Home Again

4LDKマンションのインテリア変遷キロク

Brent Hartinger ”The Last Chance Texaco” を読む ~119p -1

Last Chance Texaco, The

Last Chance Texaco, The

Grade 7-10--Lucy Pitt is 15 when she is sent to Kindle Home, a group home and her last chance at a semi-normal life. If she makes any errors, she'll be sent to the high-security facility known as Eat-Their-Young Island. Kindle Home is different from the other places she's lived, primarily due to the dedication of the counselors and the way in which they connect with the kids. Lucy realizes that she wants to stay there, and although she manages to weather the consequences of her own impulsive tendencies, she can't control the lack of funding that threatens the Home or the arson that is causing the neighbors to become even more leery of having such an establishment nearby. Readers will root for Lucy and come away with a greater understanding of the complexities of group homes and their inhabitants. Hartinger excels at giving readers an insider's view of the subculture, with its myriad unspoken rules created by the kids, not the system. There is a touch of romance and mystery, and while those elements may be a lure for less sophisticated readers, the memorable aspect of the novel is the way it takes readers inside a system most of them have never experienced. --Faith Brautigam, Gail Borden Public Library, Elgin, IL

前二作ではアメリカの地方に住むゲイの高校生の姿を描いてきたハーティンガーだが、今回は親を失い施設で暮らすティーンエイジャーたちのお話。

7歳のときに交通事故で両親を失って以来、8年間施設を転々としてきたルーシィは、とうとう「普通の人」として暮らせる最後の砦と噂される施設に送り込まれることとなった。果たして彼女は、ここに踏みとどまることができるのか?