Review: Lucas on the Line by Suyi Davies

 

I am continuing my read of the Stranger Things novels between the seasons. I am going to be starting season 4 with my kid in the next few weeks when our summer break starts. I really enjoyed this one and it is in my top 3 of the 5 I have read. I am hoping that I don't eat my words and this ends up being exactly like the Max book which was basically a summary of season 2. 

Lucas and the gang are starting high school and Lucas wants his high school career to be different. He wants to step out of his comfort zone and try to not be bogged down by friendships and or relationship drama. El and Will have moved away and Mike, Dustin, Lucas and Max are the ones left behind. 

Lucas and Max are on rocky ground and Max is in a depressed state because of Billy's death at the Starcourt. Lucas is meeting his peer mentor who turns out to be another black boy and that introduces the theme and plot of the book. The peer mentor is a sophomore named Jay who moved to Hawkins from Cincinnati. He talks to Lucas and actually listens to Lucas when he tells him his plans for freshman year. 

Jay is actually a great character and I hate that he got a shitty end of the stick. Jay gets Lucas to try out for the JV basketball team and helps coach and train him. Jay is also teaching Lucas about prominent black people and telling him what is happening in the world because Lucas is being sheltered by his parents. 

His parents don't want to bring radical ideologies into their household because it will burst their safe bubble. Lucas' dad was a vietnam vet and he doesn't like to talk about his past as a foster child with his white foster family. 

Instead of creepy crawly monsters, Lucas is introduced to a new race of monsters in Hawkins. His basketball team mates who go after a beloved character in the Stranger Things universe. I am hoping that this part of the book didn't spoil season 4 for me, but there were some things that I know were spoiled. I will have a definitive answer on if this book needs to be read before or after season 4. 

This was such a fast paced book, and I am sad that I only have two more to read, but I am hoping that we get a book from some more characters like Erica, Steve or Joyce, or the middle school science teacher.