iffer's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this, although I feel like I'd have to ask kids if they enjoyed it, since I get the feeling that it's possible that it might be one of those kids books that adults like.
This is a simply-written, but rich story about a girl growing up in a tiny trailer park community in the Mojave Desert. I love this much-needed in children's literature positive portrayl of a low SES/rural community with strong ties, despite all the complications.
This is a simply-written, but rich story about a girl growing up in a tiny trailer park community in the Mojave Desert. I love this much-needed in children's literature positive portrayl of a low SES/rural community with strong ties, despite all the complications.
libz's review against another edition
3.0
Read Kate Dicamillo’s Louisiana’s Way Home after this—that’s what this book aspires to be. Quirky yet endearing. This missed that goal.
suzannedix's review against another edition
5.0
Nice sweet story about a girl struggling to find her own higher power - not at all understanding what that means but desperately needed security and love in her life. Made a huge ruckus because of using the word scrotum - caused some school libraries to ban the book.
somewheregirl7's review against another edition
3.0
I've heard good things about this book and it's an award winner after-all. It's also on the list of frequently banned books, all because the word scrotum appears in the first chapter.
The descriptions were very good and vivid, the dialogue decent. The author did a good job of capturing Lucky's thoughts and putting the reader into the head of a young girl. The overall plot and pace were a bit slow and didn't hold my interest for long, however. This feels like a book that is trying to be deep but just doesn't quite get there. Also, the fact that two of the main characters have such non-standard names as Lucky and Lincoln is a bit distracting. I don't know why so many authors feel the need to give their characters bizarre or odd first names. The character should stick in your mind because they are so well written and fascinating, not because they have a weird name. Overall I was disappointed with the book and won't be picking up the second one. It's not a bad book, just not what I look for in the books I read.
The descriptions were very good and vivid, the dialogue decent. The author did a good job of capturing Lucky's thoughts and putting the reader into the head of a young girl. The overall plot and pace were a bit slow and didn't hold my interest for long, however. This feels like a book that is trying to be deep but just doesn't quite get there. Also, the fact that two of the main characters have such non-standard names as Lucky and Lincoln is a bit distracting. I don't know why so many authors feel the need to give their characters bizarre or odd first names. The character should stick in your mind because they are so well written and fascinating, not because they have a weird name. Overall I was disappointed with the book and won't be picking up the second one. It's not a bad book, just not what I look for in the books I read.
literary_thicction's review against another edition
was real sad today. this helped a lot
beecheralyson's review against another edition
5.0
This is one very wonderful book. There is something about well written middle-grade fiction that is better than anything else in the world. Maybe because it is how children view the world and often despite their problems there is always a sense of hope.
The Higher Power of Lucky is about a ten year old girl named "Lucky" who lives in a teeny-tiny CA desert town. Lucky's mom died two years ago and her father (who she has never met) arranged for his first wife to come from France to be Lucky's guardian. Lucky spends her time cleaning up around the town's visitor center where 12 step programs meet. In between cleaning up, she listens to peoples' stories about hitting rock bottom and finding their higher power. Lucky decides she needs to find her higher power to help her. She is worried that her guardian will leave her and return to France.
Susan Patron does a wonderful job in developing all of her characters and in creating characters that you really like. Lucky is a fun, strong, quirky girl who carries a survival pack and one day thinks that maybe running away will help solve her problem. What she discovers is more than just a solution.
I can't wait to share this book with my students.
The Higher Power of Lucky is about a ten year old girl named "Lucky" who lives in a teeny-tiny CA desert town. Lucky's mom died two years ago and her father (who she has never met) arranged for his first wife to come from France to be Lucky's guardian. Lucky spends her time cleaning up around the town's visitor center where 12 step programs meet. In between cleaning up, she listens to peoples' stories about hitting rock bottom and finding their higher power. Lucky decides she needs to find her higher power to help her. She is worried that her guardian will leave her and return to France.
Susan Patron does a wonderful job in developing all of her characters and in creating characters that you really like. Lucky is a fun, strong, quirky girl who carries a survival pack and one day thinks that maybe running away will help solve her problem. What she discovers is more than just a solution.
I can't wait to share this book with my students.
ajsterkel's review against another edition
4.0
I really like this book! It’s the kind of story I would have read over and over as a preteen. Ten-year-old Lucky lives with her guardian in a vivid little desert town. Lucky has been abandoned before and sees her guardian’s homesickness for France as a sign that she will soon be abandoned again. To avoid being dumped in an orphanage, Lucky decides to run away and live in the desert.
Every character in this novel is realistically flawed. Lucky has a mean streak and sometimes lashes out at her friends. There isn’t much to do in Lucky’s town, so her favorite hobby is eavesdropping on twelve-step addiction recovery meetings. She hears about the worst moments in her neighbors’ lives. I like this aspect of the novel because it shows young readers that everybody has problems. Everybody makes mistakes. You can recover from them if you put in the effort.
This book doesn’t have much of a plot, but I found the characters interesting enough that I didn’t care. I enjoyed watching Lucky mature and correct her mistakes. There are some brilliant moments of humor. Lucky overhears the word “scrotum” at a twelve-step meeting and badly wants to know what a scrotum is, which is funny and realistic for a ten-year-old girl. There’s also a scene where Lucky’s guardian finds a snake in the clothes dryer and duct tapes the dryer closed so it can’t get out. I think young readers would appreciate the humor.
I don’t have many complaints. As I mentioned, this is a character-focused book, so kids who are used to plot-heavy novels may get bored with the lack of action. My only wish is that the book had more cohesion. There’s some talk of rock bottom, higher powers, and finding the courage to change your life. I wish those elements had been a bigger part of the story. They could have been used to effectively tie the disparate parts of the book together. The plot would have seemed less scattered that way.
Newbery winners are pretty hit-or-miss for me. I’m happy to report that this one was a hit. As a kid, I would have found Lucky’s mean streak and desire to run away relatable. I would have appreciated the honest way the author depicts the problems of a small town. Where was The Higher Power of Lucky when I was a kid?
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Every character in this novel is realistically flawed. Lucky has a mean streak and sometimes lashes out at her friends. There isn’t much to do in Lucky’s town, so her favorite hobby is eavesdropping on twelve-step addiction recovery meetings. She hears about the worst moments in her neighbors’ lives. I like this aspect of the novel because it shows young readers that everybody has problems. Everybody makes mistakes. You can recover from them if you put in the effort.
This book doesn’t have much of a plot, but I found the characters interesting enough that I didn’t care. I enjoyed watching Lucky mature and correct her mistakes. There are some brilliant moments of humor. Lucky overhears the word “scrotum” at a twelve-step meeting and badly wants to know what a scrotum is, which is funny and realistic for a ten-year-old girl. There’s also a scene where Lucky’s guardian finds a snake in the clothes dryer and duct tapes the dryer closed so it can’t get out. I think young readers would appreciate the humor.
I don’t have many complaints. As I mentioned, this is a character-focused book, so kids who are used to plot-heavy novels may get bored with the lack of action. My only wish is that the book had more cohesion. There’s some talk of rock bottom, higher powers, and finding the courage to change your life. I wish those elements had been a bigger part of the story. They could have been used to effectively tie the disparate parts of the book together. The plot would have seemed less scattered that way.
“It made her feel discouraged, like if you took the word apart into two sections of dis and couraged. It was getting harder and harder to stay couraged.” – The Higher Power of Lucky
Newbery winners are pretty hit-or-miss for me. I’m happy to report that this one was a hit. As a kid, I would have found Lucky’s mean streak and desire to run away relatable. I would have appreciated the honest way the author depicts the problems of a small town. Where was The Higher Power of Lucky when I was a kid?
Do you like opinions, giveaways, and bookish nonsense?
I have a blog for that.
emanck15's review against another edition
5.0
Lucky is a little girl who is adventurous and curious about the world around her. After her mother died in a horrific accident, her biological father's first wife comes to be her guardian. Lucky is constantly afraid that her guardian will leave her and go back to France. She decided that she will leave before she can be left, and decides to runaway during a serious dust storm.
This is a cute story about a young girl and how she learns to trust and love the people that care about her after her mothers death. All the characters in this book are unique, enjoyable, and well developed. This story was so good I just could not put it down.
This book has also been banned by several school libraries in several states... read about it!
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/18/books/18newb.html
I did notice the word, and thought it was a little out of place, but I entirely forgot about it until I was looking at a list of banned books.
This is a cute story about a young girl and how she learns to trust and love the people that care about her after her mothers death. All the characters in this book are unique, enjoyable, and well developed. This story was so good I just could not put it down.
This book has also been banned by several school libraries in several states... read about it!
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/18/books/18newb.html
I did notice the word, and thought it was a little out of place, but I entirely forgot about it until I was looking at a list of banned books.