FICTION

Costalegre

by Courtney Maum

Tin House. 2019. 240p. Tr $19.95. ISBN 9781947793361.

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Fourteen-year-old Lara is living with her mother and several of Hitler’s most wanted “degenerate” artists, who are hiding out together in Mexico. Cut off from schooling as well as from her father and brother, Lara begins painting as her only means to pass the time.

VERDICT Writing in the form of a diary, Maum tackles parental neglect through a unique and believable preteen voice.

Reviewed by Elliot Riley, Deerfield Academy, MA , Jul 17, 2020

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