Lucy is the daughter of
a school nurse and a preacher. She loves her family and has grown closer to
them since her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her live is running
smoothly: she is dating a handsome athlete and has been chosen captain of the swim
team. Suddenly, her life changes and she learns her mother’s cancer has
returned. Lucy’s relationship with God is affected, for she is disappointed in
Him for not healing her mother completely. Lucy is also dumped by her prince
charming who has decided to pause the relationship. After the breakup, Lucy
decides to be a counselor at a youth camp for kids who have troubled pasts or
have suffered loss. But, she feels she doesn’t fit in since it is not a
Christian camp. After spending some time at the camp, she meets a pregnant
girl, a transgender teen, and others struggling with issues Lucy has never
really been exposed to. Something amazing happens at camp, for Lucy’s life is
impacted by these unusual friendships. There, she meets Henry, a boy that helps
her rethink what relationships should be like and causes her to reevaluate what
she feels about Lukas. They meet, they go for a walk, talk, and decide to just
be friends. Lucy feels she has evolved and feels Lukas is not the right guy for
her.
Lucy’s life continues to
change, for she finds out she has a half sister she never met. Her mother has
been keeping this secret all her life, but she has decided to look for her
daughter before she dies.
If you enjoy reading
books about summer, teens, and secrets, you will also enjoy It Started With
Goodbye by Christina June. It’s about a young teenage girl who was accused
of committing a crime and now has to do community service. Life gives her an
opportunity for a fresh start, and she takes it! You may have also enjoyed
Lucy’s transformation and how she matures throughout the book. In a Perfect
World, by Trish Doller, the main character is forced to move to a foreign
land in which he envisions herself homesick and with zero friends. When she
arrives, she is welcomed by a culture that changes her perspective.
Emery Lord did an
excellent job bringing in the Christian faith to YA literature and showing
readers how Christians are real people as well. They cry when they are sad and
even question God when they do not understand or disagree with life’s
curveballs. She was written Open Road Summer, The Start of Me and You, and
When We Collided. If you want to take a little peek into Lord’s
personal life, check out the following video:
Books similar to The
Names They Gave Us. (n.d.). Retrieved November 6, 2018, from
https://www.goodreads.com/book/similar/50443138-the-names-they-gave-us
Lord,
E. (2017). Names they gave us. New York, NY: Bloomsbury
Publishing.
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