Through the setting of school and the institution of friendship, Pung has managed to write eloquently and evocatively about systemic oppression, internalized racism, and plain old bullying. It doesn’t mirror my own schooling experience in any way, but reading it was still a (strangely) healing experience. In a lot of ways, this is the private school story I have been waiting for all my life.

Each chapter reminds us that Lucy, the “inaugural Equal Access” scholarship student at Laurinda, is struggling between her past and her present, how she feels she is between identities, and how she no longer feels a part of her old life and can’t really belong in her new one. It is also an epistolary novel and each chapter begins as a letter from Lucy to her public school friend Linh. What do you guys feel about the different covers and titles? Having read the book, I think I prefer the first cover, but I may actually prefer Lucy and Linh as a title. Laurinda -the posh, private school setting where Lucy’s coming-of-age story unfolds–is a perfectly nice title, but Lucy’s story is as much about Laurinda as it is about her old school in Stanley. I definitely feel like it deserves more love and maybe Knopf will make that happen. So, I’m going to take that as a sign that I’m not alone in marvelling over the brilliance of this novel. I guess I’m not going to wait till the last line of this review to say that I loved it and that I definitely recommend it. I will, however, spend the rest of the review trying to tell you why I love Laurinda so much.įor one thing, I think it’s being re-released by Knopf under a different name: Pung’s writing is so deliberate and smart that every other line deserves to be highlighted, underlined, discussed, or maybe even cross-stitched onto a pillow. I have so many notes on this novel that had my copy been a physical one, it would have been twice the size it was at purchase. As she watches the Cabinet at work, and is courted by them, Lucy finds herself in a battle for her identity and integrity.įunny, feisty and moving, Laurinda explores Lucy’s struggle to stay true to herself as she finds her way in a new world of privilege and opportunity. At its secret core is the Cabinet, a trio of girls who wield power over their classmates – and some of their teachers.Įntering this world of wealth and secrets is Lucy Lam, a scholarship girl with sharp eyes and a shaky sense of self.

Laurinda is an exclusive school for girls.

Laurinda by alice pung