The Higher Power of Lucky

By Susan Patron
2007 ALA Notable Children’s Books

One of the things I found intriguing about this book is the title – The Higher Power of Lucky. The title is explained in the first chapter when the main character, a ten and a half year old girl named Lucky, eavesdrops on an AA meeting and listens to Short Sammy’s story about the day he hit rock bottom and decided he had to quit drinking and find his higher power. Chapter one ends, “..she still had doubts and anxious questions in all the crevices of her brain, especially about how to find her Higher Power.”

The reader learns about Lucky’s story and why she is doubtful and anxious. The setting is described beautifully. The characters are interesting and help the reader understand Lucky’s place in the world.

This book got me wondering about stories that are written about 9 – 11 year old girls who are smart and have been abandoned by people who should love them, such as Pictures of Hollis Woods and One Crazy Summer. These protagonists are forced to grow up too fast and to find their place in the world and who in the world really loves and cares about them. Perhaps it is the nurturing nature of young girls that makes these characters so appealing. Perhaps they can relate to the characters’ conflict.

Patron, S. (2007). The higher power of lucky. New York, NY: Thomson Gale.