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The Laura Line (2013)

by Crystal Allen(Favorite Author)

3.96 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0062208446 (ISBN13: 9780062208446)

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

Balzer + Bray

review 1: I first picked up this book because of the cover. I adore books that teach a bit of history and figured that the family tree on the cover was a good indication. When I flipped to the back, I read that it was the same author who wrote HOW LAMAR'S BAD PRANK WON A BUBBA-SIZED TROPHY, and then I knew I was destined to read this book because I love Lamar.Crystal Allen nailed the voice in this MG novel. Here's a sample: "Sweet Mother of Teen Vogue magazine, I'm model-marvelous in this new outfit!"Our protagonist, Laura Dyson, is not your typical heroine. She's overweight and the other kids call her "Fat Larda." What I love about Laura is that she has spunk. Sure, it bothers her that the other kids tease her, but Laura likes herself. She knows she's special.My one criticism of TH... moreE LAURA LINE is that I didn't find the plot totally believable. Laura's grandmother has a slave shack sitting on her property. Laura doesn't live very far from her grandmother, close enough that she can stay with her grandmother and still attend the same school when her parents are away, yet we're supposed to believe that Laura doesn't know her family history, that she hasn't ever read the journal inside the slave shack. That didn't ring true for me. Otherwise, I thoroughly enjoyed THE LAURA LINE, and will definitely be on the lookout for the next Crystal Allen novel.
review 2: Laura's parents have to go off for two weeks for military training, and she is supposed to stay with an aunt. When that falls through, she ends up having to stay with her grandmother out in the country. Things are bad enough for Laura-- she's overweight and made fun of at school even though she is convinced she could be a model, and her best friend Sage is starting to hang out with the Pink Chips, a group of popular girls. She doesn't need to be with her grandmother, whose best friend is her history teacher! When the two women decide that Laura's class should visit the slave shack on the grandmother's property, Laura is beyond appalled. Why would her family glorify this? She doesn't even want to understand, even though Troy, a boy on whom she has an enormous crush, finds the history interesting. Laura is just starting to understand and appreciate the history of the shack when she is responsible for damage that occurs to it. Will she be able to fix it and come to terms with sharing her family history with her classmates?Strengths: Interesting perspective on the continuing impact of slavery, and an intriguing look at generations of women (all named Laura) and how their lives change. Laura has very strong self esteem, and is greatly interested in baseball as well, which is a nice addition.Weaknesses: I could have done without some of Laura's regional language, like "Oh, heck to the triple no!" Also, while it's great that she has good self esteem, her size combined with her eating habits made me feel worried for her health. As someone who can't eat chocolate because of high blood pressure and triglycerides even though I run two miles a day, it alarmed me that she was so fat other students called her "Larda" and she still didn't think anything of eating Almond Joy bars in secret. She starts off as a very spoiled and selfish character, but does improve. less

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