Stranded in Harmony

by Barbara Shoup

A bright, talented teenager, Lucas Cantrell seems to have everything going for him, but the pressures and expectations of his coach, his father, his girlfriend, and others become too much, until Allie, a newcomer with a mysterious past, helps him find the strength to make his own choices in life.

Genres: Young Adult

188 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Barbara Shoup is the author of eight novels for adults and young adults, most recently An American Tune and Looking for Jack Kerouac, as well as a memoir, A Commotion in Your Heart: Notes about Writing and Life. She is the co-author of Novel Ideas: Contemporary Authors Share the Creative Process and Story Matters., as well as in The Writer and the New York Times travel section. Her young adult novels, Wish You Were Here and Stranded in Harmony were selected as American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults. The recipient of the PEN Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Fellowship and grants from the Indiana Arts Commission, she is the Writer-in-Residence at the Indiana Writers Center and a faculty member at Art Workshop International.

Reviews

[Kat · Rating 2 out of 5]

Plot: a high school senior from small-town Indiana grows up and gets ready to move on in life.

Still can't really believe I taught this book in a lit class. It's very non-literary. The plot is basic and not very deep. Lucas (the main character) is largely a whiney, snot-nosed kid, which caused my students to whine about how whiney he was. Frankly, it made me want to go out and buy blocks of cheese and cases of crackers to have on hand. But none of the kids would have gotten the joke. What made it worse was that they'd ask me why he was so whiney, as if they couldn't hear themselves... Oh, Irony...

If a young adult were reading it on his/her own, it probably wouldn't be a bad read. I just don't think it quite had the depth necessary for a high school English class, even considering the thematic appropriateness.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

About the author:

Barbara Shoup is a local author who lives in Indianapolis. I had the chance to meet her when she visited my young adult literature class, and she is an interesting, dynamic speaker!

Here's a description from her official website: "Barbara Shoup is a novelist, a teacher, and the Executive Director of the Writers’ Center of Indiana. Her young adult novels Wish You Were Here and Stranded in Harmony were American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults. Vermeer’s Daughter was a School Library Journal Best Book for High School Students. She is the recipient of numerous grants and awards, including the 2006 PEN/Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Working Writer Fellowship. Her most recent novel, Everything You Want, was published by Flux in 2008."

According to the book flap, Shoup was also the writer-in-residence at the Broad Ripple High School Center for the Humanities and the Performing Arts for almost twenty years, and she enjoys mentoring young writers in schools, community organizations, and correctional institutes.

My Review:
Lucas is a high school senior in southern Indiana who seems to have it all. He's the captain of the football team and his girlfriend is a cheerleader. He's been accepted to his dream college, and he has been offered a football scholarship for another college.However, Lucas feels unsettled and unhappy with his life. He wonders if there is something more out there, and he fears that he will be trapped in Harmony, Indiana forever. Lucas's fears cause him to start acting in ways that hurt the ones he loves-his family, friends, and girlfriend. He befriends an older woman, Allie, who moves to town,and he feels as if she is the only one who he can talk to honestly. While Allie helps Lucas find the courage to make tough decisions, Lucas helps Allie come to terms with her past.

This book is very much character driven as opposed to being plot-driven. Sometimes I find it difficult to get through books with little going on plot-wise, but what made me keep reading was Lucas's character. He was easy to relate to, and I think many readers will identify with his struggles to figure out what he wants out of life. Barbara Shoup writes great coming-of-age stories that capture small town life in Indiana well.

[Debby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up because it was a rainy day and I was feeling oogy, not wanting to do anything much. I had it in my to-read pile for a while, but I didn't realize it was a young adult novel, just knew it had an Indiana connection. At first I thought the writing was a little too facile, a little too straightforward and plain without being bone elegant like Hemingway. There was a lot of exposition in parts while in other parts, I would have liked more description. I know some of the settings she's writing about but would have liked something besides a name to put me in the place as I was reading. Some of the characters seemed a little too pat as well. Their development didn't leave much to the imagination. The more I got into the story, though, I did appreciate what was going on between Lucas and Allie and the revelation of her dark secret was a pay-off of sorts. It was a dark secret! The last half of the book was better because of this and the last chapter left me teary-eyed. Overall, I'm glad to remove it from the to-read pile, glad to have something to fill a rainy afternoon, but I don't think I'd push anyone else to read it.

[Shawn Byrnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book for a class I'm taking in school right now. This book is a light read and very character driven, as opposed to a novel that is strongly plot driven. What I found interesting though is how much of myself I found in these characters. I am thoroughly convinced that if you don't see even a small part of yourself (or the self that you were) in this novel, that you're lying to yourself; and that maybe it wasn't your time to read this book.

This book is about a boy growing up and graduating from high school in a small town in Indiana. The reader follows him through his decisions and actions he makes that really are what drives this novel. I think it's a very realistic look at different times throughout teenage life.Like I said before, this is a non-serious, light read, but I think that people who read it will really enjoy it.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

When i first started reading this book in a way i could relate myself to it. Thats what basically happens after high school is over, people change. Over my years in high school every year i noticed a change in either in my friends or just everything around me. This book when i read it it kind of prepared me whats goin to happen after high school is over. Beacause it does happen.

[Kendra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Coming of age story about a boy confused about how he should navigate life. As he tries to figure out how to deal with his love life and a strained relationship with his best friend, he finds comfort from unexpected places. Appropriate for high school teens.

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that I first read when I was about 13 or 14 years old and it