#ADGIFTED all thoughts and opinions are my own. I choose the books and genres I enjoy.
Looking for Lucie is a contemporary YA novel that explores identity, self-discovery, and newfound friendship as an 18-year-old girl sets out to uncover her ethnic heritage and family history.
“Where are you really from?”
It’s a question every brown girl in a white-washed town is familiar with, and one that Lucie has never been able to answer. All she knows is that her mother is white, she’s never met her father, and she looks nothing like the rest of her family. She can’t even talk about it because everyone says it shouldn’t matter!
Well, it matters to Lucie and-with her new friend Nav, who knows exactly who he is-she’s determined to find some answers.
What do you do when your entire existence is a question with no answer?
You do a DNA test.
Book Info
Genre: Contemporary YA
Length: 272 pages
Published: April 2024
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/204929266-looking-for-lucie
Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Looking-Lucie-Amanda-Addison/dp/1911107682/
About the Author
Amanda Addison is an award-winning author of books for adults and children. Her writing has been translated into German, Greek, Italian and Ukrainian. Her picture book, Boundless Sky, was nominated for The CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medal, and her YA novel, Looking for Lucie, was listed for the Searchlight Writing Novel Opening Award. A graduate of Chelsea school of Art, her writing and artwork are inspired by travel, textiles, and the natural world. Amanda holds an MA in Writing the Visual and lectures in Art & Design and has also led workshops in Creative Writing at the National Centre for Writing. Amanda lives in Norfolk, UK, with her family.
Her writing includes flash fiction, short stories, picture books and novels. She explores themes of home and belonging, and enjoys using the juxtaposition of rural and city life. Her characters are often artists or scientists, as their curiosity about the world around them are two sides to the same coin, and the exploration of art and science can give us meaning and purpose in life with its infinite avenues of discovery. Amanda’s debut YA novel, Looking for Lucie, Neem Tree Press 2024, explores the above. It is a contemporary story of identity, self-discovery, and newfound friendship. Lucie, an 18-year-old art student sets out to uncover her ethnic heritage and family history with her new scientist friend Nav. Together they unravel family secrets.
Amanda believes in the power of stories as a window on the world, and a mirror to better see ourselves and is passionate about stories which are empowering and inclusive. When not writing she can be found swimming in the North Sea or running in the countryside, and that is when she gets some of her best ideas!
My Review I did NOT expect this one to hit so close to home, as an adoptee with no real knowledge of who’s dna I’m made up of, I understand and relate to sense of needing to know to feel like you belong. While I’m white and English the gnawing desire to know the history is so relatable, and I love how it’s approached in this book. The secrets that are kept from you, the reasons why and so forth. A true voyage of self discovery, growth and emotions. A carefully crafted piece of work, that humanizes each character, to invoke all the right emotions in you the reader. We go into real world issues of racism and cultural heritage.
Just as Lucie needs a friend most Nav comes along and there is a special connection instantly. A friend you can share your view with though they may be different, to have that understanding between you is a treasure of your friendship. I loved the way the relationships between each of the characters are explored and crafted. Not a book I would traditionally read, but I enjoyed expanding my knowledge and experience, definitely one I would recommend to young adults.
Hipster 