Smith, Sherri L. Lucy the giant, a novel.

Random House, Dell, Laurel-Leaf. 217p. c2002. 0-440-22927-8. $5.50. JS

To quote from the review of the hardcover in KLIATT, May 2002: Lucy's life in Sitka, Alaska is a hard one; at 15. she is over six feet tall, and her hostile classmates call her "the giant." At home, she must con tend alone with her drunken and sometimes abusive father, as her Haida Indian mother ran off years ago. When Lucy's dog dies it's the last straw, and she runs off herself, ending up as a hand on a crabbing boat on the icy waters of the Bering Sea. There her size is an asset, and she feels at home for the first time despite the hazardous, backbreaking work. Then. on a trip to Kodiak, someone from Sitka spots Lucy, and the jig is up--her real age and identity come to light, and she can no longer pretend to be an adult. Sad to be found out but buoyed by her experience on the boat and her new friends, Lucy must return to Sitka and her father. Now, however, she at least has a sense of the possibilities that await her in life--and some money to finance her eventual escape.

This tale of a gutsy girl has it all--humor, adventure, danger, good friends and a nasty foe. The exciting action on the boat reminded me of Dana Stabenow's Alaskan mystery Killing Grounds. Readers will care about Lucy and her plight and while some may be disappointed that she must return to Sitka, like Lucy they will treasure the warm memory of her adventures and newfound "family" on the frigid seas. (An ALA Best Book for YAs.) Paula Rohrlick, KLIATT