Bibliography:
Patron, Susan. 2006. The Higher Power of Lucky. Ill. by Matt Phelan. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 9781416901945.
Plot Summary:
Lucky is a ten year old girl who has lost her mother, gained a guardian, holds several jobs in her small desert town, and is searching for her Higher Power. Lucky frequently overhears the twelve-steppers in the town talking about how they found their Higher Power, and Lucky is certain that she will gain all the wisdom and courage in the world if she finds hers. Ambitious and fearless, Lucky searches through her relationships with the people she’s grown up with, and even ponders how her Higher Power might be connected to her estranged parents. The bone dry desert town just might hold some answers for little Lucky.
Critical Analysis:
Patron’s novel about a smart kid trying to find his or her place in the world brings to mind some past Newbery Award winners such as Dear Mr. Henshaw, The Giver, The Westing Game, and of course the Newbery Honor book Ramona Quimby Age 8. The main character has external obstacles and internal struggles to overcome, and the culmination of their story brings rays of hope to their future.
Lucky, like many fifth-grade children, has a voracious curiosity and likes to share her knowledge with others. She also has worries that are influenced by the death of her mother and absence of her father. Lucky has come to rely on Bridgitte, a French woman who flew to California to care for Lucky, but fears that Bridgitte is ready to quit her job of being Lucky’s guardian. Lucky is sure that she’ll have to go live in an orphanage, but she doesn’t show anyone the terrible feelings she harbors. Patron uses interesting language to describe Lucky’s feelings, such as the folds in her brain and the mean valve in her heart. These unique and somewhat profound ways of describing how one feels are relatable to the age group.
The setting of the story in fictional Hard Pan, California tends to give the reader a confusing idea of the time period. One might think at the beginning that the story takes place in the mid-20th century, or even perhaps further back. However, Patron slowly mentions the most modern technology such as a Jeep and a laptop. This affirms to the reader that Lucky lives in contemporary rural America, which is much the same as our reality, just on a smaller scale and dustier.
Matt Phelan’s simple black and white drawings add some additional imagery to the text, and the drawings seem to echo the light and airy feeling of the wide open desert. The drawings are also a bit reminiscent of Ramona Quimby books, again reminding readers that this book really belongs with other past Newbery-recognized novels.
Awards:
Newbery Medal – 2007
Review Excerpts:
Booklist: “Lucky is a true heroine, especially because she’s not perfect: she does some cowardly things, but she takes pains to put them to rights.” – Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved.
School Library Journal: “This character-driven novel has an unusually complicated backstory, and a fair amount of exposition. Yet, its quirky cast and local color help to balance this fact, and the desert setting is fascinating.” – Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Connections:
- Compare Lucky to other young female protagonists of similar books, such as Ramona Quimby, Alyce (from The Midwife’s Apprentice), and Turtle (from The Westing Game).
- Check out other books illustrated by Matt Phelan such as Very Hairy Bear, Where I Live, and The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs.