Lost Goat Lane

Lost Goat Lane #1

by Rosa Jordan

An eloquent, dramatic story of an adolescent girl's first glimpse into the problems of prejudice and the redeeming power of friendships FOR THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLD KATE, being poor in a small rural Florida town means feeling ashamed and isolated. At school, her classmates laugh at her old clothes and worn shoes. Things are not much better at home. Kate's mother is working long hours at a dairy farm to keep food on the table. Kate has to keep an eye on her brothers - Justin is old enough to talk about running away, and Chip is young enough to keep wandering off. But one day, the family's goat gets loose and wanders down the road. That's when Kate meets the Wilsons, a tight knit, middle-class African-American family. Kate is particularly drawn to Ruby, the glamorous grown daughter who has returned home from New York City. As Kate begins to spend time with Ruby in town she becomes aware of the undercurrent of discrimination and prejudice that runs through her community, and the complex roles of race and class in her own relationships. Rosa Jordan offers readers a gripping, empathetic tale of how two families come together despite small town prejudices and cultural differences. In doing so, she provides a window into the larger problems in America, where class and race often divide people.

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Young Adult

197 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2004

About the author

Immigrated to Canada, 1974. Education: University of California, Los Angeles, B.A.; University of Guanajuato, Mexico, M.A. Addresses: Home: Rossland, British Columbia, Canada.

AWARDS:

Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Special nomination, Parents' Choice Award, and First-Place Award, National Council on Family, all 1997, all for The Sweetest Place; Silver Birch Honours Book designation, and Red Maple Award finalist, both 2005, and Chocolate Lily Award nomination, 2006-07, all for Lost Goat Lane.

Reviews

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Seven year old Chip, 13 year old Kate and 14 year old Justin live with their mother. Times are tough though and even their mom works long hours at a dairy, there is a chance they will loose their house. Kate worries as her older brother starts to distance himself from the family and Chip is obsessed with watching the alligators near their house. Kate tracks down her lost goat Sugar at their neighbor's house, the Wilsons. Kate finds respite when she visits her neighbors. The Wilsons have an adult daughter, Ruby, who is larger than life and she and Kate decide to start a chocolate candy business. But racism rears its head in town and at home. Then Ruby looks like she will let Kate down. A story about family, friendship and racism.

[Madison Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. Easy read with important lessons. A wide variety of characters who were all unique.

[Asia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kate is a white farm girl who lives with her two brothers and her mom. After their dad left them, the family's been going through tough times. Her mom can never get a day off work, Justin, the older brother constantly threatens to leave the family and her younger brother Chip can't seem to stay away from the canal with the alligators. When Sugar, Kate's goat runs away, she meets Ruby, the grown daughter of their African-American neighbors. They didn't really get good first impressions of each other but, what could happen if they became friends?

I chose this book because of the title. It seemed pretty silly to me so I chose read it. This book also stood out because of the interesting cover.

When in the middle of this book, I got much more than silly things and so, it really intrigued me. So I continued to read it.

I would recommend this book to Claudia. I think she would enjoy this book because she reminds me of Kate's personality.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now, I am happy with this book. There's a happy ending - how I like a book to end. Kate and her family now enjoy Christmas, and they finally get together with the Wilsons. A baby goat as a present; how surprising! Kate is once again partners with Ruby, after their breakup and now hoping to sell clothes!

I personally thought this book was awesome, and one of my all-time favourites. I would recommend this to early teenagers, and specificlly Tyler, if he hasen't read this yet :)

My favourite quote: "I was thinking about how people prejudge other people. That's the same as prejudice, right?" Considering the society today, prejudging occurs very often. Even me prejudging a book.

(Edit: Oops - forgot that it's Kate, not Katie!)

[kanzash · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I read it first in the fifth grade and at that time it was an interesting read, but only until now do I understand the important underlying message within the book. It was exciting to read and very well written, I enjoyed it a lot because it sends good messages and is kept exciting at the same time. That's always something I look for in a good book. To be fun to read but deliver important messages at the same time.
I still remember some significant parts five years later, so it was a memorable one.

Recommended for everyone and anyone. It's definitely a worthwhile read. Underrated for sure.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book that I think will be perfect for a mother-daughter book group. It has important issues about predjudices and racism and even one small bit about sexual harrasment. I think this book is a wonderful way for the young girls and their mothers to discuss these issues in a way they can understand.

Overall, an excellent read filled to the brim with important life lessons for young readers. As for me- I'm an adult and I loved every minute of it!

[Mercedes Shepherd · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was interesting and kept getting better the more I read it. I like the characters and I thought they were developed really well. It seems like the author wanted to write on the subject of prejudice by using a bunch of characters that can be prejudged and discriminated against in various ways. The racial tensions in this book were a little cringy, however. But I like the moral and thought this book was written okay.

[Nayab · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so good. I couldn't put it down. It was that amazing of a book for me. It only took me a week to finish the book. It's almost as if the book was tunred into a movie right before your eyes. It's breath-taking, utterly breath-taking. :)

[Lupemellan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has a lot of life lessons in it and it also has good humor, a little bit of suspense and adventure. It's an excellent book.

[Jayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book in the basement, and decided to give it a try. It's pretty good.

[Amy Mathers · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://amysmarathonofbooks.ca/lost-go...

[Nika · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Awesome book! This is really amusing and fun to read!

[Missy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light-hearted funny book woven with tough topics like bullying and discrimination.