Lum
Publisher
She Writes Press
Publication Year
2015
ISBN
9781631520037
Pages
215 pages
Genre
historical
Format
novel
Item Type
Fiction
Annotation
Lum has always been on the outside. At eight, she was diagnosed with what we now call an intersex condition and is told she can't expect to marry. Now, at thirty-three, she has no home of her own but is shuttled from one relative's house to another -- valued for her skills, but never treated like a true member of the family. Everything is turned upside down, however, when the Blue Ridge Parkway is slated to come through her family's farmland. As people take sides in the fight, the community begins to tear apart -- culminating in an act of violence and subsequent betrayal by opponents of the new road. However, the Parkway brings opportunities as well as loss.
Grade Level
9-12
Diversity Topics
Family Relationships; LGBTQ (Gender and Sexuality); Kinship care; Intersex; children living with relatives; intersex adult
Main Character
intersex
Race/Ethnicities
White
Family Formation
multi-generational
LGBTQ+
intersex person
Keywords
family; relatives; moving; community; violence; construction; indentured servitude
Diversity Impact
direct
STARS Citation
Ware, Libby, "Lum" (2015). Diverse Families. 887.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/diversefamilies/887