Customer Reviews

Lucky Breaks

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

At age 10 Lucky Trimble survived running away from home, finding her Higher Power and all the craziness the town of Hard Pan, California --- population 43 --- has to offer. All of this, though, is nothing compared to what awaits her at 11 years old. After all, eleven is much more intrepid than only ten. The more Lucky looks for intrepidness, the more things seem the same --- or do they?

Lucky's best friend, Lincoln, is gaining recognition with his world-class knots. His latest obsession is safely hidden away for the upcoming International Guild of Knot Tyers contest that promises fame and the possibility of leaving Hard Pan --- and Lucky. Brigitte, Lucky's legal guardian, has created her own niche in Hard Pan with a delightful French cuisine restaurant open for lunch on the weekends. Everyone has a piece of advice for Brigitte as she continues to adapt to the American way of life while staying true to herself. Miles --- newly certifiable genius --- is excited to share his sixth birthday celebration with Lucky, and he wants the whole town invited.

Lucky has come to the conclusion, however, that only a girl best friend will truly make her 11th year unforgettable. Enter Paloma Wellborne, niece of a geologist who happens to stop at Brigitte's cafe for lunch on the way to surveying rock layers in the desert. Paloma and Lucky hit it off right away --- laughing hysterically at gifts for chickens, swimming lessons in a bucket, and other all-important girl conversations. When Paloma's parents agree to let Paloma spend the weekend, Lucky makes plans to impress her with all the wonders Hard Pan has to offer. Lucky plots to uncover the mystery surrounding the rather large box sitting in Short Sammy's yard, stay far away from Lincoln and Miles, bake over 50 cupcakes for the birthday celebration, and perhaps search for a long-lost broach hidden outside of Hard Pan.

While Lucky promised both Brigitte and Paloma's parents that she would make good decisions, Lucky also promised herself that she would be intrepid from now on. Lucky doesn't live up to her namesake, however, when things go unplanned and she puts both Paloma and herself in danger. Her fearlessness starts to break, and she is forced to make some tough decisions that impact others more than she had imagined.

Susan Patron created magic in her Newbery Award-winning THE HIGHER POWER OF LUCKY, and fans will not be disappointed with this rewarding sequel. Matt Phelan once again sprinkles elegant drawings throughout that bring an added depth to the story. I appreciate that as this series grows so do all of the characters. They have learned from their mistakes, but they still continue to make new ones. I also enjoyed the ease in reading the book. You feel as though you're tagging along with Lucky and are in the center of the action. It's a fast read, but a very rewarding one. LUCKY BREAKS is the second book in the Lucky trilogy, and readers can expect a satisfying conclusion in the future.

--- Reviewed by Benjamin Boche (bennyboche@hotmail.com)

This is sweet, small town book with a lot of charm. It's not action packed, but it portrays a small, desert town with many likeable characters.

It is kind of like a character study for eleven year olds. Lucky is an adopted 11 year old girl who's seemingly had a lot of adult troubles, i.e., her mother dies when she is eight, and she is adopted by one of her absent father's girlfriends who owns a cafe in the very small town of Hard Pan, CA.

The backdrop of the town of Hard Pan is wonderful as seen by newcomers and the people who live in the town. There are some wonderful by stories that are heartwarming and they are about friendship and family.

I would recommend this book as a glimpse for a child to see what it would be like to live outside the subdivision - people live in all kinds of situations, and Lucky's is unique and her life and lifestyle are details very well in this story.

Lucky is about to celebrate her eleventh birthday--when, she anticipates, she will become intrepid. But her intrepidness is not challenged until a girl named Paloma comes to town...and Lucky promises that she won't get them into any trouble. In trouble and out of it, Lucky learns the value of friends, the meaning of family, and other small lessons with big meanings.
Lucky Breaks was a sweet, easy-to read story, with absolutely adorable, huggable characters. It is, however, a book for readers who shy away from plot--not until page 125 does any conflict develop, and it is quickly resolved with a few heartfelt conversations. Lucky's voice is unique, but one wonders if it wouldn't be more so with use of first-person-narration; often the author's voice steps in, sounding very adult, and distracting the reader from the story.

This was a quick read, which deals with a pre-teen girl, Lucky, and her desire to have a friendship with a girl her own age. Living in an almost non-existent town, there aren't any prospects her age. But a young girl who comes through town on a geological expedition piques her desire for a friend her own age even more. In the midst of this, Lucky is confronting the thought of losing her current best friend, who is a boy, when it seems like he might be leaving town soon.

The friendship with the little girl starts to blossom during a weekend visit, and they set out on an adventure. A bump in the adventure causes Lucky to learn even more about friendship, and who her friends really are.

This book is a good read for young, pre-teen girls. And as a parent, I feel completely comfortable letting my 9 year old daughter read this book.

LUCKY BREAKS is the second book in Susan Patron's THE HIGHER POWER OF LUCKY trilogy. It continues the story of Lucky, who lives in the middle of the desert in a tiny town called Hard Pan.

Lucky is about to turn eleven, and she can hardly wait. She is sure that being eleven will cause her life to be much more exciting than being ten. After all, being eleven is at "the door of becoming a teenager."

Not a whole lot has changed in Lucky's life. She still lives with Brigitte, her French adopted mother. She helps run the Hard Pan Cafe, which is open on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. Business is good, and Lucky is proud that Brigitte has made it such a success.

When she's not helping at the Cafe or busy at school, Lucky spends time with her two good friends, Lincoln and Miles. Lincoln, also eleven, is a world-class knot tier determined to win a knot competition that could earn him a chance to live and study in Europe for a year. Miles is about to turn six. He has been tested at school and told he has a genius IQ. With the help of Lucky and Lincoln, he is studying to be a brain surgeon.

Together they make an interesting and unforgettable trio.

Not much changes in Hard Pan, but one day Lucky meets a new friend. One of the guests at the Cafe is another eleven-year-old named Paloma. She turns up with her uncle, a geologist, and becomes fast friends with Lucky. Lucky can't believe what she has been missing. Having a girl as a best friend is much more satisfying than hanging around with two boys.

Lucky continues to think of herself as self-sufficient and independent, but being so enthusiastic and adventurous almost turns out to be Lucky's downfall. She and Paloma venture into the desert on a mission that almost ends in tragedy. Her experience teaches her lessons about respecting danger and preserving friendships.

Author Susan Patron won the 2007 John Newbery Medal for THE HIGHER POWER OF LUCKY, and this second book is surely medal-quality, as well. She keeps Lucky true to her original character and adds just the right combination of adventure and new intrigue to keep readers waiting anxiously for the final episode.

I applaud Lucky's freshness and purity, and Patron's determination to include plot elements previously attacked by critics.

Reviewed by: Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"

LUCKY BREAKS is the sequel to THE HIGHER POWER OF LUCKY. Who is Lucky? She is a soon to be eleven year old girl. She lives with her stepmother in a tiny desert -like town of Hard Pan.

In LUCKY BREAKS, Lucky meets a girl. Paloma arrived with one of the geologists who came to her mother's restaurant, Brigitte's Hard Pan Cafe. Immediately, Lucky wanted to be her best friend and invites her over to her birthday party. A few hours before the birthday party, Paloma and Lucky decide to go on a treasure hunt. Rumor has it there is a part of a dove brooch in an abandoned well. Using a ladder, Lucky goes down to the bottom of the well. She didn't discover the brooch, but did find she couldn't get out.

In the first book, Lucky explores this mysterious Higher Power she heard mentioned in the Twelve Step meeting. This wonderment she had in the first book continues as she waits on help to arrive.

Fans of the first book will delight in the return of Lincoln, a genius at tying knots, Miles, and Short Sammy - all very colorful characters. If you haven't read THE HIGHER POWER OF LUCKY prior to this book, I highly recommend you do so first. It will make the reading adventure more pleasurable.

Lucky is a fun, quirky character with a penchant for making up whoppers and finding trouble, both with funny results. She's excited about turning 11 -- a multiple syllable age. When she meets a new girl, however, her friends suddenly seem weird and boring and she does some things she shouldn't just to impress her new friend. In the end, Lucky learns to appreciate her friends and family and realizes how "lucky" she really is.

It's been so long since I read the first Lucky book that I had trouble remember the characters and figuring out why Lucky is living with a French woman (I never really did figure out why they were together). I quickly put aside the logistics though and just went with the story.This is a really nice book and young girls will enjoy it. There's adventure, a little mystery and lots of fun.

The only one thing that bothered me was the scrotum thing. It didn't bother me in the first book but I noticed it was specifically mentioned twice in this book again--it seemed unnecessary and a little "in your face" in this book.

Author Susan Patron, winner of the 2007 John Newbery Medal for children's literature and her story of THE HIGHER POWER OF LUCKY, has written a sequel in what Ms. Patron says will be a trilogy eventually as she works on the third book in this charming series. Meanwhile, in this second book, LUCKY BREAKS, we find our main character Lucky, almost 11 years old, is looking for more adventure in Hard Pan, California, and for a new best girl friend. Lucky seems to have taken to her new mother from France, Brigitte, who has recently bought a nice, round barbeque grill to be able to fit in better with the California lifestyle for her café. Brigitte is still working to become a citizen. When a group of geologists enter Brigitte's café, Lucky's meets a new girl named Paloma who is with them, and who shows Lucky what it is like to have fun and to laugh. They become great friends and Lucky escapes from the boredom she had begun to feel as some exciting and almost dangerous experiences ensue. Lucky forgets that her good friend Lincoln, who is a knot-tying whiz, and Miles, the five-year-old genius. Even Short Sammy is still around making it even more important that one reads THE HIGHER POWER OF LUCKY first so the reader can have that background to build on.

Short Sammy digs a hole by his front door when a mysterious looking coffin kind of box is delivered while Miles invites the whole town to his sixth year birthday celebration. The story is filled with touching, dangerous, and humorous antics that also include a wild burro that keeps coming back to Brigitte's Hard Pan Café, and the scary part when Lucky gets trapped in the bottom of an old abandoned well. While she waits to be rescued, Lucky's mind is going a mile a minute and she tries to figure how all things can work and that even includes the universe. She spends her time "well" earned as she wonders how the Milky Way can be where the Earth is located when it is so far away. During this time, Lucky rids herself of some things that are precious to her while she chooses to learn some of the mysteries of the universe.

All these things and many more happen and help Lucky to learn to make room in her heart not just for one friend or person to love, but to make room for many people. Although Lucky can be a little pain and a brat at times, she can also be quite sweet. She even goes so far, unknowingly, to get herself and Paloma in trouble.

The story is one that will further endear you to Lucky and culminates in teaching a lesson to show that the strength of the family that is created rather than perhaps one we are born into is just as important!

Illustrations in black-and-white by Matt Phelan add to the creative flair and gentle feel of the entire story.

Lucky is a nearly 11 year old girl who likens herself to a young Charles Darwin, even so far as listing their similarities and naming her dog HMS Beagle after the ship he sailed on to the Galapagos Islands. However, her voice troubles me. She does not read like a 10-almost-11 year old - rather she is excited about her first bra and kissing. The problem with this is that the 10 and 11 year olds I know are going to be put off by this talk (albeit brief, but it's on page 2) and many 12 year olds are going to be disinclined to read such a simply prosed book about a younger girl. As far as readability, the text is very simple and the book short - about 3rd-4th grade reading level, so may be a good choice for an older struggling reader.

Aside from the above qualms, the residents of Hard Pan put me off a bit. Lincoln is an expert knot-tier and Miles is a nearly 6 year old genius reading Brain Surgery for Beginners and Other Major Operations for Minors: a Scalpel-free Guide to Your Insides, which may actually be more suitable for the recommended Grades 4-6. Where does Lucky fit in? Here is where girls may identify her - she doesn't really - her father left her, she lives with a guardian, she doesn't have a female BFF (enter Paloma), and she's surrounded by these extraordinary people. So she is struggling.

The book does have some seriously imaginative moments. I really enjoyed the continued joke about the learn to swim (in a bucket) shared between the girls. I like how the story of Paloma and the brooch was weaved through the story and ended up being a source of strife for the girls. Lucky really does have to confront herself, her choices, and her behavior as a result of this conflict.

Bottom line: It's an okay book that I would recommend to a 8-10 year old girl. The beginning is slow going with some rough patches that may impede engaging in the book. If young readers get past this, they will likely enjoy Lucky.

I received this via Amazon Vine. I have two boys ages 8 1/2 and 9 1/2. We still do routine bedtime story time. I am delayed in writing this review because I read The Higher Power of Lucky to them first. It is not crucial for one to read the first book, however I highly recommend doing so. Both stories cover only a very brief amount of time-say maybe one week. This lends story telling to be detailed and thought focused. I think the most noteworthy characteristic of these books are the subject perspectives. Hard Pan is a desert town of only 43 people. By the authors' descriptions Hard Pan seems quite impoverished, however this has practically no impact in the story line. Everything is simply described the way it is without any attention to the have and have nots. It is a realistic story with true emotions and does not shy away from struggles, angst, negative thoughts and feelings, and inner sole searching. I like books to be entertaining or interesting. I didn't find either of these books to have either of these characteristics. They were different. I read them to get through them. My kids did not seem interested or turned off by them. I did appreciate the matter of fact demeanor of a simple life with every day challenges and strife. Things were not candy-coated at all.