Have you ever had a family member die when you are a young age? Well, in this book Lucky Strikes by Louis Bayard, that's what happens to the mom. Amelia is the protagonist. She has no other family around her besides for her little brother and little sister. So now they have to run their own life running a family gas station and taking care of her brother and sister. How would that feel to you? The antagonist is the father because he left them. They have no money what so ever. She lost half her family no one to help her when she needs help there's nothing. The conflict in the story is Amelia's mom dying the solution is Amelia just going through what happened. In this book the setting is placed at where the mom was buried and at the family gas station and the time of this is in 1934. Two major conflicts in my book are Amelia's mom dying and Amelia's dad leaving her. The turning point in this story is when Amelia overcomes what had happened with her mother and father. I would recommend this book to someone who likes sad stories and maybe even someone who has had a death like that.
Lucky Strikes
By Louis Bayard
| Interest Level | Reading Level | Reading A-Z | ATOS | Word Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grades 6 - 8 | Grades 3 - 5 | n/a | 4.5 | 73654 |
Book Reviews (4)
![J.L](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 12 12"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Feel sorry for Amelia but looks like an interesting book
I really enjoyed this one! It wasn't exactly what I was anticipating but it was still good in it's own right. I would definitely classify it more as a Middle Grade novel than an Young Adult one, but I still thoroughly enjoyed my reading of it. I was put off a bit by some of the phrasing of things and the fact that this was basically one long letter but I wasn't sure who it was addressed to or if I was supposed to be someone in Melia's life. I thought that there was a good mix of believable good things that came out of this and some things that were almost too good to be true. And while it works in some novels, I found that this one could have used with more of the down and out sort of feeling rather than the happily ever afters. There were definitely some things that went wrong, but it felt like it went up and up and the real issues that could have set them back didn't really do so. And I feel like that made me feel a bit cheated for the story. I did really like all the characters though. I thought Melia was really strong and tough and while she sounded older than 14, I could believe it through context and timing. I feel as though with historical fiction, you can get away with how your MC sounds and acts because of context and this was definitely one of those instances. I think she was really brave and did anything and everything she could to survive and keep her family together. I liked that she was really innovative but also still a child and allowed to be a child in this story. I think the family was really well constructed. I liked that everyone had their role but they were also really dependent on one another. I think there was a lot of pressure for Melia to be the leader but she defected when she had to because it was the right thing to do. I really liked this one. I thought it felt like the time period, had a really strong main character, and enough hope to mix with the sad parts that I found myself smiling as much as I did crying. Overall a well rounded novel with a great message that no matter what life throws at you, you are stronger than it.
I really enjoyed this one! It wasn't exactly what I was anticipating but it was still good in it's own right. I would definitely classify it more as a Middle Grade novel than an Young Adult one, but I still thoroughly enjoyed my reading of it. I was put off a bit by some of the phrasing of things and the fact that this was basically one long letter but I wasn't sure who it was addressed to or if I was supposed to be someone in Melia's life. I thought that there was a good mix of believable good things that came out of this and some things that were almost too good to be true. And while it works in some novels, I found that this one could have used with more of the down and out sort of feeling rather than the happily ever afters. There were definitely some things that went wrong, but it felt like it went up and up and the real issues that could have set them back didn't really do so. And I feel like that made me feel a bit cheated for the story. I did really like all the characters though. I thought Melia was really strong and tough and while she sounded older than 14, I could believe it through context and timing. I feel as though with historical fiction, you can get away with how your MC sounds and acts because of context and this was definitely one of those instances. I think she was really brave and did anything and everything she could to survive and keep her family together. I liked that she was really innovative but also still a child and allowed to be a child in this story. I think the family was really well constructed. I liked that everyone had their role but they were also really dependent on one another. I think there was a lot of pressure for Melia to be the leader but she defected when she had to because it was the right thing to do. I really liked this one. I thought it felt like the time period, had a really strong main character, and enough hope to mix with the sad parts that I found myself smiling as much as I did crying. Overall a well rounded novel with a great message that no matter what life throws at you, you are stronger than it.