shock one gets with a child when one realizes your life will never be your own again. It’s also about how our lives are made even richer for it. Struggling to make his job and his relationships work with a new child in his life, James Keeper is just overwhelmed with it all. But little Leo is so cute and says the cutest things. Children are like that. show more They frustrate and inspire simultaneously. I enjoyed reading this book about child rearing and relationships from a man’s perspective, though the language was a bit strong for my tastes. I’d be interested in reading the sequel if the author decides to write one.

2008, 294 pp.
Rating: 3.5/5

http://1morechapter.com/2008/04/29/keeper-and-kid/ show less