Throwback Thursday: What Happened To Lani Garver

From Tashi at Taste Life Twice: Throwback Thursday will be a day when we review a book we read in the past or a book that was published awhile ago. Enough alliteration for you? lol

What Happened To Lani Garver by Carol Plum-Ucci. Harcourt Children's Books. 2002.

I love this idea. Very happy to share about books with older pub dates. The downside for me is my ability to remember the details of books I've read in the past. I have problems remembering events of recent weeks. Anyhoo, my feature today is an author recommended to me by librarian for a mystery challenge I was participating in last year. She said she really enjoyed Carol Plum-Ucci. The library didn't have her The Body of Christopher Creed so I checked out What Happened To Lani Garver. Now, it's important to share that I don't read mysteries. It's not that I dislike them; I just don't normally think to look for one so I came to this genre with zero foundation and no expectations. I did hope I would enjoy it. What I got from the work was an amazing, riveting, compelling read. Love, love, love the writer's style. The plot unfolds in a series of contractions and releases. Plum-Ucci has a great ability to build tension and knows to when release, allowing the reader to breathe. The dialogue rings authentic though teens today might find the language a little dated. Lani is an amazing character.

This is a story about a girl named, Claire. She's missed some school because of illness. She has friends and is pretty enough, but she feels like an outsider at her school. Then Lani shows up. In a town where everybody knows everybody, Lani is an enigma. Showing up from nowhere is enough for speculation but Lani's gender and sexual orientation is questioned. He and Claire form a relationship and she doesn't know why or what it means. Homophobia, violence and ultimately tragedy. If that's not enough, let's throw in mysticism and the unknown. Is Lani an angel?

That's it. Not telling you more. You'll have to read the book to learn more. This meme has reminded me how much I enjoyed reading this author. Might have to make a trip to the library this weekend.

Check out Throwback Thursday at Taste Life Twice. Join in. Love to hear about more blasts from the past.