Three Times Lucky [Hardcover]

Sheila Turnage (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 10, 2012 | Age Range: 10 and up | Lexile Measure: 560L (What's this?)

Newbery honor winner, New York Times bestseller, and Edgar Award Nominee.

A hilarious Southern debut with the kind of characters you meet once in a lifetime

Rising sixth grader Miss Moses LoBeau lives in the small town of Tupelo Landing, NC, where everyone's business is fair game and no secret is sacred. She washed ashore in a hurricane eleven years ago, and she's been making waves ever since. Although Mo hopes someday to find her "upstream mother," she's found a home with the Colonel--a café owner with a forgotten past of his own--and Miss Lana, the fabulous café hostess. She will protect those she loves with every bit of her strong will and tough attitude. So when a lawman comes to town asking about a murder, Mo and her best friend, Dale Earnhardt Johnson III, set out to uncover the truth in hopes of saving the only family Mo has ever known.

Full of wisdom, humor, and grit, this timeless yarn will melt the heart of even the sternest Yankee.

Editorial Reviews

Review

FROM PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, Starred Review:

"Here is a writer who has never met a metaphor or simile she couldn't put to good use. Miss Lana's voice is 'the color of sunlight in maple syrup,' while '[r]umors swirl around the Colonel like ink around an octopus.' But it's Mo's wry humor that makes this first novel completely memorable."

FROM KIRKUS REVIEWS, Starred Review:

"...Turnage achieves a wickedly awesome tale of an 11-year-old girl with more spirit and gumption than folks twice her age. Mo LoBeau is destined to become a standout character in children's fiction."

"What do you get when you combine Because of Winn-Dixie's heart with the mystery and action of Holes?...a wickedly awesome tale of an 11-year-old girl with more spirit and gumption than folks twice her age. Mo LoBeau is destined to become a standout character in children's fiction."

(Kirkus Reviews (starred review) )

"Here is a writer who has never met a metaphor or simile she couldn't put to good use...But it's Mo's wry humor that makes this first novel completely memorable."

(Publishers Weekly (starred review) )

"Turnage's lively novel features a distinctive voice and a community of idiosyncratic characters."

(Booklist (starred review) )

"Quick-thinking and precocious Mo LoBeau is hilarious in this modern-day mystery...this book will leave readers hoping for more books about Mo and her gang."

(School Library Journal )

"A dandy mystery...Humor sweetens the mix, making Tupelo Landing a pleasant place to stay for a spell."

(Horn Book )

"Mo's deadpan colloquial narration is robust and often humorous...Mystery lovers and fans of titles like Di Camillo's Because of Winn-Dixie (BCCB 6/00) or Klise's Grounded (BCCB 1/11) will definitely want to set a spell with Mo."

(Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books )

"A vivid, multilayered story which will appeal to both skilled and reluctant readers of either gender. Elements of mystery, romance, secret identities, and long-unspoken small-town secrets blend into a literary stew that becomes compulsively readable as so many tales alternately unravel and combine."

(VOYA )

About the Author

Sheila Turnage lives on a farm in North Carolina with her husband, a blind dog and an ill-tempered cat.

A native North Carolinian, she's spent most of her life surrounded by the poetry and humor of rural NC. She writes books, articles and poems, and enjoys writing about the South in general and NC in particular. Her books include Compass American Guides: North Carolina and Haunted Inns of the Southeast.

Three Times Lucky is her first novel for kids. It's set in the fictitious town of Tupelo Landing, NC - population 148 minus one (murder).

Product Details

• Age Range: 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Dial; First Edition edition (May 10, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9780803736702
• ISBN-13: 978-0803736702
• ASIN: 0803736703
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,390 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #40 in Books > Children's Books > Mysteries & Detectives
  • #87 in Books > Children's Books > Social Situations > Friendship

More About the Author

Sheila Turnage lives on a farm in North Carolina with her husband, a blind dog and an ill-tempered cat.

A native North Carolinian, she's spent most of her life surrounded by the poetry and humor of rural NC. She writes books, articles and poems, and enjoys writing about the South in general and NC in particular. Her books include Compass American Guides: North Carolina and Haunted Inns of the Southeast.

Three Times Lucky is her first novel for kids. It's set in the fictitious town of Tupelo Landing, North Carolina - population 148 minus one (murder).

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

149 of 152 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Exciting read but not for 10 year olds July 1, 2012

By JK

Format:Hardcover

As the 5 star reviews state, this is a well-written and exciting story. For the sake of other parents who might give this book to their kids without reading it first, here is a warning. I found the description of the drunken Dad beating up his wife way too terrifying for the Nancy Drew crowd. She had gotten a restraining order forbidding him to come to their house but he showed up anyway. Here are some excerpts of that incident.

"Shut up, Mo," he growled, keeping his eyes on Miss Rose. "You talk too much. If you were my kid I'd knock some sense into you, wouldn't I, Dale? Go ahead, Rose, call for help." When she didn't move, he sneered, "What's the matter? Phone out?"

"His hand snaked out. He grabbed the front of her blouse and yanked her forward, onto her toes. "You'll what?" he growled. "Get me thrown out of my own house?"
"Daddy!" Dale cried. "Let her go!"
Time shifted into slow motion. Mr. Macon's hand swooped down in a clean, vicious arc, slamming Miss Rose's face, snapping her head back. She staggered sideways, her knees buckling as she crashed to the floor.

I darted forward to elbow his chin, but she grabbed my arm. "Stop," she gasped. "He'll kill you. Macon, please. She's a child. Just ... just sit down. I'm sorry, I'll get you something to eat."
His laugh came jagged as broken glass, and he stepped closer, fist raised.

So parents, read the book yourselves (I think you will enjoy it) and decide which of your kids are old enough to read it too.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun read, but not stupid! May 10, 2012

By Kitty Boyd

Format:Hardcover

My problem with reading fiction is that books are either boring but well written, or fun to read but lacking writing style and real substance. This book manages to be fun AND smart. Although the book is marketed as one for middle grades, it is not dumbed down at all. I.e., it isn't a difficult read for adults but you don't feel like you're reading a jr high book (think Harry Potter-ish). The characters in the book are colorful and the dialogue and plot developement are artfully done. I read the book in one day, because I wouldn't put it down. Highly recommend to anyone age 9 and up! (My husband also enjoyed the book)!

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars SOUTHERN CHARM May 17, 2012

By Padgett Gerler

Format:Hardcover

by Padgett Gerler, author of GETTING THE IMPORTANT THINGS RIGHT

Eleven years ago a raging hurricane deposited a newborn girl on the riverbank at Tupelo Landing, North Carolina. Colonel LoBeau rescued her, named her Moses (after the Biblical character discovered in the bulrushes), and, along with his girlfriend, Miss Lana, is raising Mo as his own.

Welcome to the South, where we name our youngins first and think about it later.

Mo LoBeau, sassy, charming, and wise beyond her years, careens through life and Tupelo Landing in her plaid sneakers, accompanied by her best friend, Dale Earnhardt Johnson III. Now, Dale isn't really a third of anything; his daddy just tacked III to the end of his name because his hero, race car driver Dale Earnhardt, drove car #3. So I guess you'd say Dale was named after a race car driver and his car.

Mo is working the counter in the Colonel's cafe, perched atop her Pepsi crate, Dale pestering her to skip work and go fishing with him, when the two of them learn that cantankerous Jesse Tatum has been murdered. Mo and Dale jump right into the middle of the investigation, creating an impromptu detective agency, Desperado Detectives, and set out to solve the mystery of Jesse's murder.

Sheila Turnage, in her debut novel, THREE TIMES LUCKY, has created a world of eccentric characters, humidity-dripping scenes, and quaint intrigue as only a southern writer can. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD came to mind as I read about Mo, a charming, motherless little girl who is being raised by a wise (surrogate) father and a town of colorful friends and neighbors who love her, abide her sassiness, and are amused by her antics. And just as the world loves Scout Finch, I can't imagine the world not adoring Mo LoBeau.

Though THREE TIMES LUCKY was created for tweens, it is suitable for adults with its spot-on southern dialogue and crisp, clever prose. Sheila Turnage has written a coming-of-age novel so charming, touching, and humorous that I predict we'll soon see Miss Mo LoBeau on the big screen.

As for my copy of THREE TIMES LUCKY, it lives on my bookshelf alongside TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. And just as I read TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD each summer, I'll read THREE TIMES LUCKY, 'cause summer just wouldn't be summer without it.