Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Lucy Rose: Here's the Thing About Me


So I decided to post this over here since I think it's too young to be a tween book.

Lucy Rose is the perfect character for those readers who are finished with Ramona and Judy Moody.

Lucy Rose has just made the move to Washington D.C. from Ann Arbor, MI. Her parents are separating and Lucy's mom's folks are in D.C. So this means a whole new school, trying to make new friends, and negotiate the move from suburbs to city.

Lucy Rose is what her Pop calls an original thinker. Outspoken, feisty and fun, she tells her story through journal entries with the boring days left out. Lucy Rose is in 3rd grade in Mr. Welsh's class, and her ambition for the year is to take care of the pet guinea pig, Jake. We follow her throughout the school year - finding friends, rethinking enemies and coming to accept her parent's separation.

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I came to this story through illustrator Adam Rex. Author Katy Kelly has written a fun character who is wonky enough to be interesting in a way that is not a copy of Ramona et al. Lucy Rose's friends Jonique and Adam Melon have interesting homes and families as well.

This book has a decidedly Southern feel to it eventhough it takes place in Washington. The rhythm of language is asking to be read aloud.

A fun read!

2 comments:

MotherReader said...

I'm interested in what gives it a "southern feel." I read the book and liked it, but I don't remember that aspect of it. Though I'll say that DC, bordering on VA, does have a little bit of the south in it.

Stasia D said...

I think it was the language that Lucy Rose uses. I felt like the sentence structure gave it that feel to me, more so than the setting!