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Middle Grade Sidekick Review: The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry (2024) by Anna Rose Johnson
The Basics
Page Length: 192
Audiobook Length: ~4 hours
Grade Reading Level: 3+
Target Audience Age: 8-12+
Goodreads Score: 3.79 out of 5
Buy it HERE
Setting: 1912, Lake Superior, Michigan
Genre: Middle Grade Historical Fiction, Mystery, Adventure
Topics: Family, Heritage, Mystery, Treasure, Shipwrecks, Lighthouses, Adventure, Grief, Adoption
Plot: Lucy Landry has a wild imagination, always pretending to be someone she's not—a queen, a waif girl, a nursemaid—but her real life hasn't always been a fairy tale. After both of her parents die, Lucy is left in the care of Miss Mamie. But when Miss Mamie passes away too, Lucy is suddenly left with no family and no friends.
Lucy is sent to live on a small island in Lake Superior with the family of a lighthouse keeper. This is less than ideal, considering Lucy is terrified of the water. Ever since her father died in a shipwreck, riding on boats sends Lucy into a panic. And to make matters worse, Lucy doesn't exactly fit in with the Martin family. She's constantly making mistakes, making people angry, and leaving chaos in her wake.
But hope arrives when Lucy learns that the treasure her father always dreamed of finding—a ruby necklace that disappeared in a famous shipwreck—might actually be within her grasp. Unfortunately, some rival treasure hunters are searching for the necklace too, and things are about to get a little dicey.
Will Lucy be able to find the necklace? And more importantly, will she finally find her place in a real and loving family?
You might like this book if you like:
Geocaching/treasure hunting
Seafaring and exploring lighthouses
Books like: The Birchbark House, The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James, The Last Mapmaker, The Firefly Summer, Indian No More
Shows like: Anne with an E, Theodosia, Secrets of Sulphur Springs, The Hardy Boys (also books)
Movies/Books like: The Secret Garden, A Little Princess, Because of Winn-Dixie, National Treasure, The Goonies
Other books written by this author: The Star That Always Stays, The Blossoming Summer, Secrets at Sparhawk Point
Teaching The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry in Class
Content
Language: None
Sex/Romance: None
Violence/Scariness: The main character grieves the loss of her parents and caretakers. People are in danger during a shipwreck.
Drinking/Smoking/Drugs: None
Book Talk Read Aloud Section
If you have the physical book, read pages 1-4 (through paragraph 7 ("A lighthouse keeper, indeed!")
If you don't, read the same pages in the reading sample here.
Used this book in your classroom? Tell us how in the comments!
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