The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord

The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord
Release Date: May 16, 2017
Pages: 380
Rating: 💜💜💜
Buy it: Amazon | Book Depository

Everything is going right for Lucy Hansson, until her mom’s cancer reappears. Just like that, Lucy breaks with all the constants in her life and lands at a camp for kids who have been through tough times. As a counsellor, Lucy is in over her head and longs to be with her parents across the lake. But that’s before she gets to know her coworkers, who are as loving and unafraid as she so desperately wants to be.

This book was a fun contemporary book and I'm glad it was one of my first reads of the year. Sure, it had some problems but I did enjoy reading it.

My main problem with this book is that I didn't feel attached to any of the characters. When something bad happened to one of them I just went "Okay then" instead of truly empathise with them. Alongside that, I did not enjoy reading from Lucy's point of view. I found her whiny and dramatic, something I highly doubt a girl of her age would be (not to that level anyway). I understood that yes, her mum had cancer, but the fact that she didn't put any effort into the camp and it wasn't until hot boy starts liking her that she really wanted to stay. It just...irked me.

Apart from that, this book was enjoyable. I loved reading about the teens and what they got up to over the summer. Going to camp has always fascinated me, so this book was a brilliant learning experience me. I loved the amount of freedom they all seemed to have, being allowed to go do whatever they wanted on their days off. I especially loved their Friday meet-ups, with the one good thing and one bad thing that happened that week. It was such a beautiful way to get to know each of the characters, and discover what made them happy and sad.

The LGBTQ+ representation in this book was subtle, but it was there. I don't know much about the community that was represented (trying not to spoil anything here!) so I can't really judge how accurate the representation was, but I felt that it was dealt with well. There was no point where the character's position was shoved in the your face or used just as a plot device. It was quite nice to read about, especially in a book where religion obviously plays a major role. So, yes...very pleased.

Overall I think this book was enjoyable but nothing special. (no offence, Emery Lord). It was fun to read but now I've finished it I won't think about about again (unless I'm forced to).  If you're looking for a light-hearted summer contemporary to read, give this book a try. It is a nice book and put me in a good mood for the start of the year.