The Decoding of Lana Morris

    "By paying homage to The Wizard of Oz through an infusion of magical moments, The Decoding of Lana Morris--Laura and Tom McNeal's perfectly realized novel about a teenage foster child--keeps itself from bogging down under difficult issues.  The first of these is the attraction Lana feels for her foster dad, Whit Winters--an attraction he creepily encourages.
    Plunked down by circumstances in a dead-end Nebraska town, Lana's placement with the Winterses at first seems like a big mistake.  The childless couple focuses on fostering special-needs kids, especially those with Down Syndrome, whom Lana disdains.  Slowly, though, she forges a relationship with her fellow members of the child-care system, partially predicated on a hatred of Veronica Winters, an icy, stingy woman who makes a good stand-in for the Wicked Witch of the West. 
    Meanwhile, Lana's friendship with Chet, the odd podcasting boy next door, leads her to a ruby shoe-clad antique-store owner, whose shop sign cryptically promises, "What you desire, Miss Hekkity provides."  In the store, Lana is attracted to a drawing set.  She soon finds what's sketched in it seems destined to come true.
    But, as in all good fairy tales, magic's never benign . . . The McNeals have created an enchanting heroine whom teens will root for as she struggles in a world made both familiar and extraordinary--a blend of the Midwest and Oz."

 --The Chicago Sun-Times

"Fully realized characters, both teen and adult, make this book a captivating read.  In distinct and thoughtfully crafted voices, characters reveal zany teen humor, adolescent longings, adult treachery, and youthful belief that wrongs should be righted."

--VOYA

"The Decoding of Lana Morris is a heartbreaking, yet ultimately hopeful, story steeped in adult betrayal and humiliation, teen confusion and fear, and imponderable acts of human cruelty and weakness. But because the McNeals have written with such depth and understanding, and because they have created such finely rendered characters, the reader accepts the darkness and rejoices in the light whenever it appears. A magical conceit emerges early in the book, and it is an excellent catalyst for such mature themes as personal responsibility and the consequences of one’s actions. Teens will understand Lana’s desire to help her friends, but they will also appreciate her inner struggle when she decides the fate of her enemies.
    The book is written in the present tense, which lends immediacy to the text, and the chapters are kept short. These stylistic choices speed the narrative along, while the superb writing, crafted with great clarity, adds to the reading experience. Additionally, the dialogue feels perfect. The teens sound appropriately irreverent and the adults—well, they sound exactly like adults, the kind one doesn’t want to meet.
    The writers do explore difficult subjects such as child abandonment, teen sexuality, and adult treachery, but all are handled with sensitivity and compassion. For teens who discover this book, these tough issues should spark meaningful discussions and help them better understand the world they live in. Altogether, The Decoding of Lana Morris is a terrific read, one that any older teen could relate to and enjoy."

—iPulp Children's literature Review
Janice Corker, Youth Services Librarian, Chandler (AZ) Sunset Library

    "With each new book, I've enjoyed the McNeals more and more.
    Lana Morris has been in the system for some time now:  Six months ago, on Lana's first day at the Winterses', she called her caseworker, Hallie Simpson, and without bothering to say hello announced that there'd been a mistake.  "And not a little one," Lana said.  "As mistakes go, Hallie, this one is stellar."
    Hallie in her low, rich, mellifluent voice said, "Hello, Lana.  And how are you?  Are you well?  Because I hope you're well."
    Lana likes Hallie.  She is the best caseworker Lana has ever had and one of the few adults she can trust.  Still, Lana said, "You put me in a home for retards is how I am, Hallie."
    But now, six months later, Lana has become somewhat comfortable in the Winters household.  She hates her foster mother (and the feeling is quite definitely mutual), but she's grown to care for the SNKs (Special Needs Kids) and her feelings for her foster father go even further than that -- she's in love with him.
    She has a sort-of friend in the boy next door, but his horrible friends refuse to let her become one of the gang.  During an outing with that group (they make her ride in the trunk and none of them acknowledge her except Chet), she wanders into an old curio shop.  An antique drawing set catches her eye, and she impulsively pays for it with the only money she has on hand -- a two dollar bill that once belonged to her father.
    Turns out that she was right -- the drawing set is a special one.  Everything that she draws comes true.  Now, she knows her fairy tales -- she knows that wishes don't often turn out right.  But forewarned is forearmed, right?  And she doesn't have the usual measly three wishes -- there are thirteen pages in the kit.  Thirteen pages, thirteen wishes.  Plenty to help out the SNKs and fix her life.  Right?
    I couldn't put it down. I was especially impressed with Veronica Winters, foster mother and Ice Queen.  She always comes first.  She's always willing to step on someone else to get what she wants.  She's a strong person (but unfortunately not a good one -- there's no Big Misunderstanding or Redemption here), yet we sometimes see her in moments of indecision and doubt.  She's mean, but she's not stupid.  Above all, she's perceptive.  Mean and perceptive -- not a pleasant combination, but an interesting one.
    While some of the darker aspects of the story (Lana's relationship with her foster father, the abandonment of the kids, etc.) could have made for an extremely heavy story, the magical realism gave it an entirely different feel.  The use of the present tense makes it feel even more dreamlike.  It was a light read without being trivial -- and after I finished it, I found that it stayed with me."

   --Bookshelves of Doom

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