The Confusion of Laurel Graham

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Description

Seventeen-year-old Laurel Graham has one all-consuming ambition in life: become the most renowned nature photographer and birder in the world. She just has to win the junior nature photographer contest run by prominent Fauna magazine, just as her beloved activist and nature-loving grandmother did when she was a girl. When Gran drags Laurel out on a birding expedition, the pair hear a mysterious call. They vow to find out what it is, but Gran is involved in a horrible car accident. With Gran in a coma, Laurel's world is rocked. Her gran's house is being sold, developers plan to destroy the nature sanctuary she treasures, and she still can't identify the mystery bird. Laurel's confusion isn't just a group of warblers-it's about what means the most to her, and what she's willing to do to fight to save it.

Reviews

"There is a sweet and potent earnestness here that casts out any sort of hipper-than-thou irony and fully embraces Laurel's passion, highlighting her ambition and hard work, both as a photographer and birder. Her self-recrimination over not stopping her grandmother from going for a walk on that fateful day is believable, though misguided, and the threat of two major losses--her grandmother and the preserve--is deftly conveyed as her efforts to find the elusive bird and stop the development become more frantic. The ending is bittersweet, but Laurel's tough, and it seems likely she'll weather the winds of change just fine until bluer skies arrive." --Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Author Bio

Adrienne Kisner has master's and doctorate degrees in theology from Boston University. She is the author of Dear Rachel Maddow and The Confusion of Laurel Graham and is also a graduate of Vermont College of Fine Arts with an MFA in writing for children and young adults. adriennekisner.com