With all of Fiona’s health issues I sometimes worry that my other dog, Lucy, feels like sloppy seconds.
Lucy is lean and active and where Fiona is stocky and less active. She’s hunting a fly in this picture. Fiona gets most of my attention because she demands it and because her age & health just make her have greater needs.
It’s a bit the same with Lucy Beck-Moreau in The Lucy variations by Sara Zarr.
She was a famous pianist, until she walked away from it all at age 15. Now, at 16, she watches her 10 year-old brother follow the same path she did. She has faded into the background.
When her brother gets a new piano teacher, Lucy starts thinking about the piano again and wants to find out what it really means to be Lucy in a family that has very high expectations of its members.
Although she is smart and talented and a bit self -centered, you can;t bout help like her. yes, she’s flawed, but she’s working on her flaws. She loves music and the piano, and wants to play, but not under the terms her family dictates. It is really the story of a young woman finding her voice. She disappoints people, is disappointed by people and makes mistakes. It was a quick and satisfying read.
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