Lizard LoveAges: 14 and up Grades: 9–12 Pages: 168 List Price: 17.95 Cover: Hardcover Published: 4/1/2008 ISBN: 1-932425-34-9 ISBN-13: 978-1-932425-34-5 |
A startling debut novel about a girl growing into a woman, kicking and screaming every step of the way. Grace’s life was perfect in Mooresville at her grandparents’ home. Nature was close at hand, and she could explore it endlessly. But Grace and her mother move to New York City, where nature has been paved over and left to die. Grace hates the city and all it represents . . . until she discovers a pet shop run by a toad-ugly boy and his father and which is full of exotic creatures, none more so than Spot, an iguana. Grace spends every minute she can at the pet shop, especially as she realizes that she doesn’t fit in at school and she can’t stand the city streets where men and boys are starting to notice her. Grace doesn’t like what’s happening to her body and the attention it’s drawing. Even when she goes back to Mooresville for a summer break, she discovers that things aren’t the same. So there is nothing to be done except return to the city and confront who she is, what she is becoming, and deal with it. Reviews
"Nicely characterized, showing keen awareness of the young teen experience, and written to reveal the reptilian world in colorful detail, the story is an obvious fit for animal lovers... All readers will come to understand Grace’s fancy for these creatures even if they don’t share her lizard love. A worthwhile choice for young folks shedding the skin of childhood." "This is a very special, unique book...I'm bowled over by the descriptions of animals - so beautiful and precise and yet available to any reader, not esoteric.. any kid who reads this book will have her eyes opened to nature in a brand new way." |
"In her debut novel, Townsend displays a remarkable narrative gift. ...[H]er language really comes alive when talking about the the natural world; her sensuous herpetological descriptions are unflinching, evocative, and positively elegant. Even the minor characterizations are full and complex, and the relationships drawn among them resonate with the honesty of adolescence. Though Grace’s naïveté seems surprising at first, this story will still find an enthusiastic audience among young people walking the daily tightrope between fitting in and growing up."