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Reviewed by:
  • Here Lies Linc
  • Deborah Stevenson
Ray, Delia. Here Lies Linc. Knopf, 2011. [304p]. Library ed. ISBN 978-0-375-96756-6 $19.99 Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-375-86757-6 $16.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-375-89844-0 $16.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 5–8

Seventh grade is a real departure for Linc, who until now has been schooled in a small eccentric collective of professors’ kids. He’s trying to break from his previous geeky identity, but that effort is endangered with the very first big class project: a study of the local cemetery, guided by none other than Linc’s anthropologist mother, who’s studied the graves. Linc decides to play the expert to the hilt, insisting to popular classmates that he can get them into a locked mausoleum; for his topic, he decides to tackle the Black Angel, a huge, creepy monument that’s the center of local lore. Ray takes some classic tropes of daily-life fiction—a kid trying to eke out a niche in a new school situation, a changing relationship with a parent, the stirrings of [End Page 41] first romance—and gives them an offbeat seasoning. The result is a pleasing touch of graveyard unease that gives additional shape to the story, leading to both some haunting-hinted scenes and some exploration of legend and truth (based, according to an author’s note, on real Iowa history). Additionally, a side plot about Linc’s own family background and a mysterious local connection enhances the point about links to the past being worth uncovering. History buffs will particularly appreciate the creative approach to the topic, but readers in general will enjoy the spooky-edged tale-telling that suggests their own towns may be more interesting than they realize. An author’s note fills in the factual background, and a list of sources for the story’s elements and cemetery research generally is included.

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