In THE LAST TRUE POETS OF THE SEA, Violet Larkin's family is in turmoil. Characters swear, including "f-k" and "s-t." Honesty, friendship, and family dynamics are important to the story, which offer some more good discussion topics for families. There are a few descriptive make-out scenes. Sex and attraction are central to the story, both in terms of being used as a way to escape problems and to connect with someone you love. Most of the drinking and drug use is shown in flashback, but the teens in Lyric do drink a few times. Her family has a long history there, and she spends the summer making new friends, grappling with sexual attraction, and learning about her family's history. After her brother's suicide attempt and her own off-the-rails drinking and sexual behavior, New Yorker Violet Larkin is sent to the small town of Lyric, Maine, for the summer. The story is a modern take on William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, with a shipwreck and love triangle featuring prominently. Agent: Peter Knapp, Park Literary & Media.(Oct.Parents need to know that Julia Drake's The Last True Poets of the Sea is a coming-of-age story about a teen girl coping with her own and her brother's emotional issues. If at times the novel seems crowded, Violet emerges as a genuine, sympathetic protagonist struggling to create something new from the wreckage of her life.
The story of her grandmother’s transformation creates intriguing parallels with the internal changes Violet undergoes. Against the evocative backdrop of rugged coastal Maine, Drake’s suspenseful novel offers three strands of high drama: the impact of Sam’s mental illness on Violet, Violet’s family history (her grandmother, the lone survivor of a shipwreck, posed as a boy while working for her future husband), and a complicated love triangle between Violet, Orion, and Orion’s friend Liv, who has a special interest in Violet’s ancestors. Living quietly with her uncle Toby and volunteering at the local aquarium, Violet reflects on her childhood with her brother, makes new friends through coworker Orion, and gains interest in the history of her great-great-great-grandparents, the town’s much-celebrated founders.
Their parents enter counseling at home in New York City, Sam heads to Vermont for treatment, and party girl Violet is exiled to Lyric, Maine, where her family used to spend their summers.
In a strong debut loosely based on Twelfth Night, 16-year-old Violet’s family splinters after her brother Sam’s suicide attempt.
0 kommentar(er)
