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THE LURE by Lynne Ewing


copyright date: February 2014
primarily marketed for: young adults (high school)

I have been a fan of Lynne Ewing’s Drive By for years.  It is a short, easy to read story about a boy whose older brother is gunned down in a drive by while they are walking home together.  At first, it seems to be a case of an innocent child in the wrong place at the wrong time.  That is, until the younger brother is approached about taking his older brother’s place in a gang.   It is a story filled with action and tough choices. 

So, when I saw that Lynne Ewing’s new book The Lure, I immediately knew it would be one I would want to share. 

Ewing gives us a hard core look at life in the inner city.  The Lure is the story of Blaise, a self-reliant teenage girl, living with her grandmother.  She has a rough history and often eats ketchup packets and sugar packets as meals to leave enough money for her grandmother to eat. 

Blaise sees joining Core 9 as an opportunity to earn money and take care of her grandmother.  Although she is streetwise and tough, there is no way for her to anticipate how each step she makes toward getting involved in the gang will lead to deeper problems.   Before long, Blaise finds herself and those she loves surrounded by danger. 

Blaise has no easy choices, making the book almost too realistic at times.  The dynamic between Blaise, the other girls in the gang, her guy friends, and the guys who run the gang is realistically drawn.  It is the realism that makes this story so tense.  I had a knot in my stomach for her all the way to the last page.  Ewing’s writing is so vivid it has been tough to shake long after having put the book down. 

The Lure is the kind of book I think everyone should experience vicariously to avoid making similar choices in their own lives.

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  1. UnknownJune 15, 2014 at 8:07 AM

    Hi Christy
    Thank you for this wonderful review of my book.
    Love and best wishes,
    Lynne ewing

    ReplyDelete

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