Book Description
Heartbreaking but also filled with wit and hope, The Line
Tender is the story of Lucy, the daughter of a marine biologist and
a rescue diver, and the summer that changes her life. If she ever wants
to lift the cloud of grief over her family and community, she must
complete the research her late mother began.
She must follow the sharks.
Wherever
the sharks led, Lucy Everhart's marine-biologist mother was sure to
follow. In fact, she was on a boat far off the coast of Massachusetts,
collecting shark data when she died suddenly. Lucy was seven. Since
then Lucy and her father have kept their heads above water--thanks in
large part to a few close friends and neighbors. But June of her twelfth
summer brings more than the end of school and
a heat wave to sleepy Rockport. On one steamy day, the tide brings a
great white--and then another tragedy, cutting short a friendship
everyone insists was "meaningful" but no one can tell Lucy what it all
meant. To survive the fresh wave of grief, Lucy must
grab the line that connects her depressed father, a stubborn fisherman,
and a curious old widower to her mother's unfinished research on the
Great White's return to Cape Cod. If Lucy can find a way to help this
unlikely quartet follow the sharks her mother
loved, she'll finally be able to look beyond what she's lost and toward
what's left to be discovered.
Wow, I really enjoyed this book....It is definitely a upper Middle Grade read, which is why I read it and not Kaden. Nothing crazy inappropriate, it's just a young girl that's almost 13 and is dealing with many mental and physical changes all while coping with past and present tragedy.
I totally related because I lost both of my parents when I was a young girl. My Mom died just a week before I turned 13, so I felt like a kindred spirit of sorts to the main character, Lucy.
I'm not giving away a thing about this book, but I will say that in this book you find a young girl desperate to sort out her relationship with her depressed Dad and her feelings for her best friend, Fred. She has this connection to her marine-biologist Mom, who is deceased and is unrelenting on her quest to finish the research her Mom set out to do before she died.
Lucky for Lucy she has a tight community around her to see her through this. I enjoyed the wealth of shark information and the drawings were wonderful. The author did an amazing job bringing real life into each of these characters. Real life is not simple and easy. Messy stuff happens, loss, love, secrets, bad decisions...I think you get the picture. :) With all that said, the most growth always occurs in the strongest of struggles. And here we get to see that unfold right before our eyes. Dang...it was good, real good!
This would be an excellent summertime read. I'll be passing this on to my oldest daughter, Mahala next. Thank you
Penguin Random House!
Kate Allen grew up in Massachusetts and lives in Minneapolis, MN, with her family. The Line Tender is her first novel. Say hi to her over on Instagram!
SCHEDULE
Week One
April 15 –
Reed Family Reads – Review + Creative Instagram Picture
April 16 –
Inkandpaperwanderlust – Creative Instagram Picture
April 17 – Margie’s Must Reads – Review + Creative Instagram Pictures
April 18 – Word Spelunking – Review + Baking Project
April 19 – Four Violet Reviews – Review
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