LitPick Review
Lutie Painter is the well-liked, talented teenaged descendant of Mabel Painter. Mabel, who wrote the sad, hopeful Laundry List songs, passed them on through the generations to Lutie, who does them justice with her beautiful voice. Lutie, as the safekeeper of the songs, is unsure how to respond to the professor who shows up in her town, wanting to write them down and give them over to the world. Lutie is also struggling to understand Saravette, her homeless mother who claims to have broken all ten of the commandments. With Doria, the young organist who moved from Connecticut and is having a hard time fitting in to the South, Kevin, a friendly, popular boy, and Train, who is trying to break out of his criminal older brother's shadow, Lutie must figure out what her responsibilities are to her songs, her friends, and her family.
Opinion:
I thought "The Lost Songs" was an excellent story. The descriptions of Chalk and the southern town where Lutie lives were detailed and realistic, and the plot kept me interested with the many different problems Lutie, Doria, Kevin and Train were all facing. The characters, from Lutie herself to her many relatives and friends, were believable as they were diverse. It was also nice to read a book that prominently features African American characters but does not focus on racial problems. The feel- good ending tied up all the loose ends and had some surprises, but some resolutions seemed a little anticlimatic. I would definitly recommend the book to teens who have an interest in realistic fiction, and have enjoyed Caroline B. Cooney's other books.
