Looking for Lucy Buick

The best thing about I Just Hope It's Lethal may well be its title—which isn't to say that this anthology doesn't have some truly killer poems in it.

Anyone who has ever struggled with who they are and where they come from will find comfort in Rita Murphy's Looking for Lucy Buick. With a whimsical touch, Murphy paints a picture of a soul-searching girl whose belief in coincidence guides her decisions. Lucy Buick isn't her real name, but that name—Lucretia Sandoni—comes from her adopted family, and ever since Lucy learned the story of how her great-aunt found her in the backseat of the Buick her great-uncle won in a poker match, she's been waiting to go and find her "real" family, whom she calls the Buicks. When the Sandoni Brothers' Hosiery Factory burns down and Lucy is presumed dead, she takes this as a sign that the time has come to leave Hamlin, New York, and start living her life "in earnest."

The flip of a coin gets her off the train in the small town of Gardenia, Iowa, where quirky local characters and spooky yet comforting visits from her dead aunts convince her to stay. But though Lucretia Sandoni might be dead to Lucy, the girl hasn't completely escaped that ghost. Looking for Lucy Buick's intended message—family means much more than having the same last name—is a tired cliché used relentlessly in tales about adoption, but this book succeeds on its wit and sensitivity, adventurous spirit and wisdom. As in Murphy's previous efforts (Night Flying, Harmony), Lucy Buick tackles the difficult task of coming into one's own thoughtfully and with grace.—Lisa Greenwald