Lasso the Moon [Hardcover]

Dennis Covington (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1995

When 17-year-old April Hunter first sees Fernando, it is easy to dismiss him as just another of her father's indigent Latin American patients.



Yet, despite her feelings, April can't keep herself from thinking about Fernando. How did he get the horrendous scar on his neck? What is his birthplace, El Paraiso, El Salvador, like? As curiosity turns to fascination and fascination to love, April learns the horrifying and mind-boggling story of Fernando's life. But when she hears a different story from the Immigration and Naturalization Service, she has to wonder whom to trust.


From the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

April is curious about her father's new patient Fernando, an El Salvadorian refugee. Soon, her curiosity turns to fascination, and it's not long before her heart becomes tangled with feelings of love for the young man with the frightening past. When Immigration and Naturalization Service officials begin snooping around and threatening her father for helping Fernando, she discovers a whole new side to the man who raised her. Dennis Covington is a brilliant storyteller--crafting these characters with realism, compassion, and just enough of a rough edge so that they sparkle from the page. This is a powerful tale of many different kinds of love. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

April Hunter and her divorced father, Jack, a recovering alcoholic, have recently moved to the island of Saint Simons from Atlanta, where Jack's drinking destroyed his cardiology practice. April-smart, independent, keenly observant and slightly cynical-takes an undefined liking to Fernando, an illegal alien being treated by her father for a serious heart condition. As April helps Fernando hide from the I.N.S., she slowly learns of his tragic life in El Salvador; sensitized to a world entirely different from her own, she learns from the mysterious fellow what real intimacy is. Though Fernando is a bit too brave and noble to be entirely believable, Covington (Lizard) conveys April's increasing attachment to him effectively, and when he disappears her loss is palpable. A well-observed setting and the thoughtfully probed relationships between April, her father and her friends add complexity to this moving story. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 13 and up
  
• Hardcover: 196 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers; 1St Edition edition (February 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385321015
• ISBN-13: 978-0385321013
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,251,157 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow, this is a great novel!, December 27, 2000

By 

Melanie (Iowa, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: LASSO THE MOON (Laurel-Leaf Books) (Paperback)

When I picked up "Lasso the Moon" at the library, I just wanted something to read - I didn't realize that this book would be *so* good!

"Lasso the Moon" tells about teenage April, living with her father, a recovering alcoholic, off the coast of Georgia. Her father is also a well known doctor who does work with foreign refugees, and through him she meets Fernando, a young El Salvadore teenager. April becomes increasingly curious about Fernando, wondering where he got the horrible scar on his neck, why he came to America, and what really happened to him in El Salvadore.

This was an excellent, intriguing book, with a great twist at the end. I'd highly recommend it for ages 12 and up, and I'd also definitely recommend "Children of the River" about a Cambodian refugee.