Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this adorable book! Leo is such a lovable main character, and I love the way that he deals with his anxiety and goes against the standard stereotypes of masculinity. I also love the way that the supporting characters truly accept him for who he is, and that he is able to help them find themselves in certain ways as well. The romantic piece of the story is also very sweet and well done, and I loved watching the relationship between Leo and Evey blossom. The writing style also incorporates text conversations in addition to standard narration, and I think this adds another fun dimension to the story, as well as being something extremely relatable to the YA crowd. Another extremely heartwarming piece of the story is Leo's relationship with his dad, and I was constantly wondering throughout the story how that relationship would develop, and I was not at all disappointed with the resolution. This is truly a fun and beautiful book, and I recommend it to fans of contemporary YA as well as anyone who is looking to read a sweet story that defies the norm!

Just Our Luck is exactly what middle and high school kids need to read! Leo handles anxiety, and introvertness with grace. This book speaks to so many of the feelings teens experience in their everyday lives. A true, groudbreaking novel for those who are just trying to keep afloat with their anxiety. I loved this book so much!

Though I had a hard time getting into this at first, I ended up truly enjoying it. Some parts did feel rushed. Leo is so awkwardly cute. I love all the character's sense of humor. This is a definite must read for those who enjoy contemporay ya romances with great friendships.

This book brings a breath of fresh air to the typical tired plot beats of YA contemporaries. Leo is a charming protagonist, and the story of grief within these pages is heartfelt without veering into sentimentality. I feel the comparison to Dear Evan Hansen is earned, and as a fan myself of DEH, I greatly enjoyed the experience of reading this book! Recommended to anyone who's interested in original contemporary stories.

WARNING: This review contains spoilers.

“Just Our Luck” is a young adult book centered around a teenager named Leo, whose anxiety led him to get into a fight with another boy in school. As a result, his dad wants him to take a self defense class, but Evey Paros – a girl whose family Leo is advised to avoid – ends up sneaking him into a yoga class. Over the course of the story, Leo writes diary entries talking about not only that class, but also how he begins to form a friendship with the boy he had gotten in a fight with, and how he begins to fall for Evey.

I thought this book was great. I loved seeing the development of the characters over the course of the story, and I think it touches on anxiety and mental health pretty well.

TW: death in the family, depression, anxiety, bullying, revenge porn

Just Our Luck by Julia Walton is a breath of fresh air to the coming-of-age genre.  Told through a combination of journal entries and first person narration, this story provides an enlightening glimpse into the life, love, and mental health of Greek-American teen, Leo, as he struggles to manage his grief and anxiety.  This book is a quick read at less than 300 pages, but it still packs a big punch in terms of thematic material and character development.  

Walton has created a champion against toxic masculinity in Leo.  Despite bullying at school and a lack of support from his father at home, he continues to find joy in unconventional (not traditionally considered masculine) sources like knitting, photography, and yoga.  Where we see Leo's greatest character development is his confidence in dealing with other people. 

I was immensely satisfied to find such impressive transformations of not only the main character, but several supporting characters as well.  There were moments when I related to each of them, which is rare for me to find in a YA Contemporary.  I adored the realistically rocky blooming of Leo's relationships with his father, Evey, and Drake.  Aside from Leo's personal development, these evolutions were my favorite part of the book.  The ups and downs felt authentic and drew me into their personal struggles.  It felt like I was watching four different journeys, even if it was only told in Leo's POV.

This novel felt very real to me.  I hope that many who read it will be able to take away the importance of self-discovery and self-acceptance and how both of those things can improve relationships with others.  I applaud Walton for taking on so many important ideas in this work.  One of the biggest take-aways I had was the value in seeking help.  The stigma surrounding mental health continues to be one of the biggest hurdles to treating it.  This novel embraces the idea that it is not shameful to go to therapy or take medication or talk about mental health with your friends.  By the end of the book, I felt braver and more open-minded for having taken this journey with Leo.  

Just Our Luck is the coming-of-age novel I didn't know I needed.  I highly recommend it for all teens and young adults.  This title is set to release Dec. 29, 2020.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for providing an e-ARC of Just Our Luck in exchange for an honest review.  Review will be shared to blog and Instagram on Dec, 15, 2020.

Leo is a high schooler who suffers from anxiety and uses knitting to help relieve it.. He lives with his dad who is emotionally distant so there's not much discussion about his anxiety. Leo gets in trouble at school and is forced to attend a meeting with the boy who beat him up. He also ends up taking a hot yoga class and teaming up with a young lady to get revenge on her ex. This description isn't doing this title justice. As someone who suffers from anxiety, the author captured the experience with accuracy and grace. A wonderful read about friendship, family, self discovery and finding tools to help yourself.

I was trying to get into the details and events in the beginning I liked the characters . The dialogue was okay. The tone and pacing was okay. I liked the characters.

Great YA novel that busts stereotypes about mental health, physical fitness, and creative pursuits. Would be an excellent book discussion title with themes of revenge, grief, heritage, following your passion. I really liked the quirky characters with their individual passions: yoga, healthy eating, photography, knitting, journalistic writing, etc. An exceptional choice for presenting mental health as a normal part of life, from anxiety and ways to cope, to grief, stress, insomnia, with counseling and medication presented as useful, plus stress-relievers such as yoga, crocheting, and journaling.

The cover, the story, the characters; where do I start? This is a GEM from Julia Walton. You know when you read a book and it's so real and absorbing; yeah, this book was like that!

How refreshing to find a character like Leo. He marches to the beat of his own drum all while being hyper aware that his beat is different than other "normal" kids. The tension between knowing who he is and being true to that and the anxiety that his "weirdness" causes is superb. I love reading how Leo's relationships (new and old) unfolded and how even his Yia Yia still had a profound impact on him even after she was gone.

The cover art makes my heart swoon, its so subtle and perfect! I loved this book and was sad when it was over. I want to read more and more and more about Leo.

I give this book FIVE MATI'S and FIVE STARS!!!

Thank you #NetGalley and #RandomHouseChildren's for an advanced copy of #JustOurLuck in exchange for my honest opinion.

I thought this was a cute book of a boy learning to overcome and manage his anxiety through unconventional, & yet natural, methods. I liked how he made friends and learned to feel more comfortable being around people with their help. I was frustrated that his father couldn’t understand his anxiety and that they never seemed to talk to one another but happy that the author addressed that in the end & is having them attend therapy to work on the relationship. I could see this being a real issue for those with high anxiety and believe this book could help to encourage some to find unconventional methods of coping/managing their anxiety.

Poignant and funny. You can’t help but root for Leo and feel his anxieties and want so much for him to succeed.

This book is so spot on with what it feels like to live with anxiety.. a must read. Also a great glimpse into Greek culture and what it’s like to balance your heritage in a country with different customs!

I was drawn to this book because of the Dear Evan Hansen comp and deeply enjoyed it. As a guy who struggles with anxiety, I think this book would have helped me a lot as a teenager.

The biggest strength of this book was its depiction of mental illness and the progression of grief on individuals. I also loved the development of the relationships throughout the novel. There are times in which I was just so frustrated and wanted characters to make better decisions, but they often learned from their mistakes and were able to grow throughout the course of the book.

The relationship between father and son was beautifully illustrated, as was the healthy male relationships between friends. There was the turning of toxic masculinity on its head, and it was wonderfully done.

I think I would have liked to see more about characters seeking mental health resources rather than seeming to be "fixed" by other characters, and this would have brought it to 5 stars.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange of an honest review.

I could have done without the revenge story line, but did enjoy the aspect of mental health that this story explored .The characters were well developed and the pacing of the plot was strong.

A great coming of age story. Leo is a likeable character who I connected with immediately (anxiety friends for life!) and I was easily drawn into his story. A really enjoyable read for adults and YA lovers.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this book. This book was ADORABLE! It tells the story of Leo, a Greek teen with anxiety and how his life spirals out of control and back again after an altercation with another boy at school. I loved this story, and the characters, main and supporting. Leo is extremely relatable as an anxious, introverted person that prefers staying home to going to parties. This book was a super quick, easy, and fun read all about his journey to finding himself, friends, and his way back to his father. I highly recommend it to anyone wanting an enjoyable contemporary read that focuses on self discovery and friendships, as well as a tiny bit of romance.

I fell in love with Leo since the first page!! I absolutely enjoyed reading this book!

It all starts with this junior named Leonidas (named after a famous general). Ironically, Leo suffers of anxiety, and often prefers to be alone, engaging in things like knitting and photography. Given his estranged relationship with his dad after his mother's death and the recent death of Yia Yia, Leo is left feeling more empty and more anxious than ever. When he ends up in a fight with a guy named Drake (who eventually becomes his friend) Leo is forced to take a self-defense course by orders of his dad to engage in something more "masculine"

While looking for a way out, he begs to the secretary to change him to another class. When he finds out Evey Paros, a girl from an old family rivalry is the one who chooses to help him in exchange for a favor..... he ends up in a hot yoga class, in a crazy revenge plot, all while learning more about himself, making more friends, and reaching an understanding with his father as well as falling in love.
This book deals with topics like anixiety, toxic masculinity, shaming, and I think the author does a flawless job depicting Leo's anxiety as well as his journey with yoga and life. I definitely enjoyed the journal entries and yoga pose descriptions that made me crack up so much!

While Evey wasn't the love interest I expected for him, nor were her intentions the best at the beginning, she does go through character development that in the end, shows how much she has grown. The ending was a happy one, and I do wish to hear more about Leo and his crazy adventures in the future.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for letting me enjoy this book!

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange of an honest review.

TW: anxiety, panic attacks, revenge porn, blackmail, death (before the start of the book), loss, grief, mental health, bullying


Leo always followed the two main rules his grandmother, Yia Yia, told him, "Bad luck follows lies" and "Leaves the Paros family alone", but something caused him to broke those rules.

First, when his anxiety caused a fight a school, he lies about what exactly happened, finding himself with his classmate Drake (the guy who hit him), to attend school consueling and forced by his father to attend a self defence class, even though it is the last thing he wants to do.
Then, at the gym he finds the great-granddaughter, Evey Paros, of the woman who apparently cursed his own family and seeing desperate not to go to the self-defence class, Evey cuts him a deal: she will enroll him in another class at the same time of the self-defence one (hot yoga) and he will help her get back to her ex boyfriend.
Finding himself blackmailed, Leo accepts and this starts a journey that will help him find more confidence, friends and purpose.

I really loved reading Just our luck. Leo, the main character, is absolutely relatable and I find myself so much in him, while he deals with his anxiety, panic attacks, thoughts and people issues. It was realistic and skillfully written. He's different from the son his father wants him to be. He loves knit, crochet, take photographs and since his grandmother died he feels alone and lonely, unable to connect and talk with his father. Both of them are burdened by the losses of Yia Yia and Leo's mother, when he was really young.
Yia Yia was the one able to help him calm down, using yarn to distract and ground himself and Leo finds himself out of his comfort zone when he has to be with Drake and the school consulant, doing hot yoga and following Evey in her revenge.

The way the book is written is interesting. Told by Leo's POV, except the first chapter, every chapter starts with "Dear journal" and an hot yoga pose with its description. Throught the journal Leo has to write in for the hot yoga class, the story unfolds. The reader gets to know Leo, his passions, fears, his relationship, strained and tense, with his father, he grieving his grandmother, his deal with Evey and the slow start of his friendship with Drake.

The book is skillfully written, full of interesting and complex characters and it deals with many important issues.
First of all Leo's mental health and his dealing with it, the father-son relationship, bullying, revenge porn and blackmail.
Most of all it's really interesting reading how Leo refuses to conform to the stifling masculinity norms, how people think man should act and what should they do.
Even though he's bullied and his father doesn't understand him, Leo is a strong character, quiet, but stubborn and he follows his passions, while dealing with anxiety, people, loss and grief.
I liked seeing how Leo finds people able to understand him, to help and love him, how slowly Leo starts to deal with his anxiety and people. I love Leo and he is a wonderful character, absolutely realistic, relatable and intense.

I love Drake's encouragements, him trying to get Leo to eat more healthly and to defend himself. Drake is an amazing character, funny, outspoken and the way their relationship grows and change is really beautiful and empowering to see. Jen, his girlfriend, is smart and supportive and I really enjoy reading about Evey, who, even though she finds herself in a difficult and ugly situation, she's able to fight back, finding creative way (the yarn bombing is amazing!) to get her revenge.
Leo's father is another complex character, burdened by losses and gried and unable to connect with his son, but I love how the book ends, with a hopeful ending for them. The Greekness in this book was amazing and I liked the story about the curse.

The way the author talks about mental health and the struggles of being anxious, the importance of the therapy, of talking, healing and taking medicine if needed is wonderful and on point.

I recommend this book to those who wants to read about strong characters, interesting story and finding yourself and your family.