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thewallflower00's review against another edition
3.0
This is a YA historical fiction novel, a rare breed. It takes place in 1950's Minnesota, the time when all those MST3K shorts and movies take place. The main plot is about a high school senior who just found out she's adopted (really a black market baby) and wants to find her birth parents. I don't know why any adopted kid would want to do that because there's no way it won't be a disappointment (there's a reason they were given up), but I'm not adopted so I can't say. Maybe I'm just made it's a common plot catalyst. In between sleuthings, she visits an old folks home, goes out with her friends doing things you saw in "American Graffiti", laments about the effects of war, and generally putzes around.
I feel like the story did a lot of pandering to Minnesota native. It makes sure to mention that it's the Snelling streetcar, not just the streetcar that everyone knows and no one needs to mention by name. Also, it takes a long time to get events moving. The first third of the novel, Laura Buggs is trying to get info out of the ninety-year-old lawyer that served as the intermediary. After this she learns that old people are actually kind of cool, like in Recess episode 112 (57a).
On the other hand, it also made me wish I was there, eating chocolate malts and riding streetcars without parents to helicopter. It's an enjoyable read, but I don't feel particularly satisfied after it. There's a real disconnect between the happy optimism of the first 75% and the whip-turn ending. I think it's audience is more for Minnesota senior citizens who will appreciate the old times and a good mystery.
I feel like the story did a lot of pandering to Minnesota native. It makes sure to mention that it's the Snelling streetcar, not just the streetcar that everyone knows and no one needs to mention by name. Also, it takes a long time to get events moving. The first third of the novel, Laura Buggs is trying to get info out of the ninety-year-old lawyer that served as the intermediary. After this she learns that old people are actually kind of cool, like in Recess episode 112 (57a).
On the other hand, it also made me wish I was there, eating chocolate malts and riding streetcars without parents to helicopter. It's an enjoyable read, but I don't feel particularly satisfied after it. There's a real disconnect between the happy optimism of the first 75% and the whip-turn ending. I think it's audience is more for Minnesota senior citizens who will appreciate the old times and a good mystery.
beatricehill's review against another edition
4.0
Finding Laura Buggs is a companion novel to Until They Bring the Streetcars Back. You'll find familiar characters and a similar world to that novel. Much like Streetcars, the pacing of the novel is a treat. The characters are just so wholesome. They get caught up in teen dances and football games and playing pranks on their teachers. Sandy Meyer takes the lead of this story. Sandy knows that she was adopted but has very little knowledge of her biological family. One clue sets her on a journey of finding her biological family and figuring out who she is. Sandy befriends an older man, Arnold Shapiro, who is a real curmudgeon-y delight. He tells Sandy, "Make friends with an angel if you ever get the chance." There is also a running theme of hope with an Emily Dickinson poem heavily referenced: "Hope is the thing with feathers/ That perches in the soul,/ And sings the tune without the words,/ And never stops at alll..." Because this is a Gordan West novel, be prepared for some dark twists and turns sprinkled amongst the charm of the characters.
chelz286's review against another edition
4.0
Very good, fast read. If you were adopted, would you want to be told, and when? What age? Sandy finds out she was adopted as a baby and her adopted mother only knows the name of the lawyer who handled it in 1933. Nothing more. This story is of Sandy’s struggle and quest to find her birth parents, she wants to know the why. Which I completely understand. I would look to read more by this author.
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