Can Laura figure out how to get what she wants at school while also honoring her family's past? but when a careless mistake puts the shack-and the Laura Line-in jeopardy, Laura must decide what's truly important to her. So she comes up with the perfect plan to get the trip canceled. But Laura knows better: her classmates will never accept her once they see the shack. Heck to the power of no way Her grandmother insists that it's more than just an old shack it's a monument to the strong women in their family-the Laura Line. Until one day, their history teacher announces a field trip to the run-down slave shack on her grandmother's property. But everyone at school teases her for being overweight, and Troy won't give her a second glance. Laura Dyson wants two things in life: to be accepted by her classmates and to be noticed by ultracute baseball star Troy Bailey.

With its humor and deep reverence for history, Allen's novel is an engaging treatment of the oft-told tale of looking within for beauty and strength.A touching and funny story of one girl's journey to discover where she came from and the unlimited possibilities of who she can become, from Crystal Allen, the acclaimed author of How Lamar's Bad Prank Won a Bubba-Sized Trophy and The Magnificent Mya Tibbs: Spirit Week Showdown. Generational bonds, notably the growth of the relationship between Laura and her grandmother, are beautifully depicted. While a side plot concerning Laura's irritating best friend feels a little forced, the protagonist's emotional transformation will resonate with readers.

But in the ensuing antics, she finds she is descended from a powerful line of women going all the way back to the slave ship Amistad. Jacobs proposes a field trip to see the slave shack and cemetery, Laura is mortified by the idea and schemes to get it canceled. Knowing Grandma's eagerness to share the significance of the structure and the adjacent family cemetery, the 'Laura Line,' the teen dreads the visit. Deeply ashamed of the degradation and cruelty the shack represents, Laura wants nothing to do with it. Then the plan shifts and she is packed off to her grandmother's rundown farm that has, of all things, an intact slave shack. Laura's parents are departing for military training and she looks forward to spending two weeks with fabulous Aunt Carmen. Even the endless taunts of 'Fat Larda' from resident queen bee Sunny Rasmussen aren't enough to sink her spirits. Gr 6–8-Eighth-grader Laura Dyson loves baseball, fashion, and Troy Bailey, the cutest boy in her class.

The Laura Line by Crystal Allen