Monday, May 9, 2011

Quickie Review - "The Great Wall of Lucy Wu"

A wise man once sang, “life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans”.  In The Great Wall of Lucy Wu by Wendy Wan-Long Shang, the title heroine learns this lesson the hard way.  Her perfect year, a year in which she’s finally going to have her own room when “perfect” older sister Regina goes away to college, is interrupted by the appearance of Yi Po, her beloved grandmother’s long lost sister.  Lucy doesn’t want to share her room or her life with the newcomer.  She wants to play basketball, and enjoy time with her best friend.  But like John Lennon said, Lucy’s life happens despite her plans.  Shang presents Lucy’s troubles with great sensitivity in this solid first novel.  Lucy is a likeable character, with believable struggles and a spirited attitude towards them.  The Great Wall does show first book cracks, with a few hanging stories and some stock characters, but the central storyline and characters are strong.  It was an enjoyable evening of reading, and Shang certainly has a talent that I’ll be looking out for in the future.
The Great Wall of Lucy Wu by Wendy Wan-Long Shang
2011, Scholastic Press
Library copy

No comments:

Post a Comment