Slant - Softcover

Williams, Laura E.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1571316825 ISBN 13: 9781571316820

Publisher: Milkweed Editions, 2008

Synopsis

Thirteen-year-old Lauren, a Korean American adoptee, is best friends with the prettiest — and tallest — girl in the school, Julie, who has an endless amount of confidence. Lauren, on the other hand, has been saving for years to pay for a special eye surgery that will deepen the crease of her eyelids. It's not that she wants to look like everyone else in her suburban Connecticut school; she'd just be happy if kids stopped calling her "slant" and "gook." Up until now she's been able to ignore the insults, but when the cutest boy in her class calls her "slant," she realizes she needs to do something about her "nickname." When she convinces her reluctant father to consent to the eye operation, Lauren suddenly finds herself faced with a challenge: should she get the operation that might make her more confident and popular, or can she find that confidence within herself? Laura Williams' sensitive, beautifully written story offers a powerful lesson to young readers whose self-esteem depends too much on how they look.

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Grade 4–7—Petite Lauren, an eighth grader and Korean-American adoptee, is best friends with tall, blond Julie. While Julie is brimming with self-confidence, Lauren is plagued by a multitude of insecurities. Although she adores her father, a literature professor, she resents his refusal to talk about her mother, who died several years earlier. Eventually, she learns that he has been shielding her from the fact that her mother's depression led her to suicide. Williams invests Lauren with a disarming self-awareness as she analyzes and categorizes her own behavior using terms her father has taught her. When she pretends not to be appalled by her insensitive classmates calling her "slant," "chink," and "gook," she labels her behavior a "sin of complicity." Lauren seems comfortable with her ethnicity in many ways, but she has been squirreling money away for an operation to reduce the creases in her eyelids and is elated when her father reluctantly consents to the procedure. Julie emerges as a strong sidekick, cajoling Lauren to stand up for herself and telling stereotype-spewing kids to quit their offensive behavior. Other offensive ethnic putdowns, such as "kike," are used. Despite her many strengths, Julie obsesses about her weight and is embarrassed by her wealthy parents' ostentatiousness. The characters are exceptionally well drawn, and the friendship between Julie and Lauren is not only believable, featuring humor, conflict, and true wit, but also captures both girls' gains in maturity.—Deborah Vose, Highlands Elementary School, Braintree, MA
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Review:

"Slant reaches deep into the identity issues and struggles of a middle-school girl, whose complex life is both magnified and clarified within its pages. This book is accessible and has a positive message for young readers who may be dealing with similar challenges."
— International Examiner

About this edition

• Publisher: Milkweed Editions
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1571316825
• ISBN 13: 9781571316820
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 160