Stranded in Harmony

by Barbara Shoup

Book Overview

"Stranded in Harmony is the story of Lucas Cantrell, a young man who feels estranged in his small hometown, doomed to live out the life his parents and girlfriend have planned for him. After befriending Allie Bowen, a woman with a mysterious past, he begins to envision a life of his own and finds the strength to make the choices that will carry him into a much larger world beyond his tiny town.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786802871
• ISBN13: 9780786802876
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Hyperion Books
• Length: 188 Pages
• Weight: 0.87 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.3" x 9.4"
• Age Range: 13 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 8 and higher

Customer Reviews

A Day Stranded in Harmony

Stranded in HarmonyBy: Barbara ShoupStranded in Harmony by Barbara Shoup tells the story of the hardships and good times that one teenage boy goes through during the most crucial times of his life. Lucas Cantrell lives with his parents and younger sister Dawn in a small town called Harmony, Indiana. They live a small town life. Everyone knows each other and news travels as fast as wildfire throughout the town. The book is told from Lucas's point of view, and Lucas takes the reader on a journey to witness his life and true feelings as if everything were happening right in front of their eyes. Lucas is the star football player on his high school team and is a very good student. He doesn't go anywhere without his best friend Bill who also happens to be Dawn's boyfriend or his girlfriend Sara. Lucas's first three years of high school flowed very smoothly. He went to school and got good grades, played football in the fall, and went out with Sara on the weekends. How much better could life get! But ... then came his senior year!Unbeknownst to Lucas, many problems will arise during his senior year. These problems occur in all aspects of his life. His family, friends, girlfriend, and even himself are all things that Lucas struggles with. As these events occur many things go through Lucas's mind. "When did I change? When did I quit believing that there was a whole world out there, just waiting for me to step into it? When it happened, why didn't I notice? Suddenly, toward the end of the summer before my senior year in high school, I started thinking about these questions all the time. I felt as if I'd just awakened from a long sleep. That dead-to-the-world kind of sleep, with no dreams. And I looked around and thought, This is what I've settled for? This is my life?" (p. 2)One of these problems is with the person that he would least expect it to be, his girlfriend Sara. Sara has been Dawn's best friend ever since they were little. And it turns out that Dawn was the one who convinced Lucas to ask Sara to the eighth grade dance. This began their relationship of four years. A problem arises when too many assumptions are made, instead of talking things through.Another problem arises with Coach Petrie, Lucas's football coach. At the beginning of the season he appointed Lucas as the captain of the football team, so in return, a lot of things were expected of him. Leadership and setting good examples are among these things. As the season progresses, Lucas slacks off because of his problems, and his talk with Coach Petrie results in an outcome that Lucas doesn't really like. Lucas is also offered a football scholarship to play football in college. A scout from Manchester College sees a lot of promise in Lucas. This situation causes many mental difficulties for Lucas. Because of his recent loss of a love for the game, and lifelong ambition to go to Indiana University, Lucas debates over what he should do. Mr. Cantrell also puts a lot of pressure on Lucas to make

Great twist on coming-of-age theme.

Shoup's novel holds appeal for teens and adults, alike. Protaganist Lucas, a popular high school student with an itch to discover the world outside of Harmony, Indiana, learns some valuable lessons during the fall of his senior year from a mysterious stranger to New Harmony and a local character who opted out of life years ago. A great read!

absolutely fabulous

barb is my aunt and ive read all of her books and this is my favorite book that she has written. It is about as good of book about a high school kids life as ive ever read.

The book was hard @ times to follow........

"Stranded in Harmony" was kind of hard to follow at times, especially when scenes of the visits w/ Ronnie Dale were occuring. It was kind of hard to understand what the relationship between he & Lucas. All in all, it was well-written. I believe that it could have been a teeny bit better, but she did her best. Bravo to Barbara Shoup :o} I am patiently waiting for her next bit of work.....

Thought-provoking but sometimes painful to read ...

At one point I found it difficult to finish this novel. It was almost painful to watch how Lucas treated a girl who was so in love with him. I can sympathize with these characters, though, because I know what it's like to have a very close relationship end suddenly ... :(