The Line Tender by Kate Allen publishes today

Voice

There is something about reading a debut author and loving the book. It’s as if you discovered them. And know quite well that is not true. The book that is in my hands has been read in manuscript by agents, editors, sales reps, marketing, booksellers. Galleys have been sent and given at conferences.

While reading The Line Tender, I was also thinking about the first time that I read Kate DiCamillo, Christopher Paul Curtis, Rita Williams Garcia, Kathy Alpelt, Deborah Wiles…

And when I finished reading it I  wanted to shout from the roof tops. This. This is a book!

Read this book!

Voice.

Setting the stage. We hear the story from the point-of-view of Lucy Everhart, a twelve-year-old artist. She observes best friend Fred. He is a musician and a naturalist with an inquiring scientific mind. And her next-door neighbor. And maybe something more…

Back to voice.

I love this sentence. It’s not a spoiler. Lucy is on a road trip with her father and their elderly neighbor, Mr. Patterson, and one of her parents’ oldest friends Sookie.

” I bounced onto my my half of the backseat and felt restless. I was so hungry that the pungent smell of Doritos made me want to hit someone.”

If you want to read a real review, here is the one from Kirkus.

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/kate-allen/the-line-tender/