cover image Slant

Slant

Laura Williams, . . Milkweed, $16.99 (149pp) ISBN 978-1-57131-682-0

Mirroring themes found in An Na's recent Fold but geared for a younger audience, this timely novel also revolves around a Korean-American heroine who considers plastic surgery in an effort to look more American. Tired of being called “Slant,” 13-year-old Lauren—the adopted daughter of white parents—dreams of having surgery that will make her eyes appear rounder. But after scheduling the operation, Lauren has second thoughts. Using first-person narrative, Williams (Behind the Bedroom Wall ) pointedly conveys how Lauren's observations are linked to her changing attitude. First Lauren begins to notice that all her classmates —even the popular kids—have flaws (“Even cheerleader Sandy has thick ankles,” Lauren notes after Sandy points out that one of Lauren's tormentors has a “big Jew nose”). Later, she comes to realize that outer beauty does not ensure happiness, an idea melodramatically illustrated in a scene in which Lauren discovers that her mother, dead for three years, died of suicide and not in an accident. Although the moral is transparent and the outcome predictable, readers will relate to the vulnerable heroine and her struggle. Ages 8–13. (Oct.)