Slant

By Williams, Laura Melody

Publishers Summary:
Thirteen-year-old Lauren, a Korean American adoptee, is best friends with the prettiest — and tallest — girl in the school, Julie, who has an endless amount of confidence. Lauren, on the other hand, has been saving for years to pay for a special eye surgery that will deepen the crease of her eyelids. It's not that she wants to look like everyone else in her suburban Connecticut school; she'd just be happy if kids stopped calling her "slant" and "gook." Up until now she's been able to ignore the insults, but when the cutest boy in her class calls her "slant," she realizes she needs to do something about her "nickname." When she convinces her reluctant father to consent to the eye operation, Lauren suddenly finds herself faced with a challenge: should she get the operation that might make her more confident and popular, or can she find that confidence within herself? Laura Williams' sensitive, beautifully written story offers a powerful lesson to young readers whose self-esteem depends too much on how they look.

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ISBN
978-1-57131-681-3
Publisher
Milkweed Editions


REVIEWS

School Library Journal

Reviewed on December 1, 2008

Gr 4-7 Petite Lauren, an eighth grader and Korean-American adoptee, is best friends with tall, blond Julie. While Julie is brimming with self-confidence, Lauren is plagued by a multitude of insecurities. Although she adores her father, a literature professor, she resents his refusal to talk about her mother, who died several years earlier. Eventually, she learns that he has been shielding her from the fact that her mother's depression led her to suicide. Williams invests Lauren with a disarming self-awareness as she analyzes a...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

Horn Book Guide

Reviewed on January 1, 2008

Korean American Lauren has been saving money to have her eyes surgically altered to look more Caucasian. No one knows about her ...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

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