Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Slant


Lauren is thirteen years old - finally old enough to get her ears pierced. Her sister, Maia is five - both girls were adopted (Lauren from Korea and Maia from China). Lauren is enjoying getting older, hanging out with her best friend and starting to notice boys. The one thing she doesn't appreciate is that she is often called "gook" or "slant" or other derogatory words because of her eyes. Lauren can of course tell the difference between her eyes and her sisters - both reflect their heritage, but to others all Asians are lumped in one category. Their widowed father is doing his best to keep up with his job as a Shakespeare professor and his growing daughters. However, since the death of his wife three years earlier he and Lauren haven't really talked. Lauren is determined to have surgery on her eyes to correct them - that way no one can call her names. She has been saving up her money for this one surgery that will "fix" everything.


There are good messages about body image and learning to be happy in here. Lauren's relationship with her father is explored as is her relationship with her maternal grandmother and her mother's death. This is a great book for tween girls helping to reaffirm one's self worth.

Published by Milkweed, this publishing company "publishes with the intention of making a humane impact on society, in the belief that good writing can transform the human heart and spirit." Having read other books published by Milkweed, I have high expectations when I see this company's name. Visit their website here.

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