Review Detail

Every young adult needs to figure out their place in life, but for Lucie Hansen, it's doubly hard as she tries to understand where she comes from. Lucie has grown up in a loving family, but in some ways, she has felt like she didn't belong. Lucie's mom had her through a sperm donor (or so she thought) and later went on to marry Lucie's adopted dad. Lucie stands out from the rest of her family with dark skin and features that aren't blonde and blue-eyed. Lucie's desire to understand her identity leads her to take a DNA test that will change her life.

What I Liked: Lucie was a character I instantly liked. It was Amanda Addison's skillful writing that made you understand Lucie's struggle as a biracial person in a small white town, and as a reader, you are rooting for her to find her identity. Nav and Lucie's friendship is what made this book so good. Nav just seems like a genuinely nice guy and he was supportive of Lucie and her quest to find out where she came from. There were a few twists and turns throughout the story and while I thought I knew what would happen with the DNA test results, I liked that it wasn't what I predicted.

What Left Me Wanting More: The pacing of the story felt a bit rushed at the end. There was this slow buildup of when would Lucie get the DNA results and how these results would change her life. It seems as if everything happens so quickly towards the end of the book, from the DNA results to finding her family to learning her dad's story. Having Lucie process all these changes in greater detail would have made the story feel complete.

The story is told from multiple perspectives, which can be interesting, but this felt overwhelming. While I enjoyed seeing Lucie and Nav's reactions to the DNA results, was Lucie's best friend's perspective really necessary when she barely appeared in the book?

Looking for Lucie is a young adult book that readers will easily connect with as Lucie goes on a journey of self-discovery.