I enjoy Emery Lord's writing style and characterisation. I didn't enjoy this one as much due to the ending feeling like limbo and as if it needed more.

Have heard good things about Lord’s books before, but didn’t connect with this one as much as I would’ve liked to.

I requested this book a few years ago, but never got around to reading it - my apologies! I've put a 5 star rating is as to not unfairly make the rating of this book negative.

After the first chapter I’m just not as gripped as I would hope, something doesn’t quite sit right with me so whilst I’m sure other readers will love this, I’m going to lay it to rest.

The Names They Gave Us is a conflicting book to review, because up until the last couple of chapters I was fully prepared to give it five stars and declare it a new favourite.

Lucy’s life is flipped upside down when she discovers that her mum’s cancer has returned. Lucy – a devoutly religious pastor’s daughter – begins to question her faith, crossing boundaries she’s never even considered approaching and acting wholly out of character as she comes to terms with her mum’s diagnosis. Her change in behaviour causes her boyfriend, Lucas, to put their relationship on pause, which makes Lucy feel even more grateful that it’s only a couple of weeks until she gets to go off to church summer camp to work the days away.


However, Lucy’s mum discovers a job opportunity at Daybreak, a neighbouring camp for teens who have difficulties in their lives. Whether they’ve lost relatives, experienced bullying about their gender identity or have gotten pregnant at an early age, Daybreak has seen it all, and their supportive program is just what the doctor ordered for Lucy. She’s apprehensive – and certainly not looking for love – but her summer at Daybreak ends up changing her life for the better.

Well, until those last couple of chapters that I mentioned…

If this had focused solely on the story of Lucy working at Daybreak and falling in love with fellow camp counselor Henry, it would have been a five star read. Lucy’s inner turmoil – can I still believe in a God who would allow my mother to get cancer twice? – is very realistic, and her anguish is palpable from the first page. She is a very ordinary character which may cause some people to call her boring, but because of how plain she is I enjoyed the story that much more. It’s easy to put yourself in Lucy’s shoes and empathise with her, as I’m sure not many people would react to being in this situation in a positive way.

However, Emery Lord takes the last few chapters and tries to make the story bigger, and it does not pay off. The majority of The Names They Gave Us is intimately focused on the goings on at Daybreak, and that works brilliantly – all of the campers are given strong personalities, and I loved the weekly bonfire hangouts where the counselors gather to drink and share their best and worst moments from the week – but the sudden shift in focus comes out of nowhere. Lord suddenly begins telling an entirely different story mere pages before the book ends, and it left me feeling disappointed and frustrated. At least write a sequel or an epilogue (one of my least favourite things, so you can tell how annoyed I was by the ending if I was actually crying out for one!). I can kind of see why she made that choice – life is messy, and things don’t wrap up neatly with a bow on top – but it was very unnecessary and it took the focus off of the topics that the story had been tackling earlier on.

I’m rounding my rating for The Names They Gave Us from a 3.5 star up to a 4 because of how impressed I was by 90% of the book, but if the last few chapters didn’t exist it would have been one of the easiest 5 stars I’ve given this year which is so annoying. I’m definitely going to give Emery Lord’s other work a go, though; this is my first Lord book and I enjoyed it a lot, so I’m glad I already own a couple of her others!

This was a really beautiful story with so many wonderful and diverse characters to meet along the way.

A sweet and well-intentioned coming of age story featuring a wonderfully diverse cast of characters. It's nice to have a book that looks at a regular teenager who wants to be just the same as anyone else but also struggles with her faith. That was the best part of the storyline. Sadly though things were all a little bland, a little too cosy and sweet and the twists of the plot didn't feel altogether that surprising even if it was nicely written.

Great writing, engaging storyline and meaningful. Wasn't expecting it from this book but i'm glad i read it

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

Lucy's father is a pastor and her Mum has just beaten cancer. She's been brought up as a devout Christian but when her family announce that her Mum's cancer has returned her faith is shaken. When her Mum asks Lucy to go to a summer camp as a councillor, Lucy couldn't think of anything worse. Maybe, just maybe, mother sometimes knows what's best...

This is a fantastic story covering some difficult subjects. It handles diversity, tolerance, religion and friendship beautifully. Lucy's led a highly conservative Christian life prior to going to camp. Seeing a 14 year old pregnant initially blows her mind. The diverse range of fun characters in camp enable Lucy to see a more vivid and realistic view of the world around her.

Everyone in the camp has their own personal struggles, the councillors included. Seeing them and the children working together to support one another makes this a heartwarming and at time heart-wrenching read.

An emotional story that sits with for a while afterwards. It deals with grief and rebellion in a very careful and understanding way. Lord's writing is eloquent and fits this contemporary read.

Ever since Emery Lord arrived on the YA scene with Open Road Summer, her impossible-to-resist 2014 debut, she has been an auto-buy author for me. Why then, when I read the synopsis of her latest book, The Names They Gave Us, did I question whether or not I should read this book? Two words, people: cancer and religion. It’s not that I ‘can’t do’ or ‘won’t do’ issue-driven contemporary fiction, it’s just that I prefer not to. If given a choice I will opt for YA contemporary fiction with cute crushes, first kisses and summers full of swoon every single time. That said, I have read and loved Lord’s When We Collided, which deals with the topic of mental illness and so, despite my reservations, I said I’d give this one a whirl. Spoiler alert: I didn’t love it.


Lucy Hansson is introduced to us as a responsible, capable seventeen-year-old whose life is going just fine. Swim team captain Lucy has a close relationship with her parents, a long-term boyfriend, and a summer job lined up at her pastor father’s Bible camp. So far, so good, but then things start to go wrong. First, Lucy’s mother’s cancer returns, and then, in a total dick move, her boyfriend Lukas decides to hit ‘pause’ on their relationship. Cast your mind back to The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen. Remember ‘brain camp’ Jason? Lukas is just like him – but with added God. Note: Just to give you an indication of how important religion is to these kids, Lukas consults his pastor before ‘pausing’ his relationship with Lucy. Religion is important to Lucy too, and in light of her mother’s recent diagnosis, she begins to question her faith. Lucy has always played by the rules of religion, so why then would the God that she worships, the God that she trusts, do this to her? Why would he do this to her mother?

As someone who doesn’t practise religion, but was raised with it, I understood Lucy’s crisis of faith and her questioning of everything she once believed to be gospel. That said, I think Lord could have pushed Lucy’s crisis of faith and identity a little more than she did. After all, instead of her usual Bible camp, Lucy, at her mother’s request, spends the summer counselling at ‘Daybreak,’ a camp for troubled kids. It’s the perfect place for a little rebellion – or even just a little fun. Trouble is, Lucy is really not the rebellious type. She’s not really the fun type either. This is a girl who doesn’t break the rules, not even with her cute co-counsellor, Henry. Their fledgling romance is totally suitable for general audiences, which is a bummer, because I know it had total swoon potential. That’s the thing about this book, though: The Names They Gave Us, just like its protagonist, is so eager to please that it plays it super-safe, so as not to offend. And that just didn’t work for me. Sometimes, you have got to let your personality shine through, you know? Otherwise things can get a little bland.

So, I guess it’s safe to say that this book was not a great match for me. That happens. It happens all the time. I will read Emery Lord’s next book. I am a fan. And, to that end, I really don’t want to end this review on a negative note. OK, so I have to say that I also didn’t like the ending of this one – I found it all a bit far-fetched and rushed and I’m not really sure what was going on there – BUT. There’s a BUT. While I was initially cautious about reading a book containing the double whammy of both cancer and religion, Emery Lord deals with these themes with insight, understanding and a real deftness of touch, that makes for a reading experience that is never overwhelming or overbearing, when it could have been exactly that.

This book completely took me by surprise, and it is easily one of the best contemporaries I've read all year, then again that isn’t saying much as I don’t read a lot of contemporary novels anyway. Everyone in the story, regardless of whether they were a main or secondary character, felt important. The emotional arc that Lucy goes through is extremely well done, the romance is a slow-burn, the friendships are all heart-warming, the kids were adorable, and don't even get me started on the backstory of Lucy's mother and Daybreak.
I also appreciated all the characters in this novel, too. They really added to everything. There were your typical characters who didn't believe in any religion or in God, and those who did; there were trans characters and bisexual characters, and people who accepted them and those who did not. This book just felt real. It was so refreshing to read, and I even got teary-eyed towards the end which hardly ever happens to me. Some things I didn't like were how the book started, for one. I think the beginning wasn't nearly as good as everything else, it just felt so unoriginal which was a little worrying as the beginning is where you hook your readers and I hope that doesn't deter people from reading it.
Overall, I'm very glad to have picked it up because it shows you that no one on this Earth is perfect, that everyone judges one another since we hold onto our own stereotypes, but it shows you how we are all in this together.

A heartwarming book about faith, love and life that will have you both laughing and crying throughout. Emery Lord highlights both the struggles and the joy that can be found in every day life in a way that is complex and relatable. I look forward to seeing what Emery writes next.

I was already a fan of Emery Lord, so when I saw this book I got really interested right away. I'm pleased to say that I wasn't disappointed. This is a book that makes a fantastic summer read, easily read in one sitting. The pacing, plot, and characters were all spot on.
One of the things I loved the most about this book, was the dynamic between Lucy and her fellow camp counselors. Each with their own unique voice, it made for an interesting read which I simply couldn't put down.
There's also a nice punch of emotional drama, which always gets me hooked and a good romance to boot. This book has Emery Lord climbing higher on my favorite author list!

This is my first Emery Lord book, and it utterly blew me away. I will definitely read more from now! This book was an emotionally charged roller coaster, and it surprised me. I became so much more invested than I expected, this was quite a powerful novel. What I found with this book, which can sometimes happen but not all the time with YA, is that this book felt incredibly real and true.

2.5 stars

Lucy Hansson's plans for the summer are to work at Bible camp with her parents and spend time with her boyfriend. But then Lucy's mum's breast cancer returns, Lucy's boyfriend 'pauses' their relationship, and Lucy finds herself going to a camp for troubled kids.
With her faith being tested, can Lucy find peace with what's happening?
Will Lucy fit in and make friends at the camp?

Reading The Names They Gave Us was a strange experience for me, as my mum had breast cancer when I was around ten so I didn't know how serious it was, just that she was ill. So reading about Lucy, a teenager whose mum had breast cancer made me think about how I would react now in my late twenties. I'm not religious but I could understand how it would test Lucy's faith (I would have been surprised if it hadn't).
I liked Lucy and felt sorry for her - her life seemed to get turned upside down by the people closest to her.
The plot was okay but I lost interest towards the end and not much happened.
I liked the writing style but I wasn't gripped.
This was my first Emery Lord book and having heard lots of good things I was excited to read this, but I ended up disappointed.

Overall this was a mostly enjoyable read but I lost interest.

I reviewed this book over on Pretty Books

Wow.....I'm a mess ....this book is just that....wow.
You can't be reading this in front of people because this is an ugly cry book it's just so emotional it's wonderful just pulls on your heartstrings especially mine as I can can relate to this.
So beautifully written it's perfect.......Emery Lord just gained a new fan x

TW in this book for mentions of abuse, transphobia, homophobia, death and suicide.

I wasn't sure about this book after reading the blurb as it centres around a girl from a very typical white church background, but I thought hey it's Emery Lord it can't be that bad. And it wasn't the description is so deceptive. This book is about a kid meeting new people and cultures which she has never really been exposed to before which isn't exactly a novel idea but I feel like Lord's take on it was a good read.

Lucy's mum has been in remission but her cancer has reappeared and her wish is for Lucy to go to the camp across the lake from the camp she normally goes to. Lucy isn't exactly keen on the idea but wants to do it for the sake of her mum. She starts off with some prejudicial thoughts but gradually begins to get to know her fellow counsellors and makes friends with them all and learns that just because they're different to her doesn't mean there's something wrong with her.

If there is one thing to say about this book it's CHARACTER PROGRESSION ON POINT. Like I didn't like Lucy to begin with and I felt uncomfortable with her character, I was expecting her to be a typical white, but she learned so quickly and adapted so quickly. If you want to do a book about something growing up in a privileged background and learning to see the world different this is how you do it not like how The Black Witch did it. Which I'm not going to go into but if you haven't seen the deal with that book where have you been?

This book really struck a chord with me because I grew up in a very white place, obviously I knew people with different skin colours existed because of TV but in my school there was 2 kids of colour and they were from the same family so when I moved to Glasgow for uni it was a huge change not just because I was moving out from home on my own but because there was so many cultures living around me that I'd not really experienced before. I am completely aware of my privilege now but when I was 17 I had a lot of learning to do and it was interesting to read that in this book.

The side characters are what made this book, they were all so wonderful and diverse and I fell in love with each of them. And honestly even if this is a daunting book for you because you're worried it's either going to annoy you or upset you it's worth it for the side characters.