Pyron's Lucky Strike Magical Story with Emotional Impact

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Lucky Strike Bobbie Pyron Arthur Levine Scholastic Critical Blast

"Losers and weirdos stick together through thick and thin. Amen."

That's the unifying credo between brainiac preacher's daughter Genesis Beam and Nate Harlow, the unluckiest boy alive. Nate's notorious unlucky streak comes to a head when he's playing miniature golf -- on his eleventh birthday, on the eleventh of the month -- and he gets hit by lightning.

After his miraculous recovery, Nate's luck starts to turn around. It's little things at first, but it starts to grow and grow until people are simultaneously awed by him and afraid of him. And the more popular he becomes, the less time he wants to spend with Gen, cutting her off from the only friendship she ever shared.

But the luckier Nate gets, the more he begins to wish things were back to the way they were. And as Gen prepares alone for the annual return of the loggerhead turtles, the small fishing town of Paradise Beach becomes the target of a force of nature threatening to demolish them all -- unless they somehow get lucky.

Bobbie Pyron's LUCKY STRIKE is the timeless story of someone getting what they always wanted and dealing with the unintended consequences. The lightning bolt as catalyst is the classic herald of change that has worked for characters from Captain Marvel to Harry Potter. What makes LUCKY STRIKE stand out is the storytelling -- the unique cast of characters and the overall flavor they contribute to the setting of Paradise Beach. Hardly anyone -- from the town mayor (who just happens to be a dog) to the class bully -- is set dressing, as they all have their very important roles to play in the telling of the tale, which has its moments of magic but at its heart plays on very human emotions as things come to a very unexpected climax.

Grade: 
3.5 / 5.0