The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Higher Power of Lucky
Book Review: Courtesy of Teens Read Too
Summary: 5 Stars
THE HIGHER POWER OF LUCKY, winner of the Newbery Medal, has been causing quite a stir. Why? I honestly don't know why. The story is sensitive, heartwarming, and meaningful.
Lucky's mother met an unfortunate end when she stepped out of their desert trailer home after a storm and touched a downed electrical wire. She was electrocuted and now Lucky lives with her guardian. Brigitte, a friend of her mother and the first wife of Lucky's father, came from France to take care of Lucky. Recent events have Lucky feeling suspicious. She seems to think Brigitte may be getting ready to return to France, leaving her behind in an L.A. orphanage.
There is not much to do in the desert town of Hard Pan -- population 43. Lucky spends quite a bit of her time outside the local meeting place for what she calls the "anonymous" groups. She hears the down-and-out stories of members of Alcoholics Anonymous, Smokers Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous, and more. Lucky hears about how these folks have hit "rock bottom" and then gone on to find their "higher power." Maybe if Lucky can find this higher power, Brigitte will see that it is necessary for her to stay in Hard Pan and take care of her.
Filled with colorful characters, innocent interpretations of the world, and unique surroundings, THE HIGHER POWER OF LUCKY takes the reader into the world of a brave little girl whose life experiences could challenge even a well-adjusted adult. Through Lucky's eyes readers will come to appreciate the wonders of the desert and the fascinating and quirky behavior of the people who touch her life.
I was reminded of the previously successful BECAUSE OF WINN DIXIE by Kate DiCamillo when I read this book. Both deal with girls who are thrust into situations we wouldn't really want to see our own children in, but with courage and determination the girls survive and even thrive as they make their way in the world. Please read Susan Patron's book and judge it for yourself.
Reviewed by: Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"
Book Review: A rite of passage for an engaging heroine
Summary: 5 Stars
2006's Newbery Medal winner was a controversial choice. After all, it's not every children's story that takes as thematic material alcohol addiction, tobacco addiction the freakish death of the protagonist's mother and another mother gaoled for drug trafficking. Nor is it common to find the word scrotum in the first chapter of a book aimed at fifth graders. But the charm of Lucky herself is truly irresistible, and it is clear that Patron, a librarian with the Los Angeles Public Library, has consulted with experts in the field of child psychology and grief therapy.
Set in Mojave California in the tiny settlement (population 43) of Hard Pan, The Higher Power of Lucky introduces Lucky, a science-loving de facto orphan being brought up by Brigitte - the French former wife of her absentee father. Lucky's mother was killed by electrocution having stumbled across a fallen power cable after a rainstorm (post-Katrina, such a death perhaps requires less suspension of disbelief than it might have a few years ago).
Lucky's hope is that when Brigitte returns to the France she so clearly misses, someone will take her place and become a mother to her. In the meantime, the two live on Lucky's father's cheques and free food from the U.S. Government. Brigitte, being the stereotypical French woman no American child will have difficulty believing in, makes these surplus foodstuffs into sumptuous culinary creations, but Lucky believes her departure is imminent and she searches for the equivalent in her own life of the "Higher Power" she overhears being referred to at meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous and similar organizations that help various residents of Hard Pan to cope with the aftermath of their divers addictions.
Lucky's path to self discovery and redemption is certainly an enjoyable read for an adult. Children may not read the same book in the sense that some of the subtler observations about child neglect, loss, coping with grief and adult relationships will be alien territory to them, but the plot will still make sense - and the central character is certainly engaging enough to keep a child's attention from wandering.