"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.
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.
Book source ~ TWR Tour
YA | Contemporary
18 April 2024
272 Pages
My Rating ~ 4 bites and a nibble
Pre-order ~ pubs 10/1/2024
Lucie is the odd duck in her family. Her mom never really told her about her biological dad, always avoiding the subject. When she was a baby her mom married her stepdad and they had a daughter named Maisie. All are pale, blue-eyed, and blond haired while Lucie is darker with brown hair and eyes. When she turns 18 she secretly decides to do a DNA test and that one decision starts a chain of events that changes her life forever
What a great book! I love the characters, the circumstances, the writing, and the pacing. Don’t worry. The chain of events that Lucie starts is a good thing though it’ll have you biting your nails at times. It’s heartwarming and positive even with the stupidity of people who ask such thoughtless and racist questions. I’m sure most don’t mean anything by it, just curious or nosy. But for fuck’s sake. Come on! This is a young adult’s journey of discovery with unexpected results that will warm your heart and soul.
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!
Neem Tree Press
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