The True History of Lyndie B. Hawkins

Gr 6–8—Lyndie likes getting to the truth of things but family stories, like history, are not always straightforward, often leading to more questions than answers. After losing his job, Lyndie's father, a Vietnam vet, moves the family to his parents' house. Living with Grandma Lady isn't easy either as it's her life's mission to mold Lyndie into a proper lady, even if it means grounding her for minor infractions until adulthood. No one can explain why her father paces the floor at night and makes frequent trips to the hidden whiskey bottle in the family car. After a series of disturbing episodes, it becomes apparent that things are hardly what they seem. At school, Lyndie befriends D.B., a boy from a juvenile detention center boarding with her best friend's family. While working together on a school project, Lyndie starts to make some sense of the discord in her home life, whilst resolving some of the discord in D.B.'s life. This debut novel offers a stark glimpse into the harsh realities of life after the Vietnam War, something not often illuminated in novels for the young. Hard-hitting themes of military conflict, PTSD, substance abuse, and suicide intermingle with familial support, finding one's purpose in life, and truth-seeking to produce an evocative story of healing and hope. Shepherd capably captures Lyndie's voice, replete with energy and spirit, as well as the local flavor of Love's Forge, TN, where the book is set.