<http://schema.org/reviewBody>
"Sara Zarr is an excellent storyteller when it comes to adolescent girl protagonists going through gut-wrenching, life-changing challenges. She beautifully portrays how characters deal with complex issues like grief and teen pregnancy (How to Save a Life), the repercussions of early sexuality (Story of a Girl), and a history of abuse and bullying (Sweethearts). &amp;quot;The Lucy Variations&amp;quot; is a departure for Zarr, because Lucy's family and personal challenges are definitely what you'd call \"first-world problems.\" She's a rich piano prodigy who doesn't really know how to be a regular privileged teenager. Lucy isn't an underdog -- which is fine -- but she's also not particularly likable.\nLucy's entitled attitude, her selfish treatment of her patient best friends Reyna and Carson, and her inappropriately strong romantic feelings for older authority figures make her a difficult protagonist to feel emotionally connected to, even though Zarr's prose is as crisp and well written as always. The secondary characters are interesting, and the Beck-Moreaus are a fascinating family (particularly her kind French father, who seems to do everything his wife and father-in-law command), but ultimately there's not as much of a poignant pay-off to Lucy the book or the character as there is to Zarr's other unforgettable novels."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<https://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/the-lucy-variations>