Fiction, Fantasy, and YA Book Review: THE HIGHER POWER OF LUCKY

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Patron, Susan. 2006. THE HIGHER POWER OF LUCKY. Ill. by: Matt Phelan. New York: Scholastic Inc. ISBN: 9780545036146

2. PLOT SUMMARY
Lucky Trimble is unlike any normal 10 year old girl in Hard Pan, California. She loves Charles Darwin, has a best friend named Lincoln who loves to tie knots, and plays with a 5 year old name Miles, and even has a job at Hard Pan’s Found Object Wind Chime Museum and Visitor Center picking up trash after various twelve-step anonymous meetings that she secretly listens to by the Dumpster. Though all of these things would make Lucky unique in her own right, one thing that makes her stand out above all of this is that, at the age of 4 her mother died in a freak accident and instead of being taken in by her father, who she has never met, she is now cared for by her guardian Brigitte, her father’s ex-wife from France.

Though Lucky seems like a self assured young lady, she lives in fear that her guardian will someday return to France and leave in an orphanage all alone. To try to avoid this perceived doom, Lucky is on a quest to for signs of a Higher Power that she hears about constantly in the twelve step meets she eavesdrops on. This quest for Higher Power leads Lucky on a surprising adventure which results in her letting go of her mother and father, and trusting that her guardian, Brigitte will always be there for her.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Susan Patron novel deals with several societal taboos such as the death of parent, divorce, and child abandonment by a father in a touching way that makes the reader connect with the Lucky and her struggle to find her “higher power.” Through her journey we are introduced to the colorful members of the Hard Pan community. From Lincoln’s obsession with knots to Short Sammy’s crazy stories to Miles constantly mooching food off of people, this book has a memorable cast of characters that keep the story balanced with humor and provide much needed comic relief in a book that deals with very serious issues. Matt Phelan’s simple pencil illustrations add depth to this story and help to break up long pages of text with pictures of characters and other props related to the story.

Furthermore, the constant reference to the picture book ARE YOU MY MOTHER serves as more than an annoyance to Lucky every time Miles asks her to read it to him. Patron cleverly uses the book title almost like an underlying question of the entire book: Is Brigitte going to stay in Hard Pan and become Lucky’s mother or go back to France? Sharing this picture book with students before, during, or after the reading of this story might help children see the connection between Miles, Lucky, and how it relates to this book. Overall, Patron has created a cast of memorable characters, that readers from all walks of life can find relatable, so much so that Patron has written another book featuring Lucky and this cast of characters entitled LUCKY BREAKS, which will be released in March of 2009.



4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL review: “The novel addresses difficult topics such as death, absent parents, and addiction with realism, humor, and wonder, making the overall message one of hope and love.”

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL review: “Phelan's cover and line drawings are simple and evocative, a perfect complement to the text.”

5. CONNECTIONS
*Read other Newberry Honor books and discuss themes prevalent in these award winning books.
*Research some of the various reference Lucky refers to in the book such as the English battle ship, “HMS Beagle” for whom she names her dog, Charles Darwin, cholla burr, and tarantula hawk wasps to see if the connection and facts made in the story are true.
*Read ARE YOU MY MOTHER by P.D. Eastman to the class and discuss it’s relevance to the story.

*Other novels by Susan Patron
* Patron, Susan. LUCKY BREAKS. ISBN: 9781416939986
* Patron, Susan. MAYBE YES, MAYBE NO, MAYBE, MAYBE. ISBN: 9780531054826