Omg this book was so good but so so very sad. As I write this I’m in tears. It was beautiful and gave me all the feelings. It’s a must read! Thank you netgalley for the ARC 💖

It became clear very quickly that I am not this book's intended audience. The narration felt so childish that I couldn't manage. If it had read a little older I would've enjoyed it much more and kept going. This is absolutely not a fault of the book or the author! I am just not the intended audience here.

Lucky is 15 year old girl who lives with her grandparents. She has good friends, a loving home, and even though her mother abandoned her at birth, she loves that her grandparents are her caregivers.

Things with Lucky’s Grandmother could be better, as she keeps having ‘forgetting spells’, and it worries Lucky. But things all come to a head when Lucky’s Grandfather passes away unexpectedly.

The stress of Lucky’s Grandfather’s death exacerbates her Grandmother’s symptoms, and after a fire related incident, Lucky is placed in an emergency foster care house.

It isn’t all it’s cracked up to be – the “wholesome Christian family” she’s placed with are not nice people. The mother uses meal cancellations as punishment, and the father is a serial abuser of any girls placed with him.

Lucky’s entire world is turned upside down, and she, understandably, doesn’t know whether she’s coming or going, and things grow intense for her at several points during this book.

--

This book was very quick to read. The chapters were short, and the pace was fast. It had a gripping enough storyline that I was intrigued to find out what happens next.

The situations that Lucky finds herself in, or is placed in, are mostly beyond her control. She just wants a stable home with her Grandmother, but she rapidly finds out that it’s just not possible, even though she desperately wants it to be.

Lucky faces so much in such a short amount of time, and I commend her strength at getting through each day like she does.

Though she faces a fair amount of hardships, Lucky finds new (and lasting) friends along the way in the form of some of her foster siblings.

This book is just one small peek into what it is, and can be like, as a foster care child, when life unexpectedly turns upside down.

Spoiler alert.
I really enjoyed the story about Lucky. She is a girl who lives with her grandparents because her mother had addiction and gambling issues. She is happy with her grandparents but she notices her grandma is forgetting things. Her grandpa dies and her grandma has an episode and sets the house on Fire. She does to live in a series of foster home. She learns the meaning of family and who it may not be that regular 2 parent 2.4 kids with a dog family. I think at some points it could be more detailed. It feel like it jumps out yucky from one scene to another but it’s a very good atory and I have already recommended it to others.

Lucky always felt fortunate to be part of a loving trio: her, her grandfather, and her grandmother, but she knew something was wrong with her grandmother. She had been forgetting and becoming more and more confused each day. After her grandfather's sudden death, Lucky was left to care for her grandmother, and that was when she realized she would not be able to provide the appropriate care. With no other familial options, Lucky was forced into the foster care system. It was a roller coaster of ups and downs, but eventually, Lucky believed she could find a "home".

My heart went out to Lucky. She had experienced quite a bit of loss and disappointment in her 15 years, but she was resilient. There were moments, when I thought she had given up, but with some support from her friends and found family, she was able to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

We spent a lot of time watching Lucky move from house to house, which I know is very common in foster care. I was worried at first, that it was just going to be a disaster parade, but Florence actually illustrated several different types of situations wards may encounter while in the system. My heart broke as Lucky bounced from place to place, but I found some solace in the fact that she was able to make some lasting connections in a few of those homes.

Loved!

• Lucky's grandmother and the special bond they shared
• Ryan, her steadfast best friend
• Lucy, Charlie, Jake, Isabelle, and Janie - her found family
• Lucky's love of comics
• THE ENDING!! (There were happy tears)

Overall: A fast-paced story of one young woman's challenges navigating the foster care system, while also dealing with a profound loss of her loved ones in her daily life.

First off, this is super short. I feel it needs to be fleshed out so much more. The main story line is great, I really enjoyed it, and the author's writing style. It was still a basic plot line though. This happens, then this, then this. The first half especially, the second have felt to have more merit.

I was a bit put off at the start, though, with how she portrays all the Christians displayed in the story. I know there are rotten apples in the world, but I just find it odd that any Lucky comes in contact with are of this aspect. And I find that most of the situations, involving Lucky, with the homes, with kids at school, every one was done to an extreme. I mean, I don't have experience with foster homes, or foster kids, or anything like that...but I just feel like, some girl isn't going to completely HATE you, from the very first second, just because you live with the guy she likes. Or, that she would get so completely angry, to jump into fist fighting, for some words someone says. That anyone would say such utterly rude and racist things and not get away with it (that's only a couple examples). I just felt like it was all done to the max, to progress the story in the direction the author wanted. 

Also, some things need to be more researched and backgrounded. A kid can't just be homeschooled, usually. There is legal rules, per state, of what needs to be done for homeschooling kids. And kids have to be withdrawn...one wouldn't be in public school one day, and then moved, and homeschooled the next day, without a process of paperwork. You do not need to wake a patient every hour, just because they have a concussion. 

However, I did really enjoy the story, and the perspective it gives us with a child going through the foster care system. Some things need to be fluffed out, and that would make it longer, and then it'd be a really great book!

A pretty quick read. I was not sure if I was liking it at the beginning, but as I got to know the characters I ended up enjoying it very much. Lucky's situation, going to foster home and moving over and over again, is something that happens to lots of children and teens. Seeing the types of families Lucky encounters and how she deals with getting further away from her family and friends, with no option but to go with the system, frustrated me.

The pacing was great, it kept me entertained at all moments. I liked the characters, but didn't really felt a connection with any of them.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity. I want to excuse for the time I took to review this book.

This book is a 3,5 for me, it gives you a lot of important social topics but some of them are just left out "open" (without a proper discussion to fulfill the curious reader. On the other hand, is one of the few books that talk about foster homes and how different they can be and can affect the child in them. Besides this, we have problematic topics as how Lucky just fight when she felt like she needed to confront something.

It is a rollercoaster of emotions, even more to readers like me that have seen members of the family deal with Alzheimer's and how it affects everyone around them. Even though it covers what I mentioned early, I think it left things in the open that would have been good to see more explored (not to make the book be 400 pages long but to inform the reader how those topics affect others, including the author, for example, the heritage).

Any reader that would like to read this book should first research about the content and trigger warnings as family disease/conditions, homophobia, addiction, abuse, etc.

Lucky is 15 and lives with her grandparents. Her best friend, Ryan, is literally the boy next door. When her grandfather dies, Lucky does her best to take over the role of caring for her grandmother, who has Alzheimer’s. An accident brings the attention of the authorities to their home situation, resulting in Lucky being placed in foster care.

A series of foster placements take her away from the familiarity of what used to be her life. Some placements are weird, some are okay and some are downright creepy. None of them are home. All the while, Lucky holds out hope that soon she and her grandmother will be able to return to their own home.

Although the publisher’s website states the target audience for this book is 13 to 18 years, the writing style felt more suitable for younger readers, with the exception of some swearing. This made me think this was a Hi-Lo book, although I cannot find any information to support this assumption. This was a short book with over sixty very short chapters, and a quick read. I didn’t have any problems with the overall story but I wanted it to be fleshed out more.

While I was told what was happening I never got beyond the idea that I was reading a series of, ‘this happened, then that happened, this person said this, then that happened’. There weren’t many expressed emotions, other than some tears (after which I was consistently told that Lucky wasn’t a crier) and the fact that almost every time Lucky encountered confrontation she resorted to physical violence, even though there was no indication she had ever behaved that way before.

I stand by my previous reviews where I’ve said we need more books about foster care. While I loved that this book talked about foster care and did explore a few of the different types of homes foster kids are placed in, I felt there were some missed opportunities as well.

I’ve read a few books recently that have included so many young adult social issues that it began to feel like I was reading social issue soup and this book felt like that too. Although plenty of boxes have been checked (most are included in my content warnings) it felt like their existence was only acknowledged in Lucky’s story rather than adequately dealt with.

Lucky is Indigenous; her grandparents are Cree. While bannock is mentioned (which I definitely need to try for myself) and Lucky experiences racism based on her heritage, this was pretty much the extent of its inclusion in this book. The author also has Cree heritage and I would have loved to have learned more about this.

There were gaps in the story that I filled in myself. For example, Lucky’s best friend comes out to his conservative religious parents, his father beats him up because of it, Lucky’s grandmother confronts his parents and comes back to the house with some of his belongings, saying he’ll be staying with them for a few days. Then there’s no follow up, except a couple of years later he’s mentioning his aunt and uncle, yet we’re never told that he moved in with them. I made up scenarios of when and how that went down myself.

The descriptions were quite repetitive. While there were a few more that I’m not mentioning here, food smelt “heavenly” four times and something was “amazing” nineteen times. If this is a Hi-Lo book the repetition makes sense. If it’s not, I have a problem with it. Because I don’t know for sure, I’m currently sitting on the fence about it.

Content warnings include abandonment, bullying, drug addiction, foster care, gambling addiction, homophobia, neglect, physical abuse, racism, attempted sexual assault and slut shaming (I hate that phrase but couldn’t think of a better, less offensive one).

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Second Story Press for the opportunity to read this book.

Fifteen-year-old Lucky loves her grandparents. True, her grandmother forgets things, like turning the stove off, or Lucky's name, but her grandfather takes such good care of them that Lucky doesn't realize how bad things are . . . until she loses her grandfather and is left caring for her grandmother on her own. When her grandma sets the kitchen on fire, Lucky can't hide what's happening any longer, and she is sent into foster care. She quickly learns that some families are okay, and some aren't. And some really, really aren't. None of them feel like home. And they're certainly not family.

For such a short book, it sure packs a punch! It was over and I was crying before I knew it. I think this is definitely going on my shortlist for the year.

*Book received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

3.5 stars

I've never read a book centered around foster care before and it was quite interesting. Seeing Lucky go through her life while facing countless difficulties and obstacles and then seeing her grow as a person and find some closure and happiness was great.

I felt that it was too short, though, in order to truly connect with the characters and the story. Also, some characters felt like caricatures of tropes.

I have admired the work of Melanie Florence for a while now and when I saw her new middle grade novel Just Lucky was available I jumped on the opportunity to read an advanced copy. I completely fell in love with the story. If I didn’t have children and a family to answer to, I would have read it in one sitting. From page one I was hooked on Lucky, her Grandma and Grandpa and her best friend Ryan.

Lucky lives with her maternal grandparents as her mother is in no position to take care of her. It’s been that way for as long as she can remember. Her best friend Ryan has always lived next door and she is happy. One day Lucky’s whole life is turned upside down and she is left to discover the meaning of home and family again.

There is so much bite to this story. Melanie Florence doesn’t shy away from including a lot of heavy emotional baggage in the story. She addresses homophobia, death, Alzheimer’s, the foster care system, racism, and addiction all while infusing the story with so much love, hope and strength. You might think, how can one book address all of these things in any meaningful way. Melanie Florence tackles these topics head on making room to explore and think about the effects on young people. There are some incredible moments in the story around bullying and microaggressions faced by people of colour and Indigenous people. Lucky has an honest and visceral reaction in these moments. I especially love Lucky’s imperfection. She is not a perfect character by any means but she is strong! She makes some terrible choices in challenging moments but there is not a single time where she was not strong, honest and brave: a typical high school student making choices, some good and some terrible. She goes through four different foster homes until she finds one where the parent is kind, caring and compassionate enough to understand the emotional hardships of having your life turned upside down, being in the foster system and harbouring so much anger at times. The story flows from one moment to the next, quick chapters with a lot of detail, a lot of dialogue and even some text messaging thrown in. Just Lucky is so relevant and current. Middle grade and young adult will have this story on heavy rotation in libraries and classrooms this fall.

I feel like I connected to this story so much because I was blown away by the strength in Lucky. I know my tweenage/teenage self would have connected to Lucky’s story as well. There is so much heart, so much strength and ultimately so much love. Just Lucky is an incredible #OwnVoices story.

An interesting look at one girl's journey into the foster system after Lucky's grandfather passes away and her grandmother's dementia leaves her unable to care for Lucky. Lucky is passed from one foster home to another as circumstances beyond her control leave her looking for the stability she once knew. She faces racism and bullying, but also finds a supportive network beyond her biological family that cares for her well being.

A very emotional read, I was in tears from halfway through and it didn’t stop until the end. A very quick YA read but not without real power or emotion. Not sure if I’m an adult who loves YA that I found this so much harder and emotional to read or if a YA reader will be the same. I just felt despite her bad situations how lucky that Lucky is eventually, because so many others aren’t and go through far worse and I think that knowledge makes it such a hard read. You suffer with her, get angry with her. A really powerful and emotive read that stays with you after you close the book. This should be curriculum reading, and encouraged for YA and adults to read and understand. How easy it is for people to get lost in the system and be not listened to and predators to get to them. Also touching dealing with dementia and loss. It touches on racism and I’ve seen reviewers criticise this as the authorities and careers don’t really deal with it properly, like its unrealistic, funnily enough this is what happens in life, it’s disgusting but this is representative of reality sadly, as I said a truly powerful read.


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

<i>Just Lucky</i> tells the story of a girl named Lucky, who was lucky to be graciously taken in by her grandparents when it became clear that her mother was too negligent and self-absorbed to raise her. And for 15 long years, Lucky lived in utter bliss alongside her strong-minded Grandma, her jolly Grandpa, and frequently accompanied by her childhood best friend Ryan. Days passed by without a hint of regret.

Paradise rapidly descends into mayhem, however, when Lucky is reminded of the inevitable consequences of age. In a matter of days, everything that she’s ever known - everything that had provided her life with stability - is thrown off track, and she finds herself thrust into the foster care system. Forced to fend for herself for the first time ever, she gets a rude awakening as to just how cruel the world can be, and now, she must muster up the will to keep trusting, to keep on believing, to keep loving.

What I adore about <i>Just Lucky</i> is that it delves into topics that are not often discussed in YA literature. Honestly, when I picked up this book, I had since forgotten the basic premise, and so I was pleasantly surprised to see that one of the grandparents showed common symptoms of dementia. As someone who has an aunt who suffers from Pick’s disease, which is a form of dementia that impacts emotions, behaviorism, personality, and language, I was glad to see the awful sickness represented in this piece because it is important to make people more aware of it, stressing its dangers as well as the turmoils it inflicts upon those close to the sufferer. I would have appreciated reading a piece such as this earlier in my lifetime so that I could’ve been more adequately prepared for what was to come, and Melanie Florence was very diligent in bringing to light all sides of the disease - the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The foster care system is also another prominent factor within this text, and although I cannot say whether it is accurate or not (since I am not well-acquainted with the procedure), I nevertheless found it incredibly heartbreaking to read. Torn away from one home from another from another, Lucky becomes desperate for some semblance of normalcy, but she is reluctant to let down her barriers and allow anybody in, rightfully so. You never know you’ll have to pack up your bags and go at a moment’s notice. This book also explores the injustices within the foster care system, for in spite of the fact a family has been approved to take in and nurture children, that does not necessarily they are good people. There is always that risk of being dragged into a toxic household, and I am thankful that Florence thought it is obligatory to enlighten her readers on this pitfall.

I also was a big fan of the relationships illustrated throughout the book. Even though Lucky is doomed to reside in a home for no more than a few weeks, when she forms a bond with someone, you as the reader are so ecstatic because you are rooting for Lucky to still have faith. When times get tough, it is integral that you have a support system of some kind to drag you out the mud, and that’s what these friendships do for Lucky. Her wholesome, constant friendship with her gay best friend, Ryan, is a highlight of the book because, no matter what, they prioritize communication so that, regardless of the distance between them, they are there for one another. Lucky also befriends several of the foster children she meets along the way - some her own age, some younger - in addition to one of parents who was a former foster child. In particular, I thought Luck’s near kinship with a little girl named Lucy and a booknerd named Isabella was insanely cute and charming because they clicked like that. Drawn together via either their absent mother or their love for comic books, it seemed to be a match made in heaven, and I so wish that we could spent more time with those characters to establish their dynamics further.

Now, I do have two grips regarding this book. First and foremost is the lack of repercussions in response to abhorrent racism. Over the course of the novel, there are several occasions in which Lucky is discriminated by her fellow classmates and foster children, and nothing is done. I understand that these sort of terrible events happen in real life, but I think it sends the wrong sort of message that it is simply swept under the rug. Lucky released her frustrations through a punch to the bully’s face, her caretakers were livid and talked to the administration, but other than that, nada. I was shocked when Lucky’s alleged friend, Jake, who was friends with the bully, did not defend her in any way, shape, or form. All in all, the explicit racism was not dealt with in an appropriate way, and I would’ve hoped that there would have been some punishment to such vile behavior.

Lastly, I just wanted this book to be longer. There were so many bright spots within this text that could have been ignited and turned into dazzling flames had they been given more fuel. It is clear that Melanie Florence had good intentions with Just Lucky, but she poured out the product when she should have left it to ferment for a little longer, the book did not quite hit the bullseye.

Overall, I would recommend <i>Just Lucky</i> because it is a fast and easy read that delves into topics that should be discussed more in day to day life. Melanie Florence created a story with true heart, letting her readers know that one can always find light in the darkest of times - so long as you don’t seal your heart with a lock and key. Happiness is never too far out of reach.

I want to thank @netgalley and @_secondstory for providing me with an advanced copy of Just Lucky to read and review! All opinions of course are honest.
Pub Date - 9/17/19
Swipe to see some beautiful art work this book includes! What a treat. I adore little touches like this!

Where do i begin! This teens & YA book had so many different elements that took place all at different times through out the book. I immediately was drawn in just from the characters alone.
This story follows a 15 year old girl named Lucky who grew up in the care of her grandparents. She absolutely adores them! Her mom is not really in the picture (you will find out why)
The grandmother is showing very strong signs of dementia and well, her grandfather ends up passing away which is a detrimental loss.
Lucky is left to pick up the pieces, for both herself and her grandmother.
When Lucky's grandmother accidently sets the kitchen on fire Lucky knows she no longer can hide what's happening, she is sent to foster care.
From there on Lucky is set out on a wild adventure and meets many different people. Mainly about Lucky finding out all about different families and that not all people are good (or bad) no matter where she is sent it is truly never her true home. It is her ultimate test to reach deep down within and survive what is thrown her way.
I admired Lucky sticking true to her roots. I truly fell in love with her grandparents but more so her grandfather. I loved how he and Lucky sat together and shared their love of books/reading.
There were many layers to this story. Some heartbreaking, some touching moments, some laugh out loud moments and to be quite honest some very hard to read. It kept my attention so much that i devoured this in just an hour and a half. I am so happy to have been given the chance to review this gem! ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

What this book does best is bring the emotional roller coaster of being in the foster care system to the page with such vividness that it sucks you in. Just Lucky is heartfelt, heartbreaking, but hopeful at the same time and it's all balanced perfectly.
I really enjoyed the characters, I thought they were all well-developed. I liked the diversity, and the friendships depicted in this book were just beautiful. I found the story to be one that felt special as I was reading it, and the plot was paced to my liking.
Just Lucky is the perfect book for readers who are into contemporary.

I was sent this book in exchange for review via netgalley.

It was a really quick read, but for me it just wasn’t the greatest middle grade.

Whilst I did enjoy the story and liked to see Lucy work her way through the foster system, and handle the trials and tribulations, it didn’t really address a lot of the topics appropriately when they came up, particularly the sexual assault, I kinda felt it brushed over very quickly! A

Middle grade novel about an American Indian girl who ends up in the foster care system when her grandfather passes away, due to to the fact that her grandma has alzheimers. While the premise of this story is good, the execution left a lot lacking. This feels like an outline rather than a complete novel, and it seemed like the author was just going down the diversity list and checking off items to include. An example is that Lucky's best friend is gay, but that factor barely plays into the story at all. Same thing with Lucky being native American. The author mentions that she is, but then really never talks about it all all with the exception of mentioning a food item one time. This could have been expanded on and overall, better character development would have added a lot to this story. Younger kids might enjoy this, but it won't do much for an adult audience.

Just Lucky is a short book with huge potential. From the very first chapter, sensitive topics are explored and discussed.

Lucky Robinson, is a 15-year-old girl who is raised by her grandparents. When tragedy strikes and her grandfather dies, a series of events are set in motion that will change Lucky's life forever. The book deals with relevant and sensitive topics making it an engaging read.

The book, however, missed its target audience. It dealt with topics that are more suited to junior high learners but is written in a style that would make it better suited to middle graders. As a result, the book comes off feeling like merely the skeleton of a book and not a fully fledged novel. Many of the scenes and events lacked detail and given the topics discussed, Just Lucky would have benefitted from being longer in length with richer descriptions of characters.

Despite the less than detailed descriptions, I found myself really pulling for a few of the characters. Ryan was my favourite character overall with Mia (surprisingly) coming a close second.