Lucky is a tough little scientist living in Hard Pan, California, a desert community with a population of 43, most of whom receive government cheese to make ends meet. Lucky’s guardian, Brigitte, is a French woman who thinks California is much less civilized than France, where they put parsley on everything and don’t have snakes that crawl into dryers.
Susan Patron’s Newbery winning novel has some hard themes–love, loss and searching for a Higher Power–that are explored by eccentric and endearing characters. Miles, a five-year-old boy living with his grandma, is always looking for cookies, and Lincoln is an expert knot tier who can explain most intricate problems with knots.
Another fascinating aspect of the book is its desert setting, without which the book couldn’t exist. Near the end of the book, a dust storm rises just as Lucky reaches her own turning point. A great book for ages ten to adult, The Higher Power of Lucky is as intricate and interestingly complicated as a Ten-Strand Round knot.
