Love, Lucas

hatdun - Oakley Nelson suffers with the loss of her older brother Lucas. Love, Lucas by Chantele Sedgwick was a great brook. All though towards the end I feel it was rushed and it wasn't like the previous text. I wish it was like it before all calm in mellow but it felt like she had a deadline and needed to finish the book quickly. All though I would recommend this book because it's a great relaxer and doesn't have lots of turning points that will pop up in your face. The time is now on days, in a coastal town in California. The protagonist is Oakly herself, and the antagonist is her depression and grief from the death. One major conflict is when she moves from her previous home to California with her mother and her Aunt Jo. Another is when she meets Carson Nye. Her new best friend. Oakley pushes people away and the death hunts her. Thinking she is leaving in spring she doesn't want to make friendships or relationships at all, does she leave in spring? She reads daily letters from Lucas before he died which he had wrote for her well he was battling cancer in the hospital. A turning point happens when her father flies out to California and gives her and news but she knew it was coming. I prefer towards the end that turning point a lot better compared to the news because I feel him flying out was so cliche. One that struck me hard was when something very serious and she's involved happens to somebody does she run away from it or remember “You can't run away from your problems, Oakley” written in a previous letter from Lucas? Find out in Love, Lucas by Chantele Sedgwick.

May 1, 2015

Gr 7-10-Oakley Nelson has just lost her older brother and best friend, Lucas, to cancer. Her parents are heading toward divorce in the aftermath of their grief. Oakley herself is struggling with depression. Her mother decides to take her to California for a stay at her aunt's beach house. After they settle in, Oakley's mother hands her a notebook, containing letters from Lucas. They are full of funny memories along with some good advice, like "Try something new" and "Don't be afraid of being embarrassed." When she gets to the one written by her mother, Oakley knows this is the last letter. Oakley begins to see a way to be herself without her brother. Along the way she meets Carson, a surfer and kindred spirit who becomes her first boyfriend. Carson has his own problems that he is working out with his family. Just as readers think they know how this story is going to end, a big plot twist changes the tale's course. Although the parents are rather simplistically drawn, their grief is believable. Fans of Sarah Dessen and realistic fiction with a poignant and sad slant will find this an enjoyable read. VERDICT For general purchase, and especially for those school libraries needing realistic fiction.-Deanna McDaniel, Genoa Middle School, OH

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