Starred Review Life has a certain stability for Lucy, a rising high-school senior, swim-team captain, and preacher's kid. She's especially close with her parents, a side effect of her mother's cancer, which has been in remission for years. Summer arrives along with disaster: her mom's cancer returns. Lucy begins to lose her faith in God, her long-time boyfriend puts their relationship on hold, and her mother asks her to work as a counselor t at their family's church camp, but at Daybreak, a nearby camp for troubled kids. Initially resistant, Lucy adjusts and then thrives among the widely diverse (in race and in gender identity) campers and counselors at Daybreak, and is drawn to one of her fellow counselors. But Daybreak holds secrets about Lucy's family, and her world will be rocked in more ways than one. A natural successor to Sarah Dessen's The Truth about Forever (2004), this isn't a new story so much as an old one perfectly pitched. Lord explores the hardships in both Lucy's life and the lives of the people around her thout forgetting about the joys of ordinary life, summer love, and the pitfalls of growing up l while offering a beautiful, all-too-rare portrait of a religion that accepts instead of condemns. Comfortingly familiar, vibrant, and, at times, wrenching, this belongs on all shelves. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Lord has been steadily gaining popularity, and this fourth novel comes with an extensive marketing campaign that includes a national author tour.

Lucy's mother's cancer returns and her boyfriend puts "a pause" on their relationship. On top of that, her summer job at a camp for kids with trauma and the revelation of long-held family secrets prompts Lucy to re-examine her innermost biases. Lucy, whose father is a Methodist pastor, struggles to maintain her previously steady beliefs in this original take on faith and hope.

When Lucy learns that her mother's cancer has reoccurred, she reacts with anger that affects her relationship with her parents, her boyfriend, and God.The white high school junior has a pretty well-put-together life. She competes on the swim team, has a perfectly mannered boyfriend, and gets along well with her parents, especially her mom. When her mom's breast cancer comes back, Lucy feels like it's a betrayal. She did everything right the first time, from taking care of her mother to praying regularly, so why did the sickness come back? As she's figuring out her new reality, her mother makes a special request, that she spend her summer at Daybreak, a camp for kids dealing with trauma. There, a diverse cast of characters, including a trans girl and people of color, help to expand her world. But is she wasting valuable time? Lucy's problems are delivered with sensitivity and originality, plus romance, intrigue, and a little bit of mischief. The characters are well-written and complex, but toward the end, the plot strays into a series of over-the-top connections that erodes the suspension of disbelief. Lucy's discoveries about her mom's life multiply at too great a rate to be either believable or interesting. A sweet story that trips on its own eagerness to tug at the heartstrings. (Fiction. 14-18)

Gr 8 Up-ucy seems to have a normal and uncomplicated life; she has loving parents, an attentive boyfriend, and good grades, and she is the captain of the swim team. But on the night of her junior prom, she learns that her mother's breast cancer is back and that she will need a mastectomy. Lucy's mother is the center of her universe, and this realization makes Lucy question her faith, which she has always relied upon. Her doubts form the core of the book. Outwardly, Lucy has it together, but still her parents decide that she won't be a summer camp counselor at the family's church camp but instead will work at the "hippie" camp across the lake. They want her to make friends, see the lives of others, and not obsess about her mother's cancer and chemotherapy. The "hippie" camp is a retreat for children with difficult home lives. Lucy's experiences there illustrate her na&9;vet&3; about the world around her, which might become tedious for some readers, but other times her maturity and compassion toward others are spot-on. This small character inconsistency should not be a problem for most. VERDICT This solid coming-of-age story with family drama and personal growth is a must-have for libraries with Jenny Han and Jennifer Niven fans.Lisa Nabel, Tacoma Public Library, WA