There is a lot packed into this quick-read, YA novel - family, loyalty, trust, religion, serious illness, childhood trauma... Lucy is a content, well-behaved young lady who is coasting along in life until her mother's cancer returns and her summer plans change drastically. Lucy heads to Camp Daybreak to be a camp counsellor for a group of young girls, who have their own personal difficulties. Lucy has to navigate new friendships, a crush, and a summer she didn't think she had been ready for.

A strong coming-of-age novel, appealing to all readers. All the issues in The Names They Gave Us are handled with care and sensitivity, including religion. I am not religious and was skeptical that I would be able to relate to a main character who was so openly influenced by her beliefs. I'm impressed by how well Emery Lord wove it into the storyline and I am pleasantly surprised that I was wrong to be worried about it negatively impacting the story for me. Great story all around.

So a big part of this book is religious. There is a family that has strong Christian views and the father of our protagonist is a pastor. However, I am not religious in any way, and I really didn't mind the Christian aspect of the book, it didn't seem in-your-face and forced upon you, it was just there as part of the character's life and actually, it was quite interesting to read about how she tackled her life and her faith at the same time.

Lucy Hansson was ready for a perfect summer with her boyfriend, working at her childhood Bible camp on the lake. But when her mom’s cancer reappears, Lucy falters—in faith, in love, and in her ability to cope. When her boyfriend “pauses” their relationship and her summer job switches to a different camp—one for troubled kids—Lucy isn’t sure how much more she can handle. Attempting to accept a new normal, Lucy slowly regains footing among her vibrant, diverse coworkers, Sundays with her mom, and a crush on a fellow counsellor. But when long-hidden family secrets emerge, can Lucy set aside her problems and discover what grace really means?

First off, can I just rant for a little bit about how much of an idiot Lukas is? Who 'pauses' a relationship? If you didn't want to be with Lucy, then just break up with her! Because 'pausing' a relationship is just crazy... (in my opinion) However, I do understand that he's also been there for Lucy throughout a lot of hard times and I can see why Lucy would feel reserved over the 'pause'. Lukas was her rock at times, her crutches and they were suddenly whipped away from underneath her. So she had to learn to stand on her own and rely on her own strength to get through the difficult times that she faced.

I absolutely loved all of the characters though! They were so amazing and supportive and just... real... They had problems, they were abrupt, they weren't from perfect backgrounds, they were sarcastic, pushy, jealous, scared, loving... Everything that makes up being human, they were that. I just loved how this book had a friendship group in it that were there for each other, even when everything could be going wrong. They always made the effort to help one another out and I loved reading about that, as I think strong friendships need to be portrayed more in YA, and not the backstabbing drama that I usually read.

There was also quite a bit of diversity within The Names They Gave Us. Lord included a several POC in the book, a transgender main character, religious characters (and this is something that isn't really explored in YA) and I think that it was brilliant to see this type of diversity within a book. However, I cannot state whether the representation was problematic or not as I am white, straight and cis.





"If you want partnership, you'll find it. And in the meantime, you're perfect all on your own."

- Emery Lord, The Names They Gave Us






The only reason that this is four stars and not five is because of all of the family secrets. Don't get me wrong, I loved finding out the secrets, but I felt like that whole part of the book was very rushed. Lord took her time with the first three-quarters of the book (and it was even slow-paced at times!) and then at the end, everything seemed to happen all at once with exposing the secrets. However, once that bit was out the way, it was pretty much the end of the book and oh my life... IT WAS AN AMAZING ENDING AND I NEED A SECOND BOOK! It was such cliffhanger and it left me screaming internally. How can you do this to us, Emery?! HOW?!

Another thing that I thought was amazing about this book was the character development that Lucy went through. At the beginning of the novel, she's this naïve girl who's scared to step even a toe out of line. She doesn't live her life because she's in constant fear about her Mom - which is 100% understandable because I would be the exact same! However, as the book progresses, so does Lucy. Being at Daybreak camp was the best possible thing for her. It gave her so many opportunities for growth and she made some amazing friends. Her character arc was just mind-blowing. Towards the end of the book, I was cheering her on because I just loved the person that she had become.

Overall, apart from the slow pace at the beginning and the mega-fast pace towards the end, this book was exceptionally good. This is the first book that I have read by Emery Lord. I actually have When We Collided on my bookshelf so that books has been bumped up my TBR significantly! Thank you, Emery Lord for a fantastic reading experience!

Side Note: Lucy's last name is 'Hansson' and that's amazing because it's the same as mine. Guaranteed, mine is spelt 'Hanson' but still... WE HAVE THE SAME LAST NAME! WHOOO!

Warning: there are trigger warnings in this book for death, depression, self-harm, suicide, abuse

Disclaimer: this book was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Released 1st June

Not my favourite of Emery Lord's novels but I did really enjoy it! I was a bit confused on some of the Christian aspects, not sure if she was going for a Christian view point or secular one, as a Christian reader I didn't agree with all of the theology but for the most part it was a clean book for young adult readers. I liked Lucy a lot, she was easy to like, I liked how she was questioning what her own beliefs were and the way she went about it, respecting her parents still and their opinions while figuring herself out. Henry was a great character as well, all the friends at camp were actually all great, I loved the humour and fun that does come with summer camp. I will continue to put Emery Lord at the top of my Must Read list!

Thank you very much for allowing me to read this title; I am trying to read as widely as possible ahead of the Carnegie/Greenaway nominations and awards for 2018 and your help is much appreciated.
As a Carnegie/Greenaway judge, I'm not allowed to comment about my opinions on specific titles so I can't offer an individual review on any title as I stated on my profile.

This book completely took my by surprise, and it is easily one of the best contemporaries I've read all year. Actually, let's be honest: one of the best contemporaries I've read ever. I haven't been touched this much by friendship, family and faith since the Clearwater Crossing series, which is an old one from the 90s but one of my all time favourites due to it's absolutely beautiful complex characters and range of emotion. Emery Lord managed to pack the punch of a 20 book series into 380 glorious pages. The Names They Gave Us has a beating heart at its core and I was fully blown away.

PLOT
Lucy's mother has been in remission for a while, but then her cancer comes back. Lucy is furious, and this catalyses a shaking of her faith. Suddenly her boyfriend Lucas doesn't understand her anymore, and he's not being very sensitive to the situation in the way Lucy wants. Like when you're really angry and all you want is someone to be angry with you but all they do is say stuff like 'It's going to work out' etc etc and you feel like you're about to explode? Yeah, Lucas is annoying. Lucy and her family always go to Christian camp, with Lucy's dad being a pastor, and she's looking forward to spending all this extra time with her mum, but Mum Hansson has something else in mind. She asks Lucy to instead go help at the Rising Sun camp across the lake which cares for troubled kids. And this is when the magic starts.

CHARACTERS
Lucy - I loved how this book is as much about her faith as it is her family and the relationships she builds during the summer. For a lot of people I know that religious characters are a big nono in books, and to me that's so upsetting, because what is it about religious teenagers that makes people want to turn away? Though I don't relate to Lucy's sense of faith, I'm still in awe of characters like her to believe in something so strongly. I think it's really important to show teenagers questioning faith, or being dedicated to their religious beliefs.

Lucy in general was just a really gentle character. She was vulnerable and emotional, but she also had great strength. Sometimes she'd word things wrong and people would call her out for it - you know, she makes mistakes - but she was always trying to learn. And I think that The Names They Gave Us did an absolutely incredible job of not being preachy, and showing how religious teens are judged - people thinking they live their lives like it's the 1900s. Hopefully, it'll help make people think twice before the judge someone for being religious.

I could see myself returning to this book in times of need to be inspired by how Lucy works through her pain.

The friends: Anna, Jones, Simmons, and Tambe - so everyone goes by their surnames (apart from Anna) and I think that's what the book is called 'The Names They Gave Us' because all the kids have to use surnames to show respect/authority. I won't reveal they're first names because that was a really fun part of the book, and I enjoyed the anticipation of it! haha!

I pretty sure this group is #squadgoals. At first Lucy feels like she's intruding on something since the four friends have been together forever and she's not sure how she's going to fit in. Each character was distinct and had their own personality and voice, and I really enjoyed the final third of the book where we got to know more about them and their personal stories were revealed. Particularly Anna's. They're a diverse bunch, and their chemistry was off the charts good. I wanted to be part of their picnics and nights out too! They had the kind of friendship you want to read about over the summer. Perfection.

ROMANCE
I was pleasantly surprised by how much of a slow-build the romance was. Lucy and (I'm not going to spoil it, so we'll call him X) X really get to know each other as friends first before they progress any further. Obviously, Lucy has a lot on her plate too, and with the whole Lucas thing, it's a bit complicated. I'm a hard sell on romance, but I thought it was sweet and heart-warming, and their couple moments didn't scream 'you should want/you need a relationship like this to be happy', which as ace, I really appreciate.

PACING
The first three months absolutely zip by. The summer is obviously the most important part of the story but the elision felt a little weird to begin with. Still, it gave a succinct overview of Lucy's life pre-camp, and I didn't realise just how many seeds were planted in these first few chapters for things that would happen later on!

When we're in camp, things are a lot slower. It almost becomes like a diary with Lucy noting the exact times and the activities she's doing with her group, but I LOVED this. There's always something happening, or something the characters are working towards, so I never found myself getting bored. In fact, I wanted MORE! There are so many little victories for Lucy too, like when she helps a girl learn to swim, or rediscover how much she liked playing the piano. But there are also tense moments too that help create a change of pace. I was always on edge about what was going to happen to Lucy's mum, and that was a really big driving force of the story.

VERDICT
I don't know how to feel about the ending because it was very open. It also came about very abruptly, but I liked that it really re-centered on Lucy's faith. It's not a huge part of the middle section, but I liked the synergy the finale had with the open. There were also a few big reveals and some gasping moments that I completely wasn't expecting, which is partly why this book was so surprising. I loved it so much, and I think I've found a new favourite contemporary. I can't wait for everyone else to read this because it really was something special. I have no hesitation when I say this is a 5 star read.

Faith is weird. When you think about it, faith is such a vague, flexible thing that can mean a different thing to every person. I know people who don't drink because of their faith, who have tattoos because of their faith. Some people even set off bombs because of their faith. That's what makes it such an interesting topic for YA, where often these kinds of books have a 'message' or something to learn from. Don't worry, The Names They Gave Us isn't a recruitment book for any type of religion.

Lucy is looking forward to the summer (aren't we all?) and has a perfect all-American girl life. Boyfriend, check. Job, check. Quality time with her parents and mum who doubles as her BFF, check. But then, Lucy's mum's cancer returns and everything goes to crap. She volunteers as a counsellor at a summer camp for troubled kids, rather than the church camp she knows and loves. It challenges everything she thought her faith meant to her and her family, from pre-marital sex to how to deal with the great unknown of her future.

I grew up attending a Church of England school and found myself grappling with ideas of faith when I was younger than Lucy, asking all of the same questions. Mostly, how can you have faith when your mum has cancer? Why would a God do something like that to you and your family? But instead of being a nasty, ignorant bash at Christianity, or any religion, The Names They Gave Us, explores how faith doesn't have to mean following a rule book, or even following the same thing as everyone else. It can be personal.

While I lost my religious faith, I found faith in the people around me. In knowing that friends and family can be kind, supportive and comforting and that kindness is key (sorry for the cheesy overload here). In the same way, Emery Lord transcends religious faith and applies the concept to everyone, no matter what their beliefs.

Lucy's relationships with the other counsellors provided the diversity that brought this story to life. Anna in particular was an insightful and eye-opening character. I found myself exactly on the same page as Lucy. When she was surprised, so was I. When she didn't know what to say, neither did I. But, I felt I learnt a lot from their relationship and it gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling aka faith in humanity.

Of course, how could I review this book without mentioning Jones? Jones - such a common surname - could be any guy. He's exactly what Lucy needs to show her that it's okay to be herself, even when it's not what she expected. She gets to experience his life and meet his family and I couldn't read those chapters fast enough because they were so damn good.

Whether you've read Emery Lord before or not - I strongly suggest you do - The Names They Gave Us is a versatile read and the faith slant was dealt with so well.

If anyone has any recommendations of other YA writers/novels that deal with faith, let me know!

Emery Lord, you contemporary queen. This was fantastic and gave me all the feels. I loved all of the characters. They were well thought out and bought so much life to the story. I love when there are strong bonds between friends and family and there was no lacking that in here. Definitely a heartbreaking read but a must if you love a good YA contemporary.

Luce begins to question her faith when her mother's cancer returns. To make matters worse her boyfriend decides to pause their relationship. Her mum suggests that she goes to a different camp this summer which will mean that she is away from her parents during this difficult time.

When I first started this book I thought that it was going to be an emotional book that focused on cancer and Luce questioning her religious beliefs. Whilst this was part of the story I felt that the romance element overtook this. I wasn't a huge fan of Henry and I didn't like the romance between Luce and him. The author also seemed to add unnecessary drama. At the start, I did enjoy the plot. I liked the way that the author explored Lucy questioning her faith.

The pacing of this book was so slow. Nothing seemed to happen for the majority of the book. We get to see a lot of the different camp activities but I didn't find this particularly interesting. The ending was especially disappointing. The ending is left very open and I would have liked more of a conclusion. I really wanted to know what happened to Luce's mum as I felt that was the main part of the book but we don't even know what happened in the end.

Overall this was a disappointing read and unfortunately, this is the second Emery Lord book that I have not been impressed with.

This was an easy read with a good variety of characters, each with their own little piece of baggage. I slipped into the summer camp life of teenagers and enjoyed watching Lucy discover herself and connect with a new group of friends.
I did enjoy it although I did find it a bit too .... nice? I do like books that are gritty and heartbreaking and that make me cry and this book wasn't any of those things.
A solid three and a half stars for a good story and awesome group of friends that will do anything for each other.

I thoroughly enjoyed this, especially how it was so inclusive of people from all sorts of backgrounds. There were religious and non-religious people, kids from foster families, adopted kids, different nationalities, and an LGBT+ aspect too. I feel that Lord did an excellent job at including all these people without falling in to any stereotype traps.

I have to say though, I was very surprised by the very strong religious aspect in this book. Not that I have anything against it of course, but considering it was such a major part of Lucy's life and the story, I feel it should have had a mention in the blurb.

The dialogue didn't always seem entirely plausible for teens that age either, but that wasn't a major issue when reading this.

All in all, I did really enjoy reading all the ins and outs of the book. But, did it really have to end there? What happened???

"I'm not too young to know my own heart. Sure, its terrain I'm still learning to map, but I know the landscape better than anyone. I know the unexpected dips and paths that were not meant for me." - p. 232.

I think most young adult novels are about young people trying to figure out who they are. "The Names They Gave Us" is no different, but it's certainly a take I haven't read before. I love the passage quoted above, and I bet teen readers would too. Because I think teenagers often doubt themselves and wonder if they are being true to themselves, too much, or too little. This novel gives kids permission to be themselves, know themselves, be honest with themselves. And Emery Lord does this in such a beautiful, eloquent, and heartfelt way.

So this book made me cry, twice. I think a lot of it was a personal thing... Lucy and her story are a lot like my life. I'm someone who constantly struggles with my faith and mine certainly wasn't as strong as Lucy's to begin with!
This book was a perfect emotional fluff read. The camp was wonderful and felt so real. I work in a school and I found my self saying "omg yes so true!" At many of the interactions.
Lucy herself is incredibly relatable. She's young and naive and wants to be seen as strong and immature and seeing her slowly learn how to be herself and accept that things aren't perfect was wonderful to see. In the book Lucy begins to learn what she wants not only for herself but for others and how he can make an impact in ways she didn't expect.
Emery Lords writing in this book was wonderful. I felt like everything was natural and I didn't feel like anything was forced at all. I love being able to read a book grin from ear to ear or tear up, it shows that I'm truly immersed in a good book.
I have to say I was not thrilled with the ending. Like, what happens with her mum???? I understand the book is about Lucy coming to terms with not being able to fix everything or have an easy answer but oh boy I am not Lucy and I would very much like one!

This book was about a Christian girl but was relatable to non Christians too. No spoilers, but I felt like it ended at the right point. The characters were diverse and well fleshed out and I enjoyed getting to know them.

Luce is a pastor's daughter, captain of the swim team despite her asthma and has a doting boyfriend, Lukas.
Yet, her mum fought breast cancer, to the knowledge of everyone as she is also the school nurse as well as pastor's wife.
For Luce, Prom was magical until doubts bubble up towards her mum's condition after the concerned head principal approached her.

After a double mastectomy they learn the cancer has spread to her mum's lymph nodes and so her parents ask her to keep things normal and go and work as a camp councillor for the summer at camp where she usually goes. She worries about her mum of course but goes to camp especially as her boyfriend has paused their two year strong relationship.

At camp she has a good time and makes friends with Anna, a fellow councillor. However the kids at camp have a lot of issues such as underage pregnancy, health conditions, being transgender, suicide and dead parents. At camp they can escape the bad and enjoy the activities on offer.

Then trumpet player Henry Jones sets Luce's pianist heart a flutter which is great, until Lukas turns up!

Cue a lot of drama ahead, a family secret found out by accident and then an emergency in the hospital the force of love within a family has never been stronger.

The books deals with teen pregnancy and the pressures of cancer on a family and the individuals it shows the good and bad of each and the way things get better or worse before they can flip around again and again but love around you never changes, never wavers.

A great new novel by Emery Lord, thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review it for them!

This considered and highly engaging exploration of the summer one confident but somewhat sheltered teenager’s world is turned upside down surprises and endears at every turn. It’s character-driven but delivers on plot as well as premise. It’s warm, sweet and heartfelt, but it’s also serious, thoughtful and, occasionally, heartbreaking. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as I did, but it really blew me away. Kind, accepting, hard-working Lucy is a complex and well-realized protagonist, doing her best in the face of challenges and slowly realizing she is in a place where it is okay to feel as she does – angry, conflicted, afraid, guilty for the chinks showing in her once-dutiful armour – and what’s more, where new friends and unexpected allies will feel it with her.

Among them are fellow counsellors like friendly Anna, guarded Keely, and outgoing Tambe, each with histories and complexities of their own. Best of all, however, is the bespectacled Henry Jones: lively, thoughtful and flawed, he cares deeply (and dances enthusiastically), and is wonderfully well-drawn. The depth of characterisation in this book puts most contemporaries to shame, but the romance is perhaps even better. It’s realistic, passionate and honest. Lucy and Jones actually spend time together and get to know each other – their shared talent for music and equal devotion to the kids of camp are particular highlights - turning theirs from sweet romance to gorgeous relationship in a way that soars. I loved seeing Lucy’s interactions with her young charges, too, as she tries to figure them out whether by teaching shy Thuy to swim to giving Nadia a shoulder to lean on. Vibrant, diverse and individual, these characters leap from the page.

The Names They Gave Us is filled with the requisite moments of plot and drama, secrets and revelations, humour and heartbreak. It’s in the balancing of this quickly-enrapturing plot with the brilliant handling of heavy subjects that Lord excels. Frank, compassionate and incredibly empathetic, the vivid portrayal of its characters’ multifarious, and sometimes traumatic, experiences is exemplified by Lord’s unabashed confrontation of themes as varied as grief, sexuality, and religion. The immense care and sensitivity with which Lord depicts faith allows her to capture both Lucy’s belief and struggles. This is YA with present parents in the shape of Lucy’s funny, loving mom and open, good-natured pastor dad, and with fabulous, imperfect friendships, too. The ending is quite rushed and abrupt, and the prose style is a little choppy, but the book is absorbing from start to finish.

A full version of this review will appear on my blog closer to publication.