When boy-crazy Mora, Inez’s girly-girl granddaughter, turns on Lucy to take JJ away from her and even tries to sabotage Lucy so she’ll have to go live with her dreaded Aunt Karen, Lucy learns, with the help of the Book of Ruth, how to forgive the unforgivable.
Recommended| Posted January 20, 2010
Lucy Out of Bounds by Nancy Rue is an exciting book written especially for tween girls, though I, as a teen, absolutely adore this series, as you could probably tell from my review of book one. This book centers around Lucy Rooney, who we met in the last book and is faced with a new challenges including a bobcat on the loose, her housekeeper’s daughter who falls for her best friend J.J., and of course Lucy’s struggle with her Aunt Karen, who will stop at nothing to turn her into a girly-girl.
The main reason why I absolutely love this series is because all of the Lucy books, this book included, highlights certain women from the Bible. Ruth in book one, and now Rachel and Leah are highlighted in book two. The story really related to this Bible story, and shows us that women of Bible times weren’t that different than us, and that the lessons their stories teach (in this case, forgiveness) are still applicable today.
There is also a great deal of storyteller flair in this story. Inez, Lucy Rooney and her father’s housekeeper, is the teller of the Bible stories. Her first language was Spanish, so the way she tells the story keeps the reader interested. The girls (Mora and Lucy) ask many questions and make comments that actually make the Bible study dialogues feel like a genuine Bible study.
Lucy lives with her blind father, who was in a terrible accident that also killed her mother. Lucy feels the pain of not having a parent and that’s very evident in the way she thinks and acts. Girls who may be going through the same thing will find a great literary friend in Lucy Rooney. Lucy and her father have a wonderful relationship of understanding and trust.
If I were to choose two of my favorite characters in this series it would most definitely be Lucy (of course) and Mr. Auggy. Mr. Auggy is Lucy’s teacher and soccer coach. I just love this character in Lucy Out of Bounds because it shows that adults are humans too- they have tough times and they sometimes make mistakes.
Mrs. Rue has artistically weaved the story of Lucy in a way that girls can enjoy what they’re reading, relate to the characters, and learn valuable lessons. She balances the serious and the adventure in a way that is truly inspiring to aspiring authors and will keep readers on the edge of their seat. This is why I highly recommend Lucy Out of Bounds.
