The Lucy Variations - Softcover

Zarr, Sara

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1409562689 ISBN 13: 9781409562689

Publisher: Usborne Publishing, 2013

Synopsis

Lucy Beck-Moreau once had a promising future as a concert pianist. The right people knew her name, her performances were booked months in advance, and her future seemed certain.

That was all before she turned fourteen.

Now, at sixteen, it’s over. A death, and a betrayal, led her to walk away. That leaves her talented ten-year-old brother, Gus, to shoulder the full weight of the Beck-Moreau family expectations. Then Gus gets a new piano teacher who is young, kind, and interested in helping Lucy rekindle her love of piano — on her own terms. But when you’re used to performing for sold-out audiences and world-famous critics, can you ever learn to play just for yourself?

About this title

About the Author

Sara Zarr is the acclaimed author of several Young Adult novels. Her debut, Story of a Girl, was nominated for the National Book Award and featured on the ALA Best Books for Young Adults. How to Save a Life, the first of her books to be published in the UK, has received widespread critical acclaim.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Pressure, expectation, the responsibility of “proving to the world and yourself that you weren’t just taking up space.” This has been privileged San Franciscan Lucy Beck-Moreau’s childhood as a renowned concert pianist. But after a family betrayal eight months ago, the 16-year-old walked off the stage in Prague, and her controlling grandfather’s words haunt her: “I take this as your final decision, Lucy.” Now, though, Lucy’s talented pianist brother, Gus, has a new teacher, Will, and he has taken a special interest in Lucy, asking her questions such as “What do you love?” and encouraging her to find the fun in music again. As she and Will grow closer, their relationship begins to cross lines, and she eventually wonders if Will has her best intentions at heart—a question that’s perhaps not fleshed out enough in the novel’s end. But Zarr (Story of a Girl, 2007) does what she does best. Writing in the third person, she really, truly gets inside her characters’ minds and shows us what makes them complex human beings—their faults, fears, and hopes. The supporting characters, from best friend Reyna to English teacher Mr. Charles, are also deeply drawn, and each provides insight as Lucy searches for her own sense of self. The novel itself is structured like a musical composition with three movements of varying tempos and the occasional intermezzo. This is a mellifluous novel about rekindling joy—in music, in the everyday, and in the beauty around us. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Zarr’s Story of a Girl was a National Book Award finalist, and her books are consistently met with multiple starred reviews. A national author tour kicks off the publication of her latest. Grades 9-12. --Ann Kelley

Edition details

• Publisher: Usborne Publishing
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1409562689
• ISBN 13: 9781409562689
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352