desc.:
Lucky Linderman didn't ask for his life. He didn't ask his grandfather not to come home from the Vietnam War. He didn't ask for a father who never got over it. He didn't ask for a mother who keeps pretending their family is fine. And he certainly didn't ask to be the recipient of Nadar McMillan's relentless bullying, which has finally gone too far. Lucky has a secret--one that helps him wade through the daily dysfunction of his life. Grandad Harry, trapped in the jungles of Laos, has been visiting Lucky in his dreams--and the dreams just might be real : an alternate reality where he can be whoever he wants to be and his life might still be worth living.
***
i love this author--_dust of 100 dogs_ was brillliant and _vera dietz_ was also really strong. she likes to meld the real with the fantastic and it usually works, but i'm not sure how the ants and the artifacts brought back from the jungle really help the story along...in a lot of ways, i feel like it just makes things muddier...but i still loved this book.
lucky is such an awesome character and such a poster child for the whole "it gets better" concept...though what about his dad? maybe it *doesn't* get better? so much to think about.
i admit that i don't really "get" the ants, it felt like she was trying too hard with that one, but lucky's coping mechanisms and his squid-mother and turtle-father...even his loopy aunt and his cheating uncle...just an amazing cast of characters, all imperfect, all trying to fight against almost insurmountable odds. a lot of food for thought.
