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Lark
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When sixteen-year-old Lark Austin is kidnapped from her Virginia hometown and left to die in a snowy forest, she leaves behind two friends who are stunned by the loss. As Lark's former best friend, Eve can't shake the guilt that this tragedy was somehow her fault. Meanwhile, Nyetta is haunted each night by Lark's ghost, who comes through the bedroom window and begs Nyetta
...more
Hardcover, 192 pages
Published
May 24th 2011
by HarperCollins Publishers
(first published 2011)
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This is a small book, and I read it very quickly, but I think it's going to stay with me for awhile. It's risky, especially in such a short book, to use three POVs. Porter was able to juggle them quite well, enough to make each of the three voices distinct. The fantasy elements are quietly integrated into the book, without entirely taking over until the end.
But what made this book most effective for me was the way that Porter confronts rape culture, using thoughts that make sense for a teen gir ...more
But what made this book most effective for me was the way that Porter confronts rape culture, using thoughts that make sense for a teen gir ...more
What? I did not get the point of this book. It was very scattered, and I found myself wondering why I was reading it. Oh ya! Because it somehow ended up on my to-read list! I REALLY need to clean that shelf... Anyway, this story was about three girls. Oh yes, no matter that the story was super-short and I finished it in like thirty minutes, the author decided to use THREE main characters that I had to CARE about enough to go on with the story.
Epic. FAIL.
Okay, I DID go on with the story. Doesn' ...more
Epic. FAIL.
Okay, I DID go on with the story. Doesn' ...more
Time Duration: 2 days (3 days)
Finish Date: Oct.26th.2015
Author: Tracy Porter
From Greater Victoria Public Library
$17.99 in Canada
www.epicreads.com
Stars: 4*/5*
Page numbers: 180 pages
Praise for LARK:
“Haunting, poetic, and tender, this tragic story is filled with insights into the plight of young women trying to grow up in a dangerous, painful world, and with the hope and healing that connection and love can be provided.”
n Francesca Lia Block, author of the Weetzie Bat series
TRIAL BEGINS FOR
FAIRFAX ...more
Finish Date: Oct.26th.2015
Author: Tracy Porter
From Greater Victoria Public Library
$17.99 in Canada
www.epicreads.com
Stars: 4*/5*
Page numbers: 180 pages
Praise for LARK:
“Haunting, poetic, and tender, this tragic story is filled with insights into the plight of young women trying to grow up in a dangerous, painful world, and with the hope and healing that connection and love can be provided.”
n Francesca Lia Block, author of the Weetzie Bat series
TRIAL BEGINS FOR
FAIRFAX ...more
When sixteen-year-old Lark Austin is kidnapped from her Virginia hometown and left to die in a snowy forest, she leaves behind two friends who are stunned by the loss. As Lark's former best friend, Eve can't shake the guilt that this tragedy was somehow her fault. Meanwhile, Nyetta is haunted each night by Lark's ghost, who comes through the bedroom window and begs Nyetta to set her soul free. Eve and Nyetta realize that Lark is trapped in limbo, and only by coming together to heal themselves wi
...more
Imagine you are being held against your will, tied up against a tree, in the freezing blizzard weather. No one’s there to hear your cries. What would you do? How would you deal with that? The sadness you would feel. How terrified you would be. It would change a person’s life forever. Lark by Tracey Porter is a kind of realistic fiction book that teaches us about true friendship and how these characters deal with the trouble of losing a friend.
Lark, a teenage girl brutally murdered in the woods ...more
Lark, a teenage girl brutally murdered in the woods ...more
Lark:
Author: Tracey Porter
My rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.
A girl is taken,stolen. A gymnast, diver, ballerina, best friend and baby sitter is kidnapped from curbside out side her gym. She's tied to a tree and left to die, having already been beaten, stabbed and bruised. Lark never thought she'd be one of THOSE girls from the news. The ones making sadistic headlines, Missing Girl Found Dead; but she did, she made headlines and the entire town skipped a beat, only a beat.
When Lark finds that her s ...more
Author: Tracey Porter
My rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.
A girl is taken,stolen. A gymnast, diver, ballerina, best friend and baby sitter is kidnapped from curbside out side her gym. She's tied to a tree and left to die, having already been beaten, stabbed and bruised. Lark never thought she'd be one of THOSE girls from the news. The ones making sadistic headlines, Missing Girl Found Dead; but she did, she made headlines and the entire town skipped a beat, only a beat.
When Lark finds that her s ...more
Lark came to Nyetta one night, because no one else would listen, no one else would look. Nyetta doesn't want to look either, even if it will set Lark free. Eve used to be friends with Lark, before things happened, and she can't help but feel like if they were still friends Lark would be alive. Nyetta and Eve are the only ones who can help Lark, the only ones who can set her free after her vicious murder.
This was a fast read. A beautifully written story about a girl who was murdered, and needs so ...more
This was a fast read. A beautifully written story about a girl who was murdered, and needs so ...more
Let me start off by saying I hate sad books, and if I'd read the blurb before reading the book, I probably wouldn't have picked Lark up. As it was, the cover reminded me of Maggie Steifvater's The Wolves of Mercy Falls series. That said I am so glad I did. This was my first read of 2012 and I managed to finish it in under three hours. The chapters are short, and it is an extremely fast read.
Part of the fast read is that the characters are engaging. The three points of view made everything even s ...more
Part of the fast read is that the characters are engaging. The three points of view made everything even s ...more
This is a beautifully written story of three girls.
Lark is a gymnastics obsessed teen who disappears and is found murdered. Nyetta is a young girl who looked up to Lark and was often babysat by her. Eve used to be a good friend of Lark until they had a falling out.
Each chapter in this book alternates between each of the girls’ points of view. We see Lark as a ghost, annoyed and upset at what happened to her, and trying to find someone who will “see” her so she can move on. We see Nyetta, who is ...more
Lark is a gymnastics obsessed teen who disappears and is found murdered. Nyetta is a young girl who looked up to Lark and was often babysat by her. Eve used to be a good friend of Lark until they had a falling out.
Each chapter in this book alternates between each of the girls’ points of view. We see Lark as a ghost, annoyed and upset at what happened to her, and trying to find someone who will “see” her so she can move on. We see Nyetta, who is ...more
Concept/Ideas: 3/5
Characters: 3.5/5
Storyline/Plot: 3/5
Writing Style: 4/5
Overall Rating: 3/5
Mixed feelings about Lark. First of all, let's start off by saying I LOVE THE COVER. So beautiful, and definitely has a lot of signifigance to the book.
I knew this was going to be a fast read. Which I love. But... I feel like it really lacked a storyline plot. I don't know how to exactly expain it. I feel like the author just kind of threw you from Point A to Point B. Example: "Lark is alive... BOOM. Dead. ...more
Characters: 3.5/5
Storyline/Plot: 3/5
Writing Style: 4/5
Overall Rating: 3/5
Mixed feelings about Lark. First of all, let's start off by saying I LOVE THE COVER. So beautiful, and definitely has a lot of signifigance to the book.
I knew this was going to be a fast read. Which I love. But... I feel like it really lacked a storyline plot. I don't know how to exactly expain it. I feel like the author just kind of threw you from Point A to Point B. Example: "Lark is alive... BOOM. Dead. ...more
Don’t let this book’s small size deter you. It packs a pretty mean punch, straight to the heart. I flew through this within two or three hours.
Admittedly, I stayed far away from this until I felt like I had plucked up the courage to finally read it. I needed every ounce of that courage for the story that was waiting for me within these pages. Lark is a very real and heartbreaking account of a young girl who is abducted, raped, and left for dead in the woods of her small hometown in northern Virg ...more
Admittedly, I stayed far away from this until I felt like I had plucked up the courage to finally read it. I needed every ounce of that courage for the story that was waiting for me within these pages. Lark is a very real and heartbreaking account of a young girl who is abducted, raped, and left for dead in the woods of her small hometown in northern Virg ...more
It's rare when I actually hate a book, but it's safe to say that I actually hate this one. It's so freaking stupid. There is barely any story and no character development whatsoever. And if you actually could somehow say there is a story to this, it's not like the story hasn't been used before. It's just a stupid, short version of a book that could actually be good. There isn't even anything I can say in my review besides that, because there was barely anything to write about. The book is crap.
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Thoughtful and short realistic fiction YA novel about three girls, Lark, Nyetta, and Eve. Lark was kidnapped and killed by a psychopath, and the other girls are trying to deal with this in their own way.
Nyetta keeps seeing Lark's ghost, as Lark needs someone to physically see where she was stabbed before she can move on into the next life. Eve and Lark were best friends at one time, so Eve tries to help Nyetta as well with getting Lark to accept her fate and not be trapped in the tree where she ...more
Nyetta keeps seeing Lark's ghost, as Lark needs someone to physically see where she was stabbed before she can move on into the next life. Eve and Lark were best friends at one time, so Eve tries to help Nyetta as well with getting Lark to accept her fate and not be trapped in the tree where she ...more
that was not an awesome book. im not sure which aspect of this novel i found more uncomfortable; the fact that the dead girls turned into trees or the fact that someone felt the need to write a fictonal story about teenage rape.
to be honest, this is just not my kind of book and i would not have ever picked it up on my own. my highschool book club decided they wanted read it. im pretty sure they'll realize their mistake when we are having an awkward group conversation about rape.
yeah.
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to be honest, this is just not my kind of book and i would not have ever picked it up on my own. my highschool book club decided they wanted read it. im pretty sure they'll realize their mistake when we are having an awkward group conversation about rape.
yeah.
...more
I picked up the book because the title was simple and that caught my attention. I also wanted to know how these two girls would overcome their conflicts and be able to help Lark. However, I felt like the book was lacking something, maybe some "real" emotions because I felt like the book wasn't realistic enough to reflect a real situation. The author did not make the story about girls in trees believable enough for me so I felt like I was reading a fantasy novel instead of an emotional story.
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Umm, I'm all for sparse, but...there really ought to be SOMETHING that's of remote interest.
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my favorite part was towards the end when she was turning into a tree and the whole chapter was just words in different sizes. that was really smart
I kept hoping that things would start making sense as I red further but the whole 'if you don't look at my stab wound I will turn into a tree' was just a little too weird for my tastes.
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Wtf? girls that turn to trees if people dont see their wounds or whatever! A waste of my time and of every reader.
Nice cover tho.
Nice cover tho.
A dark, distinctive, haunting work of magical realism.
The book Lark is about a young girl who was murdered. Lark is stuck in limbo and is trying to get her friends to see what really happened to her but none of them want to see because they are afraid. But one friends steps up to the plate and helps Lark get out of Limbo. Obviously the book is about Lark but Lark is not my favorite character. Eve (who was Larks best friend) is mine personal favorite, she knew she did wrong to Lark but no one would listen to what happened to Eve so she was upset. So
...more
"First he hit her, then he stabbed her with a small knife, but Lark didn’t die from this. She died from the cold."
Lark was found tied to a tree in the woods a few days after she went missing. She went missing after gymnastics practice as she was walking home. Someone picked her up and did the unthinkable.
Two old friends of Larks are haunted by her death, but Nyetta gets the worst of it. She is haunted by Lark at night. Lark wants her to go into the woods and set her soul free. Nyetta can’t even ...more
Lark was found tied to a tree in the woods a few days after she went missing. She went missing after gymnastics practice as she was walking home. Someone picked her up and did the unthinkable.
Two old friends of Larks are haunted by her death, but Nyetta gets the worst of it. She is haunted by Lark at night. Lark wants her to go into the woods and set her soul free. Nyetta can’t even ...more
This book was a work of art! I want to cover this more in a monthly wrap up video (see update below) so I won't go into to much detail, but holly cow! 'LARK' by Tracey Porter took on many different topics, and I feel as though it covered them all perfectly. This stories main purpose was to show us the healing process of two girls who lost a dear friend due to a brutal murder. It did that perfectly. Tracey Porter did not stop there though - oh no - she also covered topics such as; divorce, sexual
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these are my thoughts on the book so far its mainly about 2 girls that are dealing with the guilt of the death of their friend lark. and supposedly larks ghost is going to see one of the girls from time to time so that she can be free and for her spirit not to be stuck in the tree she died at. some parts i liked about the book was how descriptive and all the imagery that was used in the book . I'm the type of person to see everything I'm reading and this book made it really easy. some things i d
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Lark was kidnapped, raped, then tied to a tree and left to die. Nyetta, a young girl Lark used to babysit, sees Lark's ghost most nights. Lark has to show Nyetta her wounds in order to be free. Otherwise, Lark will become part of the tree she died against. Eve is also haunted but by her own guilt. She and Lark were best friends, until Eve couldn't stand to be on the swim team anymore and couldn't make Lark understand why. Now the three o them are all lost and not sure where to turn. Lark doesn't
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At first I was really excited about this book. It held such promise when it came to the description. It’s all about 3 girls one who is dead, one who is haunted by the dead, and one who was the dead’s best friend. It goes on to tell about their pasts and how they were brought together.
As the book went on it continued to feel more rushed as if the author didn’t have enough time to finish everything they wanted.
Also there were some parts that hit me from left field and could have used some more e ...more
As the book went on it continued to feel more rushed as if the author didn’t have enough time to finish everything they wanted.
Also there were some parts that hit me from left field and could have used some more e ...more
Although this book was quite small and cute cover wise the story untold behind this cover makes many rethink their daily lives, and the dangers of being alone.
Sixteen-year-old Lark, a young high school student was kidnapped, raped and left to die in the snowy woods after her gymnastics class on a cold winter's day. Little did Lark know that it would be the last time she would ever step outside of her class with freedom. Lark was a young strong girl who had so much ahead of her, and it was evi ...more
Sixteen-year-old Lark, a young high school student was kidnapped, raped and left to die in the snowy woods after her gymnastics class on a cold winter's day. Little did Lark know that it would be the last time she would ever step outside of her class with freedom. Lark was a young strong girl who had so much ahead of her, and it was evi ...more
For such a small book, it’s incredibly packed with emotion and feeling. Lark, Eve and Nyetta’s feeling are palpable and evocative. The description of Lark’s kidnapping made me feel rage-y. This book is full of the Feels.
I like this book more than I thought I would. The switching between characters threw me at first and I got confused. I started it over again and made sure to note who was narrating (reading chapter titles helped).
Really good short read!
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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| What's the Name o...: Small, white book with bird on cover [s] | 3 | 46 | Oct 28, 2012 05:56PM |
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Tracey Porter is the author of Treasures in the Dust and A Dance of Sisters. Her most recent novel, Billy Creekmore, was named to Oprah.com's Kids' Reading List, compiled by the American Library Association. For the past twenty years she has taught middle school at Crossroads School in Santa Monica, California. She lives with her family in Los Angeles.
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