The Higher Power of Lucky

Patron, Susan. The High Power of Lucky. Illustrated by Matt Phelan. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2006. Tr. $16.95 ISBN 978-1-4169-0194-5.

What’s it about?

Ten-year-old Lucky Trimble of Hard Pan, California, population 43, is worried that her French guardian Brigitte is going to leave her and move back to France, so she runs away in a dangerous dust storm before she can be abandoned. 

Find out more:

10-year-old Lucky Trimble lives in Hard Pan, California (population 43) with her guardian Brigitte, her absentee father’s first wife, a young Frenchwoman.   Lucky’s mother died two years ago when she was electrocuted after a storm, stepping on some downed power lines while barefoot. Lucky, who already lost a parent through abandonment, fears that Brigitte is going to leave her too. Brigitte misses her mother, misses France, and has taken out her suitcase and passport. Brigitte’s leaving is a foregone conclusion for the observant (and sometimes very mistaken) Lucky.  It’s time for Lucky to take control of her life and call on her “higher power,” something she’s learned a lot about from eavesdropping on 12-Step meeting. Lucky receives three signs that let her know it is the perfect day to run away. She takes her survival pack and her beloved dog HMS Beagle and heads off to the Mojave Desert during a dangerous dust storm.

The Higher Power of Lucky has a quirky and loveable cast of misfit characters. Patron does a wonderful job of showing who these people are through their words, actions, and Lucky’s observations. Despite the sadness in the story, there is plenty of quiet humor.  Although the story is Lucky-centric, the secondary characters are well-drawn, such as Brigitte, who obviously cares for Lucky, but can seem a bit impatient at times; Lucky’s friend Lincoln, the insightful knot-artist; and Miles, her clingy  five-year-old neighbor who is being raised by his grandmother because his mother is in prison for selling drugs.  

It’s nearly impossible to bring up this Newbery Medal winner without mentioning the ridiculous controversy over The Higher Power of Lucky. The controversy, of course, was due to a clinical term for a part of the male anatomy, which was used in describing Short Sammy’s dog’s rattlesnake bite. Over four years after Scrotumgate, people still associate The Higher Power of Lucky with the word scrotum. Not exactly the desired legacy for this little gem. At least the derisive comments are aimed at the small minds that made a big fuss about the clinical term Patron used to describe where the rattlesnake bit the poor dog. Many critics have mentioned that using an accurate term rather than a crude slang term is preferable. Patron herself defended her choice of words, saying that she’d use the word again, that the word was chosen carefully and deliberately, certainly not gratuitously. In fact, after Lucky finds out that Brigitte is going to adopt her and open up a restaurant in Hard Pan, she asks Brigitte what the word means. Brigitte answers her matter-of-factly, and then adds,”You know if anyone ever hurts you I would rip their heart out.” I’m not sure if kids will make the connection between the question Lucky asked and Brigitte’s protective response, but they will take away Brigitte’s deep love for Lucky.  

Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction, Humor

Reading level: 6^th grade

Interest level: Grades 4-6

Subjects: Death of a parent, Abandonment, Small towns, Runaways

Awards:

Newbery Medal (2007)

Series information:

 Lucky Breaks (2009)

Lucky for Good (2011)

Read-Alikes:

Hannigan’s Ida B.

Wiles’ Love, Ruby Lavender

Character name/descriptions:

Lucky Trimble-a 10-year-old fearful of abandonment, who loves to listen in on 12-step meetings and tries to find her own “higher power”

Miles—a 5 year-old who loves cookies

Lincoln—Lucky’s friend, obsessed with knot-making

Brigitte—Lucky’s guardian, a parsley-loving Frenchwoman once married to Lucky’s father