Written by Bobbie Pyron
Lucky Strike is a well-written book. I wanted to re-read the first page numerous times. The author describes and paints a vivid picture of Paradise Beach and Nate. Nate is just plain unlucky. Nothing ever seems to go his way. But, wait, it is his birthday…his eleventh birthday on the eleventh day of April. This has to be his lucky day. Or can it? The book pulls the reader in and keeps your attention to the last page.
Review by Diann Cox, Farnsworth Elementary Media Center
Rating: ★★★★★ (5 stars)
Interest Level: Fourth grade and Up
Nate is a lucky boy, but he doesn’t see it. You can’t blame him for that. He never won a coin toss. He never found a prize in a Cracker Jack box. He lost his dog and doghouse to a tornado, and his parents died when he was four due to a drunk driver. Fortunately he has his grandpa.
One day Nathaniel gets struck by lightning and his luck seems to change. Nate gets a lot of attention for having been hit by lightning, and a lot of good things happen around him after that. People start to treat him differently. So he acts differently. That’s when he kind of forgets himself. Nate needs to find a new balance. His best friend, Genesis Beam, doesn’t believe in luck. She’s more into science. Gen and Nate have been friends for a long time, but the change in Nate’s luck tests their friendship.
This is a nice, fun, enjoyable read. It has a variety of characters, a quirky town with a dog for a mayor, some information about loggerhead turtles, and weather. Arthur, (grandpa’s truck), the toaster, and different boats are all characters in the story as well. The town’s folk all pitch in to help each other with a fish fry. The people come together when there is trouble. Nate is lucky to live in such a warm, friendly town.
Nate and Gen have a motto: “Weirdos and losers stick together through thick and through thin, amen.” The incidents in this story will help Nate and Gen find out if that is true.
Review by Cheryl Baker, Mill Creek Elementary Media Center
Rating: ★★★★★ (5 stars)
Interest Level: Grades 3-6
Author Website: http://www.bobbiepyron.com/
Lucky Strike
Written by Bobbie Pyron
Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.
263 pages
Release Date: February 24, 2015
