Lara was born in Minnesota and raised in Wisconsin. She went to college in Minnesota and cheers for Wisconsin sports teams. Her first book, DONUT DAYS, was set in Minnesota and her second, PROMGATE, is set in Wisconsin. Lara lives in Michigan. She listens to Minnesota Public Radio and eats Wisconsin cheese with her husband, dog, and kitty.
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Donut Days (Putnam Books for Young Readers, Paperback Fall 2010)
Emma Goiner has a lot going on. Her best friend’s not speaking to her, a boy she’s known all her life is suddenly smokin’ hot, she’s at a camp-out for the opening of a donut shop, and oh yes—her evangelical pastor parents may lose their church. And that’s just this weekend. Suddenly, sixteen-year-old Emma has to make some serious choices: creationism or evolution, faith or freedom, Harley bikers or Frodo wannabes, and of course, cruller or glazed.
Review in Kirkus for Donut Days (July, 2009):
"In this spirited—and, in an offbeat, somewhat irreverent way, spiritual—offering, readers meet Emma, who, despite the fact that both her parents are ministers at an evangelical church, finds her desire to feel the power of God in a direct and immediate way continually frustrated. Emma’s relationship with God becomes even more troubled when a wealthy church member challenges Emma’s mother’s right to preach based on her gender. Add to this the terrible fight that Emma has had with her best friend Nat, her budding relationship with the son of the man who instigated the church trouble and her attempt to get around her parents’ decision that she attend a Christian college by winning a scholarship contest for the best article on the Crispy Dream donut camp, and complications abound. The whimsical plot stretches credulity in places, as does the virtuousness of Emma’s crush, Jake, who never flinches in his loyalty to Emma, but Zielin’s lighthearted yet substantive portrayals of Emma’s struggles with God, family and friendship ring absolutely true. (Fiction. YA)"
Donut Days as a feature in the Ann Arbor Observer:
Read a short piece in about Lara and her book!
Donut Days reviewed by !
had this to say about Donut Days:
Donuts, friendship, corruption, religion, love, and motorcycle gangs all figure into this sweet, satisfying treat of a first novel. Emma, a pastor’s daughter who is about to start her senior year, has some serious questions to figure out. A member of the family’s Living Word Redeemer church has challenged her mother’s right to preach, throwing her whole family into turmoil. Emma might be in love with a boy whose father just happens to be the one causing all the trouble. She has also had a falling out with her best friend. Emma wants to study journalism at a non-Christian college, which her father refuses to pay for. How do donuts figure into all this? A donut chain is opening a new store in Emma’s town, and people are streaming in from miles around to camp out for the opening. When the local paper offers a scholarship to the student who writes the best article on the event, Emma is determined to win. Her ambivalence about religion is addressed with sensitivity; she respects her parents’ faith while also questioning their beliefs about evolution and the Bible. The overall tone is airy as Emma interviews die-hard donut campers, including a born-again motorcycle gang, and admits her feelings to the object of her affections. Teens will enjoy this lighter look at some serious issues of faith and family.–Miranda Doyle, San Francisco Unified School District
