This sweet and heart-wrenching story was beautifully written. The history was so thorough and entwined with the story I was captivated. A perfect adventure for middle grade readers.

3.5* rounded up.
The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry is a sweet story reminiscent of L. M Montgomery. Lucy has led a lonely life and has to move to a different family due to sad circumstances. Lucy struggles to integrate with the busy Martin family and their little Lighthouse island while missing her mother and father. There is a side story of a shipwreck and a ruby necklace that reminds Lucy of her father. The best thing about the book is the representation of the Anishinaabe people. Lucy, her father and the entire Martin family are Anishinaabe and the book incorporates a lot of Ojibwe words.

It is fitting that one of the novels mentioned in the Luminous Life of Lucy Landry is The Story Girl. The book felt very L.M. Montgomery, the author of both the Story Girl and Anne of Green Gables. Lucy uses her imagination to deal with the tragedies and stresses of her life, and despite her best efforts, she cannot help but be at the center of many minor disasters. The way she creates characters to put on like armor when she is upset, shy or scared is a nice character trait. This is a comfy story with a satisfying if a little too perfect ending.

As a lover of good fiction, I must say that I am totally in love with this story, although I don't know if it counts as a historical.

This adventurous story takes us to Lucy Landry, a little orphan who is surprisingly torn from her home for eleven years and taken to a small island to live with a new family that runs a lighthouse.

It has been enlightening to see the life of the families in charge of the maintenance and operation of a lighthouse, and how they live this when they have small children in their care, since the rules they had to comply with were too strict (more when we consider that small children are a case).

On top of this, we get a fraction of adventure on Lucy's part as she immerses herself in the search for a lost necklace, which was her way of honoring her late father, who was a sailor and spoke to her every time he came back to her about the legend.

Little Lucy is both excited and fearful of this new adventure, being very imaginative and dreamy, this leads her to get into a lot of trouble; as she tries to fit in with her new family her efforts end up being unsuccessful as she always seems to do everything wrong, so she keeps closing herself off in her own imaginative world.

In the end a touching found family is formed, which teaches us to face our fears and not to lose our essence, and that changes, although not easy, are necessary and often important.

I loved that such a Middle Grade story filled me with so much adult reflection.

#TheLuminousLifeofLucyLandry #NetGalley.

I absolutely loved this book. Lucy gave me vibes of Anne from Anne of Green Gables and Lyra from His Dark Materials - girl who is trying to figure out where she fits in the world and doesn’t always get it right but keeps learning and growing. I found her really compelling and loved discovering with her more about the Anishinaabe culture. The Martin family was also delightful, each of them having a distinct voice and personality. The conclusion of the story felt a bit pat as an adult reader but would absolutely be appropriate for the target audience. I look forward to discovering more works by this author, who has become a must read for me.
Thank you to NetGalley & Holiday House for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I found the book hard to get into. It felt really forced. The characters did not really pop for me and I found it hard to root for them.

I believe The luminous life of Lucy Landry is a beautiful told from Lucy's eyes in a journey to find what she once thought was everything she had, reminders of her father.
Even though the story was good and original, I couldn't enjoy it fully, there was just something missing for me, it was as if I was reading a book for a child (and although I enjoy those stories as well) it was just pulling me back a lot of the time.
The story itself was magical and original, which I applaud the writer for!

The format in which it's provided (which has nothing to do with the author) was a little uncomfortable to read in, since the PDF can't adapt well to phones and you always have to be zooming in and moving the screen.

Thank you to netgalley for providing me an ARC of this book!

The concept and theme of this book are interesting as well as the historical setting. I love stories with lighthouses and a big cast of characters because they may promise more volumes. It's a lot of open opportunities to explore each one and their predicaments. They are all so energetic, frontal (honest), and trying to work together. I do hope there will be more.
Only almost at the end, I understood the main reason for her obsession with finding the necklace and it gave more depth.
Our main character is a young girl who just lost her family and is not trying to find her place in a new with many sisters and brothers. She has a terrible fear and is a bit clumsy when she daydreams too much, but throughout the book she learns, thrives, and grows a lot. Took me a bit to understand the direction and intentions of the author with some actions and by being plot-driven it makes the events too sudden and convenient. But if this is an introduction to a series, then it introduces well the mood and the family vibe for future adventures (I hope so).
I love languages and learning new words, it was great to have some Obijwe and French too with a glossary at the end. Perfect for readers of historical fiction and Anne Shirley.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

I thought this book was interesting. I liked the illustrations. I can imagine someone in 3rd or 4th grade would like this book. Lucy was a great main character. This wouldn't be the best book for younger readers (too long), but I can see slightly more mature readers enjoying it.



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The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry is a sweet book good for upper elementary age students. It’s just what you’d expect from a book about an orphan sent to live with a family of eight in a lighthouse on Lake Superior in 1912 - heartwarming and cozy. Lucy, herself, is loveable and quirky and the lighthouse on Harmony Island was a fantastic setting.

I really enjoyed the first 75% of this book, and then struggled with the last quarter. I get that you sometimes need to suspend disbelief when reading a story like this one, but the way this book wraps up didn’t make sense to me. I was also disappointed that Ojibwe culture didn’t play more into the book than it did. It seemed like a missed opportunity.

It might be a fun read aloud to younger children (1st through 3rd grade) but probably not one that I’d read to a whole class. There’s not enough depth in the story. I would warn any parents reading it aloud that there’s a mention of Santa right at the end of the book that I would skip over.

Thanks NetGalley and Holiday House/Peachtree/Pixel+Ink for the ARC of this book.

This was so lovely. I appreciated this middle grade historical fictional story about Lucy, who is sent to a lighthouse island with the Martins after her last caretaker passes away. Her father passed away a few years ago searching for a necklace and her mother years before then.

It’s 1912, and Lucy is now 11 years old and navigating being an orphan, but trying her best to fit in with the Martins, as she has no one left. She has five new siblings, her bed is in the girls’ room’s closet, and she is focused on finding treasure (the one her dad was searching for!) but she has a real phobia of being on a boat/on the water. In the boat ride over, she has a panic attack (what I interpreted it as, but I could be wrong!) and obviously this is a big problem if she wants to go on this quest.

Overall, I found Lucy’s story to be bittersweet, tender and so easy to zoom through. The writing flowed well, and I was so appreciative of reading the perspective of a French-Ojibwe and other indigenous characters. This book has themes of belonging, chosen family, and brings up such fascinating lighthouse history on the Great Lakes that I wasn’t aware of!

I am so utterly in love with the way Anna Rose Johnson manages to weave a story that feels like a breath from the past 🕰️ She captures all the vintage charm of my favourite classics in a tale that is absolutely infused with history!

The lighthouse setting was the main thing that drew me ⚓🌊🕯️ I loved seeing into the daily life of a lightkeeper and his family. It's evident how much research the author put into this, and I walk away definitely knowing a thing or two I hadn't before!

The Martin family was amazing, and I felt so at home with them 💙 They reminded me a lot of several of the large families I know, and that enabled me to imagine them super well!

As for a favourite character, I know it should probably be Lucy, but Forrest captured my heart from the beginning. He was such a sweetheart and a perfect gentleman 🥰 That being said, I feel like I know Lucy, and I can't help but love her to pieces too. Her growth was so evident over the course of the story, and her craving for love from her new family just about broke my heart. Hence, the ending made me tear up... 😭

This book is going on my favourites list, and I cannot wait for more from this author 😆

The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry
Anna Rose Johnson
After her father was lost at sea eleven-year-old Lucy was sent to live with a foster family, the Martins. They are a large family that live on a lighthouse in the middle of Lake Superior on Harmony Island. Lucy is French Ojibwe and the Martins are Anishinaabe; Lucy struggles to fit in but she is a dreamer. It seems like everything she touches goes wrong.
The lighthouse is beautiful, but Lake Superior is a stormy lake with waves pounding the rocks. Lucy is terrified of water since her father was lost at sea. The lighthouse is close to a shipwreck; the ship went down with a priceless ruby necklace. Lucy’s father wanted the necklace, Lucy thought if she could find the treasure it would be like having her father back. Lucy isn’t the only one determined to find the necklace.
The owners of the lighthouse threaten to remove the Martin’s, if they do they will have no where to live. Lucy must find that necklace now.
This is a delightful tale. Lucy is the main character; she is a dreamer struggling to deal with the loss of her parents, guardian and life with a new family. The main focus of this book is the relationship between Lucy and the Martins. The secondary plot is the necklace. Author Anna Rose Johnson successful develops each character, allowing each one to have their own personality. I highly recommend this book for six grade up.
Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book for review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book. This was a unique historical fiction, and I know a few readers already who will absolutely love this.

The best historical fiction books focus on something rarely discussed in history classes. Lighthouse keeping in 1912 on the Great Lakes? Definitely something I have never encountered.

Readers get to learn about this unknown pocket of history through Lucy, an orphan who comes to live with the Martin family in their lighthouse on Harmony Island in Michigan. She has a fear of water due to her sailor father's death by drowning, but she learns to brave the lake in her quests to find a treasure, learn more about her new home, and save her newfound family. Like Lucy, the Martin family are French-Ojibwe, and the parents take care to teach their children about their culture (a dictionary at the back is very helpful for readers - this is a prime example of OwnVoices representation and Indigenous joy).

There are so many things that shine (pun intended) in this book. While there are a LOT of players in the story, each feels distinct and has their own distinctive journey in learning how to live with Lucy. The switch in narration when Lucy "becomes" one of the characters in her head (such as the Small Waif Girl and the Princess) is fresh and showcases a realistic response to stressful situations. All of the kids are written as kids (even the parentified ones). The overarching lessons of bravery and belonging will be ones that any child can relate to, even if they know nothing about this era of history.

The main reason why I gave this four stars (if I could, this would be a 4.5) is because the chapters are VERY long (at least on Kindle). The side exploration for the necklace, which I think would really entice middle grade readers, is resolved fairly quickly. I totally get that Johnson wanted to focus more on the journey of belonging, but kids often want more trials and peril in searching for treasure. I'll note as well that the map on Kindle was very broken up, but I'm sure the print copy is much better.

So glad the title of this book sucked me in!

Thank you, of course, to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. My students who love historical fiction will eat this one UP!

What a delightful story. Like Anna Rose Johnson's debut, this book has that classic, vintage feel. What's more, Lucy Landry is Anne Shirley reincarnated. She's dreamy and inattentive, but it's obvious that her behavior is a coping mechanism, and so, even though she makes us cringe, we FEEL for her. Without the stead,

This is one of those stories where the young protagonist is plopped into a completely new life. Think Sara Crewe, Mary Lennox, and, of course, Anne. Lucy Landry has lived primarily alone with an elderly caretaker. When she's adopted by a couple with six children who live on a tiny lighthouse island, she's utterly unprepared. I'm glad that the author didn't shy away from conflict. It was HARD for Lucy to fit in, and this constant tension made the story interesting.

I love the mystery of the necklace that's woven through the story. While this is a subplot and not the point of the book, it adds a layer of interest to liven up the main plot, which is Lucy's transformation. Plus, finding the lost necklace gives Lucy a goal and deepens her connection to her past.

This book is short and easy to read. It'll appeal to kids who want a quick win.

Also, Lucy deals with some debilitating fear. Since so many kids struggle with fears, this is another touchpoint that will appeal to anxious kids without triggering them.

Thank you to NetGalley and Holiday House for a digital ARC of this novel.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me review this book. This started off well but I felt Lucy was too whiny. Even though she was afraid of water, she still overcame her fear to help. I like the glossary with the Anishinaabemowin/ Ojibwe words.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Holiday House for providing me with a copy, all thoughts are my own!

4/5 stars

"I have found that there are several doors to the imagination, and it's important to choose the right one"

The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry is a story about a lighthouse, a girl and a treasure. But, besides, it's actually a story of growth, a story about overcoming fear and grief. I loved reading this book, it's so comfortable and heartwarming that I want to read it again and again to continue enjoying it.
What I liked most was that every kid was really written as they were kids, they were angry, sad, they day-dreamed, made mistakes. And they learned and grew up in each chapter without losing their truly nature (being children).

What a fun read The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry was! Our book opens with the protagonist, Lucy, learning she is being sent or live with the Martin family after the death of her guardian. Lucy has already lost her mother to illness and then her father to a shipwreck. Now she's off to live with a family she's never met, who have six children and live on a small island where they tend the lighthouse. Add in Lucy's imagination, the story of a lost necklace, and the need to keep the lighthouse station tidy under the eyes of a strict inspector and our story starts to unfold.

Lucy is a a rather charming character who also can be a bit frustrating. She very much lives in her imagination and isn't often responsible for her own actions, which can be annoying to the Martin children. The family dynamics are very real and the inclusion of their (and Lucy's) Ojibwe ancestry adds a lovely dynamic to the story. Though the lost necklace adds a bit of a fanciful element to the story, in the end everyone gets what they need and Lucy finds her space on the island. Overall, I enjoyed this charming read!

Cute story, fun plot, nice characters, interesting story, short/ quick read, nice writing, calming. Overall good book