The Names They Gave Us

Gr 8 Up—Lucy seems to have a normal and uncomplicated life; she has loving parents, an attentive boyfriend, and good grades, and she is the captain of the swim team. But on the night of her junior prom, she learns that her mother's breast cancer is back and that she will need a mastectomy. Lucy's mother is the center of her universe, and this realization makes Lucy question her faith, which she has always relied upon. Her doubts form the core of the book. Outwardly, Lucy has it together, but still her parents decide that she won't be a summer camp counselor at the family's church camp but instead will work at the "hippie" camp across the lake. They want her to make friends, see the lives of others, and not obsess about her mother's cancer and chemotherapy. The "hippie" camp is a retreat for children with difficult home lives. Lucy's experiences there illustrate her naïveté about the world around her, which might become tedious for some readers, but other times her maturity and compassion toward others are spot-on. This small character inconsistency should not be a problem for most.