THE GREAT EYE

Lucy Rising, budding poet, is having a tough summer before eighth grade. Her father has left the family and gone to Australia; her beloved older sister, Anna, is home from college, but with a boyfriend in tow; and the dog that Lucy agreed to raise to be a guide dog, Hobart, lacks the courage needed for his demanding role. Helping Lucy through her struggles is friend Calvin, who is willing to see her through anything, and the Great Eye, her computer, on which she turns her deepest emotions into poetry. What could have been a fairly typical story of an adolescent coming to terms with divorce is redeemed by three elements: Lucy's easy, solid friendship with the empathetic Calvin; the guide dog subplot, which is truly involving; and the authentic poetry Shalant (Beware of Kissing Lizard Lips, 1995, etc.) bestows on Lucy—firmly within the credibility range for an eighth grader, laced with the potential of a true writer. Lucy's story is touching, and not without hints of complexity. (Fiction. 11+)