Slant [Hardcover]

Laura E. Williams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2008 | Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 2 and up

Thirteen-year-old Lauren, a Korean American adoptee, is best friends with the prettiest — and tallest — girl in the school, Julie, who has an endless amount of confidence. Lauren, on the other hand, has been saving for years to pay for a special eye surgery that will deepen the crease of her eyelids. It's not that she wants to look like everyone else in her suburban Connecticut school; she'd just be happy if kids stopped calling her "slant" and "gook." Up until now she's been able to ignore the insults, but when the cutest boy in her class calls her "slant," she realizes she needs to do something about her "nickname." When she convinces her reluctant father to consent to the eye operation, Lauren suddenly finds herself faced with a challenge: should she get the operation that might make her more confident and popular, or can she find that confidence within herself? Laura Williams' sensitive, beautifully written story offers a powerful lesson to young readers whose self-esteem depends too much on how they look.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4–7—Petite Lauren, an eighth grader and Korean-American adoptee, is best friends with tall, blond Julie. While Julie is brimming with self-confidence, Lauren is plagued by a multitude of insecurities. Although she adores her father, a literature professor, she resents his refusal to talk about her mother, who died several years earlier. Eventually, she learns that he has been shielding her from the fact that her mother's depression led her to suicide. Williams invests Lauren with a disarming self-awareness as she analyzes and categorizes her own behavior using terms her father has taught her. When she pretends not to be appalled by her insensitive classmates calling her "slant," "chink," and "gook," she labels her behavior a "sin of complicity." Lauren seems comfortable with her ethnicity in many ways, but she has been squirreling money away for an operation to reduce the creases in her eyelids and is elated when her father reluctantly consents to the procedure. Julie emerges as a strong sidekick, cajoling Lauren to stand up for herself and telling stereotype-spewing kids to quit their offensive behavior. Other offensive ethnic putdowns, such as "kike," are used. Despite her many strengths, Julie obsesses about her weight and is embarrassed by her wealthy parents' ostentatiousness. The characters are exceptionally well drawn, and the friendship between Julie and Lauren is not only believable, featuring humor, conflict, and true wit, but also captures both girls' gains in maturity.—Deborah Vose, Highlands Elementary School, Braintree, MA
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Review

"Slant reaches deep into the identity issues and struggles of a middle-school girl, whose complex life is both magnified and clarified within its pages. This book is accessible and has a positive message for young readers who may be dealing with similar challenges."
— International Examiner

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 149 pages
• Publisher: Milkweed Editions; 1 edition (October 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1571316817
• ISBN-13: 978-1571316813
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,416,508 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 Courtesy of Teens Read Too, October 10, 2008

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Slant (Paperback)

Plastic surgery or not? Will it change your life and give you more self-confidence, or will it not change your life as dramatically as you thought?

These are the questions brought up by SLANT. There are many Asians having surgery to make their eyes more European-looking. I had an Asian living with me from Vienna. She said that she was lucky because she was born with a fold in her eyes. She also said that many of her aunts (she has many; her grandparents had nine children) have had the surgery. So this just isn't an American phenomena.

This story is about 13-year-old Lauren. Lauren was adopted by an American couple. She is Korean. Her younger adopted sister, Maia, is Chinese. Her adopted mother died when Lauren was ten, and she and Maia have been raised by her dad. Her dad is a university professor. Lauren's best friend is Julie, a tall, beautiful blond.

You can tell how much love is around these characters. At school there are a group of students who call Lauren slant, gook, or chink. She hates it but never stands up for herself. Lauren has been saving her money for two years for this surgery. When her grandmother, Ann, comes to town, the surgery may finally be a possibility.

Does she have the surgery? That is the question of the book.

I liked the characters in SLANT. They are written realistically, and you can tell the author likes these people. The story is written at a time where secrets are coming out and people are ready to move on with their lives. I really enjoyed this book.

Reviewed by: Marta Morrison