Author Description

Who is Lucy Bee? She always thought she was Lucy Bennett. Suddenly everything about her world starts changing. Bits of it, important bits, keep flying apart. Are her parents really her parents? Does she really belong in the Bennett family? She decides to track her genes. It all starts when she is bullied at school because of her frizzy hair. It makes her realize she looks nothing like her parents and she believes she must be adopted. She decides to go on a gene hunt, tracing the path of her genes though her family. With the help of her friend Megan she makes this her science fair project. In the meantime other things happen that complicate her life. Themes: identity, friendship, bullying, school and family life, DNA and genetic genealogy. Middle fiction for 9-12 year olds. Reviews: "The quest keeps the reader guessing until the last pages. This is one of those stories you simply do not want to put down." (Barbara Murison - Around the Bookshops). "A satisfying story of friendship and family." (Ann Packer - the New Zealand Listener). "This is a delightful story of the small dramas children have in their lives - nagging doubts about identity, loyalty and the shifting nature of friendship. Lucy Bee & the Secret Gene explores these and resolves them." (John MacIntyre - Radio New Zealand). "I really enjoyed this book. It's beautifully written. It's funny. I loved it. What I really like too was that it looked at bullying from both sides. It had real insight." (Pam Coleman - Kapiti Libraries Youth Coordinator). "Anne Ingram handles Lucy's story with great skill and a light touch. You will want to know where that hair came from "