When the new substitute teacher, Mr. Moffat, asks Lucy’s class to keep journals, she writes everything, hoping Mr. Moffat can and will keep it all secret.  Lucy writes her real, hardcore feelings about her best friend, her secret love, and her dream to write poetry one day. She also writes about the daily upsets that grind her down-her nasty old apartment building, her griping mother, and Andy, a hostile boy in her class who lives in her apartment complex with his mean stepfather. Andy, on the other hand, doesn't write at all. He just draws jet fighters, explosions, soldiers and mean cartoons of Mr. Moffat and the kids in his class.

Lucy wants to write poems like the ones Mr. Moffat puts up on the blackboard each week. But she doesn't believe she can write good verse because Lucy can't see any beauty in her life. Her mother's apartment is so small, Lucy doesn't even have a bedroom. Los Angeles is too smoggy, too full of cars and pollution ---  the sky isn't even blue anymore. In stark contrast, Lucy's dad has a beautiful house in San Francisco, and a gorgeous new wife. But Lucy is so unhappy when she visits them that she can still see nothing good.  

Then, one great day, a flock of ducks land in the apartment complex's pool.  Lucy writes all about them, getting super involved in their lives. A change happens with all the kids who live in the complex. Even Andy begins to like the ducks; he starts drawing the flock and scenes of the pond instead of his usual grisly war pictures.  Andy begins writing, too.  And when he does, he tells Mr. Moffat a very big secret.  One so big, it could save his life.  

Lucy is so real, she feels like you've known her forever. You even grow to like and understand Andy, although it takes a little longer.  And once you find out his secret, you really start rooting for him. There even is a very dramatic, surprise conclusion....but I won't give any of that away.

My favorite thing about this novel is the poems, poems that Mr. Moffat writes on the board, as well as Lucy's and the other student's ideas about each verse.  And none of the poems are really hard to understand, or too long. They're all simple poems that are easy to read and to like. They sound best when read aloud. It's a nice way to learn a little about poetry, and see if you like it.  

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY moves quickly and really holds your interest. It’s got a lot of funny parts, too. It is beautifully written, and really shows you that you can make your own beauty --- through art and poetry --- no matter how ugly your surroundings may be. You must be brave enough to find your own beauty inside of you, and show the world how you see it.

   --- Reviewed by Kate Torpie