2018 School Spending Survey Report
Lucky Strike
272p. Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine. Feb. 2015. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9780545592178; ebk. $16.99. ISBN 9780545592192.
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Gr 4–6—Wherever Nate Harlow goes, bad luck seems to follow. He has never even won a coin toss, so it comes as no surprise to many residents of Paradise Beach that it is Nate who gets struck by lightning out of the literal blue on his 11th birthday while playing mini-golf with his friend Genesis Beam. What does come as a big surprise is that Nate's luck seems to change drastically after the strike. All of a sudden, he is winning. Everything. Nate has to decide how he is going to handle this change—he is now surrounded by friends and opportunities whereas before it was only him and Genesis sticking together. Will she stay by Nate's side while he finds his feet, and, more importantly, will he support her when she needs it most? This well-told story of growth, friendship, and small-town life hits all the right notes. The quirkiness of the characters and the town never goes too far, and there is an overall cozy feeling to the book. Genesis's dad is the preacher at The Church of the One True Redeemer and Everlasting Light, but she is a scientist through and through, which adds complexity to the text, including musings on destiny, fate, probability, and weather. Fans of Susan Patron's Higher Power of Lucky (S. & S., 2006), Sheila Turnage's Three Times Lucky (Dial, 2012), and Ingrid Law's Savvy (2008; both, Dial) will find something new for their to-read shelves.—Stacy Dillon, LREI, New York City
Life in small-town Paradise Beach is all about luck. Nate's best
friend and the smartest girl in the county, Gen, says there's no
such thing; she believes in science and probability. But when Nate
gets struck by lightning, his life begins to change. Serious
matters of friendship and magic receive a little more telling than
showing, but the themes go down smoothly.
Life in small-town Paradise Beach on the Gulf of Mexico is all about luck: whether the fish are running, whether charter boats get bookings, and what the weather is like. But luck is something Nate Harlow, target of schoolyard taunts, doesn't have. Of course, his best friend and the smartest girl in the whole county, Gen Beam, tells him there's no such thing as luck; she believes in science and probability. When Nate gets struck by lightning, a "one-in-six-hundred-fourteen-thousand-seven-hundred-and-fifty-nine chance," his life begins to change: he hits his first home run ever, wins every prize at the carnival midway, and starts a truck's dead motor just by touching it. Nate finds himself the center of attention and the person everyone wants to be around. Awash in celebrity, he ditches Gen, trading his deep friendship with her for shallow acquaintanceships with the popular kids. These serious matters of friendship and magic receive a little more telling than showing here, but the themes go down smoothly, much like those in Mary Rodgers's beloved Freaky Friday (rev. 8/72). To get back to normal, Nate figures he must be hit by lightning again, a "one-in-three-hundred-and-sixty-billion chance." The result is never really in doubt, as the improbable becomes probable, although the question remains: what is luck? betty carter
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