The Laura Line

March 1, 2013
Modern sass combines with a historical twist, making an uneven blend of middle school melodrama and the bitter realities of slavery. As she showed in How Lamar's Bad Prank Won a Bubba-Sized Trophy (2011), Allen has a flare for blending the austere with the audacious. In her new novel, she introduces readers to Laura Eboni Dyson, the latest in a long line of Lauras dating back to the Amistad. Overweight and popularity-challenged, the last thing Laura wants is to draw negative attention to herself. When her seventh-grade history teacher convinces Laura's grandmother, Mrs. Anderson, to allow her class to visit the crumbling slave shack at the rear of Mrs. Anderson's property, Laura is determined to derail the class trip. Baseball-loving Laura is deeply ashamed of the shack, which she calls "yesterday's history," and she thinks her classmates will scorn her for hanging onto that history. Laura may prove tiresome to readers; she's tough, strong and self-assured in one scene and downright mealy-mouthed in the next. By the time Laura stops wallowing and realizes her profound connection to a long line of Lauras, readers may meet her epiphany with a quizzical, "Is that it?" Smartly rigged with history and graced with quick dialogue, the novel sails with Laura's snappy quips. Unfortunately, the story's emotional core sinks, leaving readers unsatisfied and adrift. (Fiction. 8-12)

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June 1, 2013

Gr 6-8-Eighth-grader Laura Dyson loves baseball, fashion, and Troy Bailey, the cutest boy in her class. Even the endless taunts of "Fat Larda" from resident queen bee Sunny Rasmussen aren't enough to sink her spirits. Laura's parents are departing for military training and she looks forward to spending two weeks with fabulous Aunt Carmen. Then the plan shifts and she is packed off to her grandmother's rundown farm that has, of all things, an intact slave shack. Deeply ashamed of the degradation and cruelty the shack represents, Laura wants nothing to do with it. Knowing Grandma's eagerness to share the significance of the structure and the adjacent family cemetery, the "Laura Line," the teen dreads the visit. When history teacher Mrs. Jacobs proposes a field trip to see the slave shack and cemetery, Laura is mortified by the idea and schemes to get it canceled. But in the ensuing antics, she finds she is descended from a powerful line of women going all the way back to the slave ship Amistad. While a side plot concerning Laura's irritating best friend feels a little forced, the protagonist's emotional transformation will resonate with readers. Generational bonds, notably the growth of the relationship between Laura and her grandmother, are beautifully depicted. With its humor and deep reverence for history, Allen's novel is an engaging treatment of the oft-told tale of looking within for beauty and strength.-Lalitha Nataraj, Escondido Public Library, CA

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