Mihkayla

The Higher Power of Lucky By: Susan Patron

Other Books in the Trilogy:

About the Book: //The Higher Power of Lucky// by Susan Patron is a Newbery Medal winning novel that tells the story of a 10 year old girl named Lucky in Hard Pan, California. Lucky lives with her father's first wife, Birgitte, who is her legal guardian after her mother passed away and father left. Lucky is always hearing about the higher power others feel when they come back from a bad time in their life, and wants to experience this higher power. When Lucky discovers Birgitte's passport, she assumes that Birgitte is leaving, and tries everything she can to stop her, and needs this higher power more than ever. //The Higher Power of Lucky// was published in 2006.

About the Author: Susan Patron was born in 1948 in Los Angeles, California. She grew up as a shy child and spent her child and adult years at the library. She has written two other books in the trilogy, //Lucky Breaks// in 2009 and //Lucky for Good// in 2011. She has also written other books such as //Maybe Yes, Maybe No, Maybe Maybe// in 1993 that won Parenting Magazine’s Certificate of Excellence for Distinguished Achievement in Children’s Literature award, the Best Books of 1993 award and the American Library Association Notable Book award. She is a very accomplished and highly reguarded author. //The Higher Power of Lucky// has won the Newbery Medal, FOCAL Award, and the American Library Association Notable Book award. To go to Susan Patron's website ---> Susan Patron

Characters and Conflict:

Lucky - Lucky is the main character who searches for the higher power of life. Birgitte - Birgitte is Lucky's legal guardian after her mother dies and father leaves. Birgitte is also Lucky's father's first wife who he met and married in France, which is where she was born and raised. Short Sammy - Sammy is Lucky's friend who found his higher power when he loss his former addiction to alcohol. <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Lincoln - Lincoln is Lucky's friend who is also 10, but fascinated with knots despite his parents wishes for him to be the president. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;"><span style="color: #008000; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Miles - Miles is the 5 year old boy who comes over everyday for cookies.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">In the town of Hard Pan, California, the population is 43 people, and there is only a few jobs to be had. Lucky is fortunate enough to have a job cleaning up trash at the community center, where different anonymous group therapies take place. Lucky enjoys eavesdropping on these meetings where she hears the different stories of alcoholics, smokers, and others tell of their stories where they found their higher power and overcame their issues and addictions. She is a curious girl looking for answers in her life and thinks the higher power will help her. Lucky wants to discover her higher power to help stop Birgitte from leaving when she assumes Birgitte is going back to France. Lucky eventually decides to run away with her dog and her survival kit to find the meaning of her life but deviates from her plan when she finds Miles, the 5 year old boy who is her neighbor, hurt. Lucky has to make her own decisions that could result in a possible disaster.

<span style="color: #ff0000; display: block; font-family: verdana,geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 180%; text-align: center;">Theme: <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Life is not always predictable, one may not know the outcome of situations, but has to realize his or her own meaning of life through his or her own experiences.

<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 180%;">Destiny Review: <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">//The Higher Power of Lucky// by Susan Patron, is an inspirational novel about a young girl, in a small town trying to find the meaning of life. The story takes place in Hard Pan, California where money is hard-earned and scarce. Lucky lives with her father's first wife, Birgitte, whom her father married before marrying Lucky's mom. After her mother died, her father asked Birgitte to look after Lucky, and her father leaves, only sending money once every few months. Lucky is interested in the "higher power" that the many people in the various group therapies discuss they found. Throughout the entire novel Lucky searches for that power, even more so when she is convinced Birgitte is leaving. This novel is a Newbery Medal winner and a relatable novel for anyone who is searching for the greater meaning of life.

<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 180%;">Style: <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 160%;">Patron's use of long sentence structure and repetative, thoughtful diction depicts the character of a young, curious but intelligent girl who is trying to find her way in life. <span style="display: block; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 140%; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #008000; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Syntax - Patron uses long sentences to show Lucky's curiousity about her community and life. For example, when Lucky was listening to Short Sammy's story Patron tells of Lucky examining his words by saying, "This was the usual roundabout way he talked, and Lucky had noticed that it made people stay interested, even if the story got quite a bit longer than if someone else had been telling it" (Patron 2). This statment not only shows off Patron's wordy sentences but also shows Lucky's high intelligent level because she is analyzing, though she is only 10. Patron's syntax can also be described as "meandering yet meticulously crafted sentences illistrate Lucky's natural curiousity" (Gershowitz). Patron's syntax impacts the reader's view of a young girl by showing cunning abilities and curiousity. <span style="display: block; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 140%; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #008000; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Diction - Patron's diction is repetitive but thoughtful. She enhances Lucky's character by saying “Because sometimes Lucky wanted to change everything, all the bad things that had happened, and sometimes she wanted everything to stay the same forever” (Patron 8). Though the sentence is contridicting, Lucky's thoughtful words depict how she is trying to figure out her life. Lucky's "ponderings sometimes grow repetitive" (Publishers Weekly) but her ponderings show her constant curiousity in the way of life.

<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 160%;">Works Consulted: Gershowitz, Elissa R. "Susan Patron: The Higher Power of Lucky." Rev. of //The Higher Power of Lucky//, by Susan Patron. //The Horn Book Magazine// Jan.- Feb. 2007: 71. //Literature Resource Center.// Web. 13 Dec. 2011. <http//:go.galegroup.com>.//

//"The Higher Power of Lucky." Rev. of// The Higher Power of Lucky//, by Susan Patron.// Publishers Weekly//. PublishersWeekly.com. PWxyz, 2011. Web. 13 Dec. 2011.<http//:www.publishersweekly.com>.

Miculek, Sally. "The Higher Power of Lucky." Rev. of //The Higher Power of Lucky//, by Susan Patron. //Booklist// 15 April 2007: 61. //Literature Resource Center.// Web. 13 Dec. 2011.<http//:go.galegroup.com>.//

//Patron, Susan.// The Higher Power of Lucky.// New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2006. Print.