Lucas

by Kevin Brooks

Book Overview

On an isolated English island, 15-year-old Caitlin McCann makes the painful journey from adolescence to adulthood through her experiences with a mysterious boy, whose presence has an unsettling effect... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0439456983
• ISBN13: 9780439456982
• Release Date: May 2003
• Publisher: Chicken House
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 5.8" x 8.6"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

Lucas

Driving down the road back to Hale Island, passing over the bridge which is nearly flooded by the tide, a boy catches your eye. He looks out of place, and for a moment he looks at you and the whole world melts away. Later you learn that his name is Lucas, but you know then that he will change your life. Caity McCann tells the story of her fifteenth summer, a summer that revolves around Lucas, a teenage drifter she met one day by chance or luck or fate. He is just as mysterious as his name--Lucas, neither his first nor his last, with no family to speak of, no history to share. Lucas's strongpoint is definitely its characters. Caity is your typical people pleaser. She's also looking for what used to be, days when her brother didn't treat her like a child and she wasn't so restless, times when she didn't have to worry about everyone changing on her. Her best friend Bill is growing up enough for the both of them with her short skirts and party animal ways. Her brother Dom is a college kid who is so obsessed with being a grown-up that he's lost the boy he once was. Jamie Tait, pompous local celebrity and head of the anti-Lucas movement is malicious, arrogant, and charming. His plaything, Angel, acts jaded but is just a flashy, hollow girl, and his possessive fianc?e Sarah Toms is a green-eyed monster. Lucas is above them all and their petty grudges. Seldom can we figure anyone out, but through Cait's eyes we are constantly trying. Each character comes off as more than just a stereotype. They are vivid and layered, overlapping like a kaleidoscope, changing Cait's world whether she likes it or not. Through Cait's narration, the story picks up humor and comments on our cultural idiosyncrasies. Cait amusingly points out how girls think its acceptable to dress provocatively as long as their friends do the same; how the risqu? young adult books her father writes are the kind that always get nominated for awards but never win; how book characters don't visit the bathroom unless they need to escape through some secret window. The plot has many intertwined branches, all tied together by Cait and Lucas. The main storyline is that the town wants Lucas gone. It starts out with Lucas's misconstrued attempt to save a drowning ten year old and quickly escalates to Angel accusing him of sexual harassment. The author's theme of people seeing what they want to see is expertly personified in Bill's thinking that Lucas is guilty, although she sees with her own eyes that Lucas must be innocent of his alleged crimes. The author feeds us his message without gagging us, a commendable feat in itself. He also delves into the mind of a teenage girl with frightening skill and makes us feel just as helpless and frustrated as Cait, causing us to yell at the pages for justice in vain. Lucas is a superb novel if only for its rich characters and plausible yet original plot, which reaches an astonishing conclusion that feels an awf

Lucas

Lucas was an amazing book, the best one I've ever read. I've never been into books much and it's hard to get me to even read one, but this one was wonderful, i couldn't put it down, i spent all of my class time reading it. Lucas is an astonishing character, you grow into the book you become cait. You see things as if you were in her world and you get to kno Lucas. The further into the book you get the more you get to understand the brilliancy of this book, it makes you laugh and cry, it makes you blush with embarassment for Cait, YOU FEEL the book. Lucas will take you on a journey that you wont forget, it changed my views on things, made me realize what a horrible and unforgiving world we live in these days.

Simple words, elegant descriptions.

Caitlin and her family don't quite fit in with island life. She is idealistic and quiet, and her father spends his time writing avant-garde teen novels that, to quote Caitlin, "don't make a lot of money." The only one who sort of fits in is her brother, who has spent most of his time home from college out of the house. Caitlin's summer life on the island promises to be a game of avoiding the town's scummy college-age self-proclaimed gift to women and trying to figure out what to do about her best friend, who is hanging out with people Caitlin finds unsavory. The moment she sees Lucas, though, she knows things will be different. Lucas has no last name, no history, no friends, and no family --- but he is gentle and thoughtful, and Caitlin knows she can trust him. Not everyone on the island is as open-minded, however, and when Lucas is accused of a terrible crime, Caitlin is thrown into a kind of witch-hunt that will leave her changed forever. If you have ever looked back on a sad event in your life and wished you could do it all over, this is the book for you. As Caitlin shows that the only way to make sense of tragic happenings is to sometimes look back, think about them and write them down, we as readers want to shake the ignorant island residents and cheer for Lucas and Caitlin's relationship. There is no pretentious language in this book, which is what makes it so great. The simple words, elegant descriptions, and an ending that is sad and hopeful at the same time stay with you long after the book is finished. --- Reviewed by Carlie Kraft

Lucas is a good rendition of teenage against

I found this book on my own. I went to my local barnes and nobles and found this in the teen section. After only reading the inside cover I decided to try it. I couldnt put it down. Caitlyn is a character i could really relate to and the subtle appeal of the description of Lucas hypnotized me. This book is very well written and i find it a rare thing for an adult to write teenagers so well. The unspoken connection between Cait and Lucas was what kept my interest but the sudden surprises in the story were worth the read as well. Brooks has a great way of getting his readers to fall in love with some of his characters and i although i cried and was angry to what happens to Lucas it is one of my favorite books. I might give Martyn Pig a read just because I loved this book so much.

One of the best books I've read this year!

This book is an excellent find. I happened upon it in time to ask for it for Christmas, and read it in three days time after I received it. I insisted my friend read it, and she did so just as quickly. It's addictive. Brooks pulls you in and lets you know this isn't a story for those "faint of heart" or people who can't handle the truth of youth today. Lucas and Caitlin are intense characters with real depth, taking you to their island in England and out of your own home. If you never read, now is the time to start with Lucas.