What Happened To Lani Garver

The book I am reading is What Happened To Lani Garver by Carol Plum-ucci. This book is following the life of Claire McKenzie, a young student that has just came back to school living in a small island called Hackett Island. For the last year and a half, Claire has been home schooled because she had leukemia and was going through chemotherapy. She is returning to school, with her knowledge of school left at the sixth grade. Now Claire is starting high school and has quickly adjusted to how people changed. The way this book started showed how in high school it can be hard to fit in, especially if you are “different”.

Immediately, the beginning plot of this story reminded me of the movie “Mean Girls”, which is very similar in the beginning plot. Cady in “Mean Girls” that is new to school also has been home-schooled, and not around other people their own age for a long time. They both drifted towards anyone that was willing to befriend them, because they (Claire and Cady) were desperate for any friends. However, that is how far as the parallel between What Happened To Lani Garver and Mean Girls go.

Then, after Claire has thought her life was heading back to normal, a new person is introduced into her life. A “thing”, that he/she is frequently described as has grabbed Claire’s attention. No one knows where Lani has come from, how old Lani is, or if Lani is a boy or a girl. While others immediately ostracize Lani and make fun, she is interested to find out who and what this “thing” is.

So far, my review of this book is a positive one. It’s a very descriptive and interesting book. I recommended it to any mystery readers and/or supernatural genre readers.