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Library | Collection | Collection | Call Number | Status |
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Searching... Gillis Branch Library (Fresno Co.) | Searching... Unknown | Children's Fiction Area | VANDRAA WE Secret | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Merced Main Library (Merced Co.) | Searching... Unknown | Children's Fiction | X VAN | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Sunnyside Branch Library (Fresno Co.) | Searching... Unknown | Children's Fiction Area | VANDRAA WE Secret | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Visalia Library (Tulare Co.) | Searching... Unknown | Children's Fiction | J VAN DRAANEN | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Woodward Park Library (Fresno Co.) | Searching... Unknown | Children's Fiction Area | VANDRAA WE Secret | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
A fresh and funny story about a boy learning to become the brave hero of his own life, perfect for fans of Counting by 7s and The Fourteenth Goldfish.
My secret life is filled with psychic vampires, wheelchair zombies, chain-rattlin' ghosts, and a one-eyed cat. But they're nothing compared to my real-life stalker: a sixth-grade girl named Kandi Kain. . . .
Lincoln Jones is always working on the latest story he's got going in his notebook. Those stories are his refuge. A place where the hero always prevails and the bad guy goes to jail. Real life is messy and complicated, so Lincoln sticks to fiction and keeps to himself. Which works fine until a nosy girl at his new school starts prying into his private business. She wants to know what he's writing, where he disappears to after school, and why he never talks to anybody. . . .
The Secret Life of Lincoln Jones is a terrifically funny and poignant story about a boy finding the courage to get to know the real characters all around him--and to let them know him.
Praise for The Secret Life of Lincoln Jones :
Winner of the Josette Frank Award
"Van Draanen's engaging story is characterized by clever writing, a palpable affection for her characters, and a deep understanding of what's important about life. Readers will love Lincoln Jones."-- Kirkus Reviews
"Van Draanen skillfully wraps up her tale, offering a realistically happy ending. A story with a perfect balance of mirth and poignancy." -- School Library Journal
"Lincoln is a delightful narrator." -- Booklist
Author Notes
Wendelin Van Draanen was born on January 6, 1965 in Chicago, Illinois. She is the daughter of chemists who emigrated from Holland. She worked as a math teacher and then as a computer science teacher before becoming an author. Wendelin Van Draanen began her writing career with a screenplay and soon switched to adult novels and then children's books. She is best known for her Sammy Keyes series of novels, which she started writing in 1997, featuring a teenage detective named Samantha Keyes. Her popular Sammy Keyes series had been nominated four times for the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Children's Mystery and won with "Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief". Her Shredderman series also yielded a Christopher Medal for Secret Identity. She has also written several novels such as: How I Survived Being a Girl and Flipped.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-6-The author of the successful "Sammy Keyes" series introduces sixth grade narrator Lincoln. He and his mother have fled her abusive boyfriend and live in poverty as she tries to pay back her savior sister with the small salary she earns as an aide in a dementia facility. Since Lincoln is legally not allowed to be left alone, he usually meets his mother at work after school and weekends, where he's badgered by confused residents and witnesses multiple deaths. There's little escape at school, where he's bullied because of his Southern accent and aversion to sports. Top it all off with a brassy girl named Kandi Kain, who's annoyingly obsessed with him. Luckily, Lincoln uses his artistic imagination, which is "as wide as it is deep," to escape with fantastic stories that mesh with reality. That reality becomes more bearable as the family settle in. They befriend a homeless man and a hoarding neighbor and learn that Lincoln's classmate's grandmother is a resident of the facility. Best of all, they use humor to alleviate tough times, such as when they secretly nickname a woman "The Vampire" because a string of her roommates suddenly die, and they come to appreciate the joyous singing of Brookside's elderly nudist. The seniors' Thanksgiving food fight is a hoot, and Van Draanen skillfully wraps up her tale in a loop to the beginning, offering a realistically happy ending. VERDICT The large cast leaves one wishing to know more about certain characters, but this is a story with a perfect balance of mirth and poignancy. A fine purchase for larger collections.-Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Eleven-year-old Lincoln has several secrets: the stories he writes in his notebook, his cross-country move with his mother to escape her abusive boyfriend, and the home for people with memory loss and dementia where his mother works (and where Lincoln hangs out after school). Lincoln, who thinks of the residents as "the crazies," is mortified at the thought of his classmates discovering where he spends his time-he's already an outcast and a bullying target. But one outspoken classmate, the memorably named Kandi Kane, takes a persistent interest in him and as Lincoln gets to know the group home's residents better, he begins to see that he isn't the only one with secrets and stories. Van Draanen (the Sammy Keyes series) effectively portrays the frustrations of aging and memory loss through a mix of humor, sharp-eyed observations, and the compassion of Lincoln's mother and her colleagues. Lincoln is relatable in his flaws and insecurities, and the story's supporting characters are equally well-developed. It's a moving coming-of-age story about creating new and unexpected connections. Ages 8-12. Agent: Ginger Knowlton, Curtis Brown. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Sixth grade is tough, especially when you're new and spend your afternoons with the oldies at Brookside, a memory care facility. Lincoln's ma, having recently escaped an abusive boyfriend, takes a job as a caregiver at Brookside. At school, Lincoln hides his love of writing stories, his thick Southern accent, and, most important, his Brookside connection. Lincoln thinks all the Brookside oldies are crazy, but as he gets to know them, he realizes he's seeing the illogical, heartbreaking effects of dementia. Humorous dialogue and a swift plot, occasionally dragged down by contrived situations, anchor this realistic story. Lincoln is a delightful narrator, prone to daydreaming about stories. He has a strong, supportive relationship with his mother, although his ability to bounce back after living in an abusive situation seems unrealistic. Aging and dying with dignity are lightly touched upon, but never quite as deeply as one would hope. This book is a good place to start a classroom discussion on intergenerational relationships and the effects of memory loss.--Seto Forrester, Amy Copyright 2016 Booklist