Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!
Every so often a story comes across my desk so to speak which has such a captivating premise which IMMEDIATELY encourages me to read it. This was the kind of reaction I had with Looking for Lucie – as soon as I read about the heart of the story – where we are centred on Lucie who’s choosing to answer the question her family isn’t willing to give her themselves: sorting out her heritage and her cultural identity by tracing her parentage via DNA testing. I am sure this will appeal to a lot of readers who might be uncertain about their own cultural heritage or if their biological data isn’t known as it is with Lucie.
I felt this would strike a chord with children whose parents might have sought non-traditional routes of parenting – such as through donor sperm or egg programs especially if they were choosing to go the route of IVF. Sometimes in those instances not a lot is known about the person who donated nor any other specific data about their person or their heritage. Usually, information is limited in scope and might only refer to medical data, if anything at all. I also felt this story might be a good fit for children who are adopted and might not be raised to know their birth family until they are much older as some adoptive families do not readily share information as their growing up. I am of the mindset children of all ages deserve to know their cultural and religious heritage – especially if they are adopted. Those connections need to be maintained and recognised as each person has the right to know their own identity and where they came from – even if they are living in a different home and with a different family.
For those reasons and due how the story was presented through the synopsis – I felt an immediate desire to read this lovely novel. Perhaps you’ll find a reason it appeals to you as well. For now, let’s take a small glimpse into how the story is set-up in the beginning and why I am wicked happy I discovered this novel the year I re-generated #MyYASummer! As part of that was to seek out new voices in YA and to find new stories I might not have found previously. This definitely was the highlight for me to find as Summer drew to a close this year.
Looking for Lucie
Subtitle: What do you do when your entire existence is a question with no answer? You do a DNA test.
by Amanda Addison
Source: Publisher via The Write Reads
Looking for Lucie is a contemporary YA novel that explores identity, self-discovery, and newfound friendship as an 18-year-old girl sets out to uncover her ethnic heritage and family history.
"Where are you really from?"
It's a question every brown girl in a white-washed town is familiar with, and one that Lucie has never been able to answer. All she knows is that her mother is white, she's never met her father, and she looks nothing like the rest of her family. She can't even talk about it because everyone says it shouldn't matter!
Well, it matters to Lucie and-with her new friend Nav, who knows exactly who he is-she's determined to find some answers.
What do you do when your entire existence is a question with no answer?
You do a DNA test.
Places to find the book:
ISBN: 978-1911107682
Published by Neem Tree Publishing
on 1st October, 2024
Format: epub | PDF editon
Published by: Neem Tree Press | Follow via Insta (@neemtreepress)
an imprint of Unbound Publishing
Available Formats: Paperback and Ebook
Converse via: #ContemporaryYA, #YALit, #YoungAdult,
as well as #TheWriteReads & #LookingForLucie
The Vanitas