Review: The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord
10:00
Series: None
Author: Emery Lord
Published June 1st 2017 by Bloomsbury Children's Books
Goodreads Synopsis
When it all falls apart, who can you believe in?
Everything is going right for Lucy Hansson, until her mom’s cancer reappears. Just like that, Lucy breaks with all the constants in her life: her do-good boyfriend, her steady faith, even her longtime summer church camp job.
Instead, Lucy lands at a camp for kids who have been through tough times. As a counselor, Lucy is in over her head and longs to be with her parents across the lake. But that’s before she gets to know her coworkers, who are as loving and unafraid as she so desperately wants to be.
It’s not just new friends that Lucy discovers at camp—more than one old secret is revealed along the way. In fact, maybe there’s much more to her family and her faith than Lucy ever realized.
Goodreads
Review
I've always had a bit of a love hate relationship with Emery's books, but was intrigued by The Names They Gave Us, so decided to give it a go. This book is about Lucy and her struggles with her faith following her mother's re-diagnosis of cancer. She thought she would have her boyfriend, Lucas, to lean on, but he decides to take a 'pause' in the relationship, and she can't even go to her usual summer camp, with her family. Instead, her mam asks her to go to the camp on the other side of the lake, Camp Daybreak, for troubled teens, and she really is against it. She doesn't want to get close to the other counsellor's or the campers, but soon finds people she can be herself around, and discovers new friendships.
One thing I was apprehensive about was the cancer story line, as I was still grieving my gran's death when I read this, but it was slightly cathartic to read about Lucy was coping. Another thing was the religious aspect, as I'm not religious at all, and tend to eschew books with a focus as they can get my back up at times, but this one was done in a way that didn't bother me much. I loved Lucy, and how she became more open, and allowed herself to have new experiences and get close to new people she would've previously stayed away from. Lucy's life had been somewhat shielded, but being at Camp Daybreak, showed her how different event and experiences had shaped people, and everyone deserved to be heard and appreciated. The romance was swoony, and such a good subplot, but this was mainly a friendship book. The only negative I have, is the ending, because it just ended without proper closure - something I struggle with in Emery's books.
Dates Read:
June 17-22, 2018
Rating
4 Stars
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