Waiting for Lana
By Allisa McVea

     A beautiful but lengthy love story of a teenager named Lana Black, Waiting for Lana, is a wonderfully-written profile of the life of an exceptional young person. Told from three major voices--Lana Black, her brother King Black, Jr. and Lana's most steady boyfriend, Jason Stapleton--this story has the power to grip you and keep you interested. Although not thrilled with the layout of the book, I was anxious to read the ending, and I'll admit that at times I was ready to flip to the last few chapters to see if my suspicions were correct, but I resisted that temptation.

     Lana Black became an unwed mother at the age of 19. Coming from a "good" family, her parents, in particular her father, were not thrilled that their oldest daughter chose not to marry the man because she didn't see their relationship as loving. Here was a man who was willing to marry her out of duty or obligation and with the feelings of love, but Lana openly turned him down. Not to be daunted by her parents' insistence that marriage was the right step for her, she pursued her life as she envisioned it. Her dearest confident, her older brother King, Jr., was also searching for love. This story, as much as it is about Lana, is also the metamorphosis of her love life as well.

     Jason Stapleton has enamored Lana, but ill-placed words and outside influences have soured their relationship to the point that it seems irreconcilable. It is apparent that they are unable to exist without the presence of each other in their lives, but they gallantly try. Lana even marries someone else. As the story unfolds, the reader will become enthralled with the level of maturity Lana has, the wonderful supportive backbone of friends and family, and the general good nature of the story itself. Waiting for Lana is a wonderful story to kick back and read over the course of a weekend. This story didn't dwell on negatives, but chose to accentuate the positives that are found in every situation. This alone kept me reading. It definitely wasn't a story that glorified teenage pregnancy, but rather glorified the fact that being a teenage parent wasn't the end of a life but the end of a chapter; more pages can be turned and positive outcomes can be obtained. "Inspirational" would be a fitting adjective.

     A storybook ending if ever there was one, Waiting for Lana captures the essence of romance found in sappy romance novels without being sappy. A well-written story that leaves the reader refreshed.