The Line Tender by Kate Allen

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Line Tender by Kate Allen Deborah Stevenson Allen, Kate The Line Tender. Dutton, 2019 [384p] Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-7352-3160-3 $17.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-7352-3162-7 $10.99 Reviewed from galleys R* Gr. 5-8 Lucy misses her mother, the shark biologist, who died five years ago, but she's got her quiet father, kind neighbors in her small coastal Massachusetts town, and her longterm best friend, Fred. When Fred dies in a tragic drowning incident, twelve-year-old Lucy is devastated; she's lost her confidant, the easy relationship with his lively family, who lives next door, and the possibility that she and Fred might have been more than friends. A talented artist, she continues to work on the field guide to local animals they were completing together, and she becomes interested in the shark sightings in the area and her mother's research, which brings her closer to both Fred (a keen young naturalist) and her mother. Allen writes with tenderness and confidence, effectively creating the world of Lucy's 1990s town and her close circle of neighbors; Lucy's experience with layered grief is authentic in its spikes of pain and rage and the softer moments of confusion. The pace is thoughtful and unhurried, but the short chapters, each preceded by a pencil sketch of a different kind of shark, keep the interest high. The shark science is a fascinating element in its own right as well as providing metaphoric opportunities for the human story ("Looking at a dead shark will tell us something about the ones that are still alive," says a scientist). It's a classic life-affirming weeper, and readers will pick up some respect for sharks along the sniffling way. DS Copyright © 2019 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois