Lucy Doesn't Wear Pink

 Book: Lucy Doesn't Wear Pink by Nancy Rue, Zonderkidz, 2008
  

Genre: Realistic Fiction with a touch of sports focus
Target Audience: Girls 11-14
Subject: Growing up, blindness, friendships, racism, abuse of a friend by their parent, education and learning disabilities
Summary: "I wish Aunt Karen would move to Australia because she is nothing like my mom". Years ago, Lucy's mom died in an accident that left her dad blind. Now it's just her, her dad, and their four cats. But life is great. Her dad may not be able to see with his eyes, but he doesn't miss a thing. And Lucy has a good friend that lives right next door. And then there's soccer. Lucy is teaching her friends at school how to play and someday she'll be a star soccer player. But Aunt Karen wants to ruin it all! She shows up with horrid pink frilly clothes that she expects Lucy to wear. She drags her to the mall. She forces her to eat at weird places. She's mean to the cats. And worst of all, she wants to force Lucy to come live with her instead of with her dad. She's convinced that just because her dad is blind, he can't be a good parent. And maybe what she hates the most is that Aunt Karen doesn't want her to be like her instead of like Lucy's mom. When they get a new teacher for the "dumb" class at school and he is even interfering with their soccer! And if that's not bad enough, JJ and Januarie are having trouble with their parents and JJ may not be able to play soccer with the rest of the group! What lessons can the book of Ruth teach Lucy that will help her through all of this?
Notes: Meet Lucy, an 11 year old tomboy who wants to be a soccer star, doesn't comprehend the whole "boyfriend" thing, desperately wants to avoid being put into a bra by her aunt, and who doesn't fit in at school because she's not Hispanic and almost everyone else is and she's in the "dumb" class even though she's smart, because soccer is much more worth pursuing than spelling.
Lucy Doesn't Wear Pink is the story of how a few kids making the right choices, help fight racial discrimination, deal with a kid who is being abused, and unite a town. Lucy's nanny reads her stories from the book of Ruth and helps her see how it applies to her own life.
This is an extremely good story, one that captivates you, one that's hard to put down. You feel the character's excitement or pain. The characters are so real, just living their life, making choices, good and bad and dealing with the consequences.
Recommendation Scale: 5
Reviewer: J:-)mi

Ruth 2:12 -  May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge."