Things I Keep from Yael
This book picks up where Things I Keep to Myself leaves off. Like the first diary, it is very convincing and avoids stereotypes and exaggeration.
Alternating between joy and despair, the young hero writes a great deal about his love for Yael. Since he doesn’t actually have a relationship with her, he lets his imagination run free, but his dreams are modest. He dreams about walking with her in the rain and about the feeling of togetherness it creates. He is also aware that Yael isn’t perfect – at times she’s insensitive and inconsiderate – and this troubles him because he doesn’t want to think that she’s “just ordinary.” But above all, he’s upset because Yael doesn’t seem to care for him and goes around with other boys. However, towards the end of the book, there’s what he calls a miracle: he finally dares to ask Yael to walk home with him after school. Yael accepts and as they walk together, he takes her hand and feels that he’s the luckiest boy alive.