The True History of Lyndie B. Hawkins
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
A Publishers Weekly Flying Start ** A Booklist Editors' Choice ** A Junior Library Guild selection ** Four starred reviews!
Family + Loyalty = Keeping Secrets
When it comes to American history or defending the underdog or getting to the bottom of things, no one outsmarts or outfights Lyndie B. Hawkins. But as far as her family goes, her knowledge is full of holes: What exactly happened to Daddy in Vietnam? Why did he lose his job? And why did they have to move in with her grandparents? Grandma Lady's number one rule is Keep Quiet About Family Business. But when her beloved daddy goes missing, Lyndie faces a difficult choice: follow Lady's rule and do nothing--which doesn't help her father--or say something and split her family right down the middle.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Which is more important: telling the truth or "honorable lying" out of loyalty to family? In 1985, this question plagues 11-year-old Lyndon Baines Hawkins (named after the 36th U.S. president), especially now that she and her parents have been living with her paternal grandparents in Love's Forge, Tenn., since her father, a troubled Vietnam vet, lost his job. Lyndie, a Civil War history buff and a "stubborn, sassy know-it-all," faces a stiff adversary in her stuffy grandmother, Lady, who values saving face at all costs to preserve the family reputation. The dynamic between the two plays out in Shepherd's crackling debut, which in addition to examining the importance of truth on both a personal and a historical level tackles alcoholism, PTSD, and juvenile crime. The story moves at a quick pace as Lyndie struggles to understand why her father has become so different and her mother so withdrawn; a strong counterpoint to Lyndie's family troubles is the development of her friendship with the "criminal boy" living with her best friend Dawn's family. Noteworthy for its strong narrative voice and dramatic character development, including well-drawn secondary figures, this book depicts both the troubling and uplifting vicissitudes of family and camaraderie with unflinching honesty and humor. Ages 10 up.