When the Titanic sailed, there were just 8 Chinese passengers aboard. In Luck of the Titanic, Stacey Lee creates another Chinese passenger, a twin for one of the men on board. Valora was supposed to travel as a companion to the wealthy Mrs. Sloane, but she died before the sailing of the ship. Instead, denied boarding based on her Chinese heritage, Valora sneaks on to the ship. Her goal is to find her brother, and convince an investor in the Ringling Brothers Circus that they are the acrobatic act that the circus needs.

I've rated this as a three star book entirely based on my enjoyment of the story, not as a reflection on any structural issues with the plot or characters. When the extent of a tragedy is so influenced by human foibles (why weren't there more lifeboats? Why did half empty life boats sail away from the ship? Why did only one boat go back to help look for survivors?) I find it difficult to separate my frustration with people from the story. Which, I suppose, is part of the purpose: we should learn from history, and we should be upset by the poor decisions of humanity's shared past. More unfamiliar for me was the depiction of the extent of the racism experienced by the Chinese passengers. I knew that there is a substantial history of racism against Chinese immigrants in the US, but I didn't realize how rigidly codified it was, or how recently that discrimination was part of US law.

Definitely a worthwhile read, just prepare for frustration with historical reality.

I received a copy of this work from the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

Slow paced but intriguing. The characters were so interesting. It’s a bit of a sad story but at the same time it lures you in to root for their future. I loved the atmosphere and the details in the world building. The era Is one of my favorites!

The more I think about this book, the less I like it. The ending really did not sit well with me and my displeasure has grown each day since. Prior to the last 30 pages or so, I was really enjoying this book about Val, a young British girl, sneaking onto the Titanic in an attempt to reunite with her twin brother and impress the owner of a circus into hopefully sponsoring them into the United States. Val's voice was unique and the historical details were fascinating. The overall sense of dread of knowing this ship is going to sink gives the book a level of urgency not usually baked into YA. Still, due to the ending, it made it seem like Val did not grow or change at all over the course of the book, making the same choices and mistakes and sacrifices she'd been making the entire time. It's unfortunate.

We read this as a potential nominee for our internal Mock Printz committee. It did not make it into the final 10 nominees.

This was a fun read (despite how sad it was) that really showed an interesting perspective on part of history. It's fascinating to read about how horrible the Chinese exclusion act was, especially for Chinese women, and how the main characters suffer from it despite not even actually being from China, just of Chinese descent. And the conflict the main characters dealt with throughout the story made for a compelling read all while the reader knows what will eventually happen because it's the Titanic.

Luck of the titanic is a historical fiction about the two twins: Valora and Jamie Luck. Val uses her employer’s tickets to get aboard the Titanic so she can finally meet her brother Jamie who works on the ship and who she hasn’t seen since two years. This story takes the Titanic and adds a unique touch to it with family, friendship, love, destiny and passion. It was so interesting and well written and it makes for a really great read.

Val doesn’t get to board the ship easily but she manages and finds her brother who is now working with other Chinese sea men too. Val dreams of going to America so she can join the circus as an acrobat along with her brother. This is difficult due to the Chinese Exclusion Act but the lead investor of Ringling Brother’s Circus is on the ship too and impressing him could be start of her life long dream.

The characters Val and Jamie are really well written, they’re both stubborn but also protective of each other and their loyalty towards each other is really sweet to read about. They’ll argue, they’ll disagree but when time comes they’re there for each other. Val thinks that Jamie isn’t as close to her as before and she intends to convince him to join her in America. Their sibling relationship was really well fleshed out and I truly enjoyed reading about them.

The other characters of Bo, Wink, Ollie all made such amazing characters and I loved reading about them just as much. I love how much family and friendship was focused on in the story and it made some really good moments.

There was some romance subplots too but none of them took centre stage and this story through and through remained of Val, Jamie and their journey to reach where they want to be. Given this is book based on Titanic, we can imagine the ending but the suspense about the fate of each character is so well done it keeps you on edge till the end. The author also talks about the inspiration of writing this book and I loved knowing that part which made the whole book more interesting too.

Overall, Luck of the Titanic was emotional, beautiful and a very good take on the Titanic. If you’re looking for a good historical fiction with great characters and which will hold your interest till the end, you must read Luck of the Titanic.

TW: use of racist slurs

Thank you the publisher and author for providing me with an eARC through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I am a total sucker for any historical fiction novel set on the Titanic. I know, I know - we ALL know the ship will sink, yet somehow I never lose hope for any of the passengers! This time we have a stowaway - Valora - who just HAS to get to America. Her twin brother Jamie is also on board as a member of the crew. A fantastic historical fiction novel.

I don't know if anybody else went through a phase of absolutely being obsessed with the Titanic, but I definitely did. I was interested in it far before I even saw the movie with Jack and Rose. When I heard a new Titanic story was coming, I was so incredibly excited and I'm so sad it took me this long to finally read it. Not only did this book deal with the harrowing night the Titanic sank, but it also had to deal a lot with identity and adversity. I also learned quite a bit that I didn't previously know, such as the Chinese Exclusion Act. I very rarely reach toward historical fiction, but not only did I love this story but I also learned a lot about a time that I have been severely lacking knowledge on.

Valora Luck is excited to have a ticket for the Titanic, where she will surprise her twin brother who is also on board. After Valora’s employer, who was supposed to go on the trip with her, dies suddenly, Valora tries to get on the ship by herself. However, Chinese passengers aren’t allowed into America. Valora figures out a way to sneak on the ship to reunite with her brother Jamie. Her plan is for them to revive their acrobatics act to impress a circus owner. Jamie isn’t interested in doing their circus act anymore, or in staying in America with Valora. She has seven days of their journey to convince Jamie to follow their old dream, while also masquerading as a wealthy passenger.

This historical fiction was funny at times, but it also dealt with serious subjects. Valora, Jamie, and the other Chinese passengers had to face horrific racism. I was shocked when they said that she wouldn’t be allowed on the ship because she was Chinese. That was just the first in a series of racist incidents. When Valora wore a veil and dressed to impersonate her employer, she was treated completely differently, with a lot of respect. This reinforced the racism that was directed towards Valora. It’s so devastating that anti-Asian racism still happens today, though perhaps not as openly as in this book.

Since this book was set on the Titanic, I knew what would happen at the end. I kept waiting for the moment when the Titanic would hit the iceberg and sink. I was hopeful that, since this is a fictional story, something would happen and the ship would survive. I won’t give away the ending but I found it shocking and sad.

Luck of the Titanic is a heartbreaking historical young adult novel.

Thank you Penguin Teen for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Valora Luck is ready to find her brother and make her way to a better future via the Titanic. Holding tightly onto her ticket, Valora is turned away at the gangplank because she is Chinese. Her future is suddenly in question if she can't gain access to the ship- and to her brother.

Finding away to stowaway, Valora must remain hidden in plain sight and must convince her brother to join her in America.

Stacey Lee expertly paints history in a way that is engaging to young readers and not so young readers like myself. Even knowing the story of the Titanic, Lee introduced me to things I was previously unaware of- like the treatment of Chinese aboard the boat. She brought to life what some of the workers aboard the boat would have experienced and gave some insight into how their experience of the sinking boat would have looked compared to the ticketed passengers.

Even knowing how the Titanic story ends, I held out hope for all of the characters I came to love to survive through the end (can't we just get them all doors to float on?!)

This had a really great premise and a lot of potential that I sadly felt like fell short. It was incredibly slow and the pacing was off but the writing itself was good. I loved the historical aspect of this and I think fans of the Titanic would enjoy this

Luck of the Titanic was kind of slow paced and at times repetitive, and I felt like the plot was too straightforward. I also felt like it was anticlimactic, like yeah I know that the story of the Titanic is very climactic, but because I already knew what was going to happen, it just wasn't a very interesting climax or ending, didn't make me all that sad for the protagonist so it would've been nice to see something different and refreshing.
Full review to come on my YouTube channel.

This was a solid YA historical fiction. I enjoyed immersing myself in the time period and setting. Valora Luck is an ambitious and strong young woman who wants to convince her twin brother Jamie to move to the US and join the circus with her. Because of the Chinese Exclusion Act barring Chinese people from entering the country, her plan isn’t straightforward, but she proves to be resourceful and persistent as she works to overcome barriers and imagines a better life for them.

My main criticisms are that some of the wording seemed a little awkward to me and that it could’ve been a little shorter since there were a couple of plot points I wasn’t sure about. But I think the pros outweigh the cons. The author’s notes at the end of the book provided additional context for me and made me appreciate this book for centering the Chinese passengers aboard the Titanic. Apparently not much is known about them, but they were “vilified as cowards” in accounts that do mention them. Stacey Lee showed that their lives and stories mattered despite history’s erasure of them, which I feel has happened too many times in the past. Overall, it was an entertaining read, and I look forward to reading more books by the author!

“Life is a balancing act, and the better you get at juggling, the better you get at living. But juggling is not an act of holding tight. It’s an act of letting go—of giving the people you love the time and space to find their own orbit.”

CW: grief over loss of parent, alcoholism, racism, assault, death

It was a bit slow? I guess I was expecting a fast paced book so that's on me. Otherwise good writing and will be checking out the author's other books.

While the premise of this book was promising, ultimately, it fell flat for me.

We follow Valora Luck onto the ill-fated Titanic, where she’s searching for her twin brother. Her dream is to convince him to come to New York with her so they can join the Ringling Brothers Circus as acrobats.

The character development felt very all over the place, and once the ending happened, all of the plot basically went down with the Titanic. While the ending was heartbreaking, it wasn’t enough to redeem the rest of the story for me.

Valora Luck is tired of being in London and the Titanic is her ticket to finally have the life she desired; being in the circus with her twin brother, Jamie as acrobats.
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The story follows Valora trying to convince her brother to be a part of this dream instilled by her father but he doesn’t want any part of it. On the flip side, she’s also juggling two identities while being on the ship by impersonating her dead boss, Mrs. Sloane due to the discrimination against the Chinese during that time period (and even now).
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This story was beautiful written as it navigates discrimination, family ties, a bit of romance, and classism. If you’re wondering if she lets her brother die on a plank of wood, you’re going to have it read the book to see if she’s selfish!!

A beautiful YA historical fiction novel! I'm fascinated by anything Titanic-related, and Stacey Lee added a fantastic new rendition to this tale. I can't wait to see what she writes next!

Luck of the Titanic was a breathtakingly beautiful and tragic piece of historical fiction that places the long oppressed voices of Chinese passengers from the fringes to the center of one of the worst maritime disasters in history. You can't help but be charmed by Valora Luck as she makes her way onto the Titanic to reunite with her two brother, Jaime. She is a schemer and a dreamer who will do whatever she has to to achieve what she has to do. Through her eyes, we see the very real world filled with xenophobia, racism, and sexism that Chinese people faced in the era that produced the Chinese Exclusion Act in America. A night filled with so much tragedy is even more compounded when viewed through this lens. From a historical standpoint, the author has done a phenomenal job with research and balancing the needs of a historical fiction novel and accuracy. And her writing is absolutely gorgeous. I've always been fascinated with the Titanic and this is a really valuable and important addition to the historical fiction genre. And that ending was just a gut punch. So wow. Luck of the Titanic is a story of the love between family and one of loss for those who society considered unworthy and inferior, specifically Chinese people and has a poignant relevance both then and now.

Thank you to Penguin Teen for providing me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This historical fiction was inspired by the six Chinese people that survived the titanic in the early 1900s. We follow Valora who sneaks onto the titanic in hopes to persuade a circus Director to take her and her twin brother Jamie and as they travel to America. But things don’t go as planned.

I found the book to be a little slow paced, and I was not interested in much of the story for the first half of the book. But the second half I found it difficult to put down and I really enjoyed it. The dynamic between all the characters and the relationship between the twins was very interesting.

The author clearly put a lot of research into this book and I thought the historical aspect of it was very well done.

If you love anything and everything about the titanic and you enjoy historical fiction I think he will thoroughly enjoy this book. I really appreciate how this book is an homage to the Chinese people who survived the titanic despite the racial challenges that they face during that time.

I hope that their stories will be recovered and told.

I enjoyed the characters and their development throughout Luck of the Titanic, especially that they gave a voice to the voiceless for the Chinese passengers of the Titanic. The storyline also has potential, but I often found myself waiting for something to happen. The story relied a bit too heavily on the sinking to be the "exciting" thing that happens. I would read more by this author because the characters were well-rounded and interesting, but I am not sure that this setting lent itself to creating a compelling storyline that didn't rely on a historical tragedy.

I really wanted to love this book, but I failed to get immersed or engaged. I think this was more due to what I was reading at the time, and less an issue with the book.

I read this book when I was wanting to read books that were really heavy in plot. This book did not deliver that for me. However, I did LOVE, appreciate, and respect all of the historical details and research that went into this novel. I learned a lot while reading this book.

I just don't think it was the right time for me to read it.

If you enjoy wonderful historical fiction and the Titanic, I highly suggest giving this book a try. I am hoping to try reading it again when I am more in the mind set for historical fiction.