A review by lampsunnies
Laurinda, by Alice Pung
3.0
3.5 stars
If only this book were around when I was in high school. There were quite a few instances that felt awfully familiar and I know that had I read this book when I was younger it would've resonated with me immediately and would've had much more of an impact on me than it does now. Regardless, this was a heartwarming coming of age story.
The book follows a girl named, Lucy Lam, who lives in a low income area in Melbourne, goes to a Catholic school and is Chinese-Vietnamese refugee. She manages to get a scholarship into a private school, Laurinda. She starts off at the school almost like a fly on the wall, observing the social hierarchy within the school.
I had an issue with this whole storyline in the beginning because it had a Mean Girls cliquey vibe which I'm not really a fan of. Having not gone to a private school in Melbourne in the 90s but rather a public school in Sydney in the 00/10s, I was convinced it was just one huge exaggeration but I'm not so sure anymore. I really can't begin to imagine the things the girls did in the book, happening in real life.
But I did like the main character. She was smart, she was incredibly level headed - more so than I was at her age, at least. I love how she handled everything that was brought her way.
The book is also written as a series of letters, addressed to a mysterious person named Linh. The reasoning behind all this isn't revealed until about 2/3 of the story and while in hindsight I get it, I'm not sure it was as well executed as it could have been.
I liked that the book also dealt with racial prejudice, prejudice against people who live in low income areas and just issues affecting people of lower socioeconomic backgrounds in general. I was kinda worried these issues wouldn't be covered in the beginning, because it seemed to be so focused on the school but boy was I wrong.
Anyway, all in all, a solid read.
If only this book were around when I was in high school. There were quite a few instances that felt awfully familiar and I know that had I read this book when I was younger it would've resonated with me immediately and would've had much more of an impact on me than it does now. Regardless, this was a heartwarming coming of age story.
The book follows a girl named, Lucy Lam, who lives in a low income area in Melbourne, goes to a Catholic school and is Chinese-Vietnamese refugee. She manages to get a scholarship into a private school, Laurinda. She starts off at the school almost like a fly on the wall, observing the social hierarchy within the school.
I had an issue with this whole storyline in the beginning because it had a Mean Girls cliquey vibe which I'm not really a fan of. Having not gone to a private school in Melbourne in the 90s but rather a public school in Sydney in the 00/10s, I was convinced it was just one huge exaggeration but I'm not so sure anymore. I really can't begin to imagine the things the girls did in the book, happening in real life.
But I did like the main character. She was smart, she was incredibly level headed - more so than I was at her age, at least. I love how she handled everything that was brought her way.
The book is also written as a series of letters, addressed to a mysterious person named Linh. The reasoning behind all this isn't revealed until about 2/3 of the story and while in hindsight I get it, I'm not sure it was as well executed as it could have been.
I liked that the book also dealt with racial prejudice, prejudice against people who live in low income areas and just issues affecting people of lower socioeconomic backgrounds in general. I was kinda worried these issues wouldn't be covered in the beginning, because it seemed to be so focused on the school but boy was I wrong.
Anyway, all in all, a solid read.