i love all things titanic! when i saw there was going to be a book about the chinese passengers, i was so excited to get my hands on it! the book was beautifully written and even though the i knew the fate of the titanic, i was still deeply saddened by the end of the book. i would definitely recommend this book to anyone!!

**thanks penguin teen and net galley for sending me an arc!

4.0 / 5 ⭐️ (thank you to penguin teen for this ARC and a physical copy of the book!)

Set in the spring of 1912, 'Luck of the Titanic' follows seventeen-year-old Valora Luck, a British-Chinese young woman, as she attempts to reunite with her twin brother onboard one of the most infamous ships in history: the Titanic. Once she finds Jaime, her brother, she'll be able to pursue her dream (and their father's) of being famous twin acrobats at a circus in New York. But first she'll have to navigate the racism onboard the ship, her feelings for one of her brother's crew mates, and then managing to find an opportunity to perform their act in front of the owner of a world-famous circus on the boat. But can Valora's perseverance and spirit help her and her companions survive when the ship is dealt a fatal blow?

This book is so wonderfully written! I feel as though historical fiction has a negative stereotype either being historically accurate and quite boring, or being entertaining to read but far from reality. However, Stacey Lee has managed to write a story that is both full of historical information, keeping to the timeline and culture, and genuinely interesting to read. This is a great standalone book, and the ending caught me so off-guard. If you're looking to get into historical fiction, this book is a perfect start!

I loved this book. I have seen the movie Titanic numerous times and I knew the issues with racism and wealth, but this book brought to light much more issues that just went without telling. This cover drew me in but I stayed for the story.

Not for me, I’ve never read a historical fiction nor do I really have interest in them.

However, I thought I would this one a go, but they aren’t for me.

Wow--this was my first Stacey Lee book but I've heard great things about her and now I know why! This was a beautiful historical story and I really enjoyed it (but I also wanted to cry at the end). Our main character, Valora, was an excellent narrator. She had a great role in the story and her passion for family and loyalty was relatable and sweet. The characters are all really lovable from what we see but I also wish they were a little more developed! A lot of time was spent on Valora and her brother Jamie but there were some other characters that I wanted to spend so much more time with! I thought the historical element was excellently done, particularly the clothing described and especially the language--there were so many uniquely portable phrases and they were lots of fun to read! There was also the discussion of racism, particularly on the Chinese during this time, that was so powerful and important to address, especially in historical time periods. The ending of the book was incredible; it was definitely tense and exciting and sad but also beautiful and powerful. My only complaint was with some of the details. There were a few times when details--like when Valora had to change her clothes and characters' reactions depended on what clothes she was in--were very important but weren't clear and it threw me out of the story. Other than that, though, this was a really beautiful book and I look forward to reading Stacey's other works.

I knew this would be devastating and yet I was still shocked at how devastating this was. I spent the last 20% just... crying.

Stacey Lee retells a well-known tragedy through the perspective of the people who have usually been ignored when talking about it: the Chinese passengers. What begins as an adventurous story of a girl doing whatever she can to get reunited with her brother, ends up having a huge emotional impact in multiple ways. This is definitely a book that will stay with me for a long time.

I've been wanting to read Stacey Lee's books for a long time, but somehow I never got around to it. I'm glad this was my first one, because it was so good. I'll definitely pick up the author's backlist as well!

The Titanic is the perfect backdrop for the classism and racism that Valora and Jamie Luck, twin British-Chinese acrobats, and their friends, had to endure aboard the ship. We all know the fate of the Titanic, but that doesn't make the story any less fascinating. I was so invested in these characters, and the final few chapters were so tense and heartbreaking. A beautifully written story.

I love historical fiction books. And what I really love about this, is even though it’s about a very popular time, it centers on people you never hear about. I don’t think there are any other historical fiction books out there about the Asian people aboard the Titanic. Not only is this such a good story, it helps highlight these people that were never talked about.

This book is beautifully written with great authentic historic setting and voice. The action keeps the reader turning the page as the characters navigate this historic event.

We all know I'm here for anything set on the Titanic, but this book was amazing for so many other reasons than the setting.
The story follows Valora Luck, a British-Chinese girl who sneaks onto the Titanic as a stowaway, in order to reunite with her twin brother Jamie, who works on board. The owner of the Ringling Brother's Circus happens to be on the ship as well, and Valora is sure that once he sees her and Jamie's acrobatics routine he'll gladly take them on. But the hard part will be convincing Jamie to leave the life he's made and come to America with her.
First of all, I just want to appreciate the characters in this book. They all feel so real, and Valora especially was flawed and frustrating at times, but in a way that I still loved her and was rooting for her in every single moment. There are plenty of side characters, and they manage to be distinct and likable, while still keeping the focus of the story where it needs to be.
Because the story is truly about Valora and Jamie, and I thought it was so beautiful to read a story about a sibling bond more than anything. While there are moments of a romance brewing, and new friendships forming, it never shifted the importance away from the true story of Valora and her twin navigating what it means to be that closely bonded while finding out that their lives and choices might not always intersect.
The book was funny, and hopeful, and heartbreaking, and I would highly recommend it.

I almost didn’t read this book and I just wanna slap myself for ever doubting it.
I don’t normally read historical fiction but I am obsessed with anything that involves the Titanic. Why not give it a chance right?
Well I can honestly say that this is one of the best books I have ever read. Ever.

I was literally sobbing by the end of it, sobbing into my pillow so I didn’t wake my baby up.
I’m a damn mess but it was worth it.

Luck of the Titanic is loosely based on the 6 Chinese survivors of the Titanic. The fact that we know almost nothing about them made this story even better to me.

The story is told by Valora Luck a British-Chinese girl. Valora manages to sneak herself onto the ship on the search for her twin brother Jamie. Her hopes are to make it to America and join the circus as an acrobat.

The characters were my absolute favorite part of the book. Valora was the perfect MC, she was driven, brave and so protective of her family. The supporting characters were just as amazing.

Stacey Lee did such a fantastic job at making me forget about the impending doom. I obviously knew how it would end but I was so invested in Valora’s story that I kept forgetting. If only we could change the outcome.

I think that anyone can enjoy this book. It’s incredibly heartbreaking, but so beautifully written.

Thank you @penguinteen for advanced copy.

We all know the story of the Titanic. But do we know about the Chinese people who were on-board this 1912 excursion? Especially since this period of history was marked by intense animosity towards Chinese laborers and immigrants. I loved that Lee took us back to the ship from a different perspective -- through the lens of a half-British, half-Chinese young woman. Through her observations, Lee highlights the class divide as well as the racial divide abroad the ship. I found the writing to be a bit excessive at times -- like the fashion/dress-up aspects of the book -- but I think it added to the flourishes of the ship and that time period. The plot and conflict made for a riveting story and Lee tells that story well. This was such a splendid way to highlight the unseen faces and stories abroad the ship.

I would definitely recommend this book to others. It's a powerful story that sheds important light on the lesser known/ basically unknown POC stories during major historical events, in this case the Titanic. Sadly, as someone who had a total Titanic obsessed phase as a child, I was disappointed that the actual sinking only took up maybe the final 15%.
I WANTED MORE.

YA veteran Stacey Lee gives us another diverse historical twist in her newest novel, Luck of the Titanic, which imagines the notorious and glamorous ship through the eyes of a young Chinese woman.

Valora Luck has been separated from her twin brother Jamie for two long years. They used to be practically attached, and now that both her parents have died, she desperately wants to reunite. She was supposed to sail on the new vessel the Titanic with her employer, where Jamie works, until the woman suddenly dies. Now she sneaks onto first class in disguise, after being told Chinese people are barred from entering the U.S. She is determined not only to find her brother, but also to wow the owner of the Ringling Brothers Circus. Her father trained the twins as acrobats since birth, and she is determined to fulfill his dream.

She makes it onto the ship and finds Jamie fairly easily, but he is less than thrilled to see her. Still, Val is resolute, so she refuses to get off the ship. She returns to her first class cabin, but finds that passing as her late employer is harder than she expected. Wearing a veil covers her face, but several crew members are still suspicious. Undeterred, she devotes all her time to finding the circus owner. If she can just talk up the twins’ act, she knows they’ll get an audition and make it into America. Along the way, she forms several unlikely alliances, including one with an eccentric fashion designer who is officially my favorite character.

Now, this wasn’t an extremely fast-paced book, but each page burst with tension. Of course, the Titanic’s sinking is infamous, and any story that takes place on its deck has tension built in. We all know the story, and yet we still fall in love with the characters on board, hoping they will be the ones that survive. Lee masterfully builds on that tension using the relationship between the two main characters.

Which brings me to my favorite part of the story, the relationship between Jamie and Valora. These two are so obviously siblings, with the same passion and stubbornness. Val is a complete badass who will stop at nothing to get what she wants, although most of her plans are “half-baked.” This annoys Jamie to no end, although he clearly loves his sister. Their clash comes in how they remember their parents. Val idolized their father and will do anything to protect his memory, while Jamie is more cynical. Some of the most heart-wrenching moments come when he makes Val realize her childhood wasn’t what she remembers. Jamie doesn’t want to come to America, and Val spends most of the book trying to decide if she can bear to let him go. As a sister who is very close to her brother, I appreciated how honest and beautiful this relationship was.

As always, Lee does a fantastic job showing honest portrayals of the racism Chinese people faced in this period. Val goes back and forth between first and third class, so we see the various, interesting characters populate both worlds. In particular, the Chinese workers who live with Jamie each have their own fully developed, distinct personalities. I found myself deeply caring about each of them, which only made the third act more suspenseful.

On the surface, the Titanic is a story that’s been done to death. But Valora’s story is one of grit and determination, more than luck. It is a fresh take, one that is beautiful, heartbreaking, and inspiring. I highly recommend it.

This book was really fascinating. I love the concept of tackling a relatively well-known, historical event from a totally new, minority-friendly perspective. I loved the way the protagonist shared her culture and viewpoints within the context of her story. It was beautiful. I also seriously appreciated the unique similes and metaphors. Lovely read, and it will be a refreshing addition to my classroom one day.

What an incredible, intriguing, and fun story! This book creates a unique spin on the original story of the titanic. If you read the author’s note, which I highly recommend doing, it contains some information about the Chinese passengers originally aboard the titanic and the lack of information about this group. I found it fascinating that Stacey Lee was able to take a small bit of knowledge and weave it into this beautiful tale. You will find that throughout the story, there are small bits of information about Chinese history and culture, which I found to be incredibly helpful and fascinating. There were so many things I didn’t know and I enjoyed that I was able to learn about Chinese culture in a fun book! I hope that it creates a stir amongst people to research more about the Chinese passengers of the titanic.

I really enjoyed the story itself and found it to be the perfect amount of drama and fun. And while I know the story of the titanic and knew at some point there was going to be some heartache, I wasn’t expecting it to hit me that much! The characters were great and I felt that each personality helped to lend to the story as a whole. I highly recommend reading this book!

*Thank you to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for my honest review*

Well I loved this one just as much, or more than Stacey Lee's last work The Downstairs Girl! Different historical time frame (you can guess how it ends) but her characters were just as loveable as they were in Downstairs Girl. Her two main characters Valora and Jamie Luck are Chinese/British citizens who both end up on the Titantic, one by sneakier means than the other. There is some acrobatic wizardry, some high fashion, some sibling disagreement, some friends who are family, and a splash of romance. Based on some new information about 6 Titantic survivors of Chinese descent, Lee fashions a story around a perspective we have not seen about this historical event. I would pair this with The Watch That Ends the Night, written in poetry, or even one of our non-fiction books on the event. Readers will be challenged to keep track of characters (there are quite a few) as they will want to know what ultimately happens to each of them.

*Thank you to G.P. Putnam's Sons Penguin Young Readers Group for providing a digital ARC for preview.

“Life is a balancing act, and the better you get at juggling, the better you get at living.”

Life has never been easy for Valora Luck, and she is determined to change that by starting a new journey to America aboard the Titanic. Having been apart from her twin brother for two years, Valora is set on reuniting with him in the hope of convincing him to join the famous American circus as a sibling acrobat group. After failing getting on the ship using the tickets that her employer bought, Valora proceeds to stow away on the ship and later on, disguises herself as a widowed lady (unbeknownst to others, the lady has recently passed away as well). Valora’s bold acts put her in constant danger of being discovered, but her determination gets the better of her and she finally manages to find her brother accompanied by some other Chinese seaman as well. In the year of 1912, America had issued the Chinese Exclusion Act which would mean they wouldn’t be allowed to enter the country upon arriving. But Valora already has a plan to impress the famous circus master, become one of his acrobat performers, enter America and start a better life. However, their time is limited; not only because of the growing suspicion of the ship stewards, but also by the tragic event that is ticking closer and closer.

This novel is categorised as historical fiction which is loosely based on the eight Chinese survivors of the Titanic. That being said, it is written from the perspective of a young Chinese girl and her take on this tragedy. Interestingly, it is not particularly event based and rather focuses on Valora’s short time on the Titanic and her attempts at trying to impress the circus master. Apart from that, the majority of the book deals with racism and it is even more strongly portrayed from the protagonist’s point of view and how she and her brother and the other Chinese people are being shunned from Western society. It is really heartbreaking to see them trying so hard but also being dismissed so swiftly merely because of the colour of their skin. Lee has put in much effort in researching the history including small details such as their different hairstyles during the period. However, the book doesn’t dwell too much on history but instead works as an undertone and drives the story further.

17-year-old twins Valora and Jamie Luck represent the phoenix and the dragon according to Chinese mythology and they have gone through a lot in the past few years. Being born with a Chinese father and an English mother is not always easy. Their mother hardly ever accompanies them when they go out and their father deals with alcoholism and gambling problems (if I recall correctly). The two were really close in their young ages and they often engaged in acrobatic acts together. However, after losing their mother really young, Jamie left home feeling especially disappointed in their father, leaving Valora alone with the responsibility of taking care of their father and their home. Life has always been difficult, but Valora never gave up. I absolutely adore Valora and Jamie’s relationship. Both are stubborn people, but they have such a strong bond between them that nothing can come between. Even though they might be bickering all the time, they never stopped loving and caring for each other. Valora is the dreamer of the two, she has her own dreams and strives to achieve them using whatever means necessary; Jamie is the realist, and he seems to be more grown up than Valora. Lee also introduces us to some fantastic side characters as well, and potential love interests for both Valora and Jamie, although not predominantly focused.

Additionally, I have to applaud Lee’s writing style. She brings to light a new perspective of what life could have been like for the eight Chinese survivors, moments before the tragedy of the Titanic. She doesn’t shy away from the harsh conditions they have to deal with and as Valora consistently moves between first and third class, we get to see both sides of the society as well.

As a Chinese living in the UK myself, I feel especially close to these characters from the bottom of my heart. Even though I have never dealt with racism personally (and hope that I never will), some of my friends have had such unpleasant experiences and it breaks my heart to read Valora’s similar experience more than a century ago. To make it even more frustrating, Valora not only deals with racism, but discrimination against women as well, which not surprisingly, still remains a social problem in the present day.

Minor spoiler: Those familiar with Jack and Rose’s story would know what the ending was like for them, no matter how much we pray for a happy and comforting ending. So just a heads up, plots are about to thicken in the last quarter of the novel and get ready for some stunning, touching and heartbreaking moments. Every journey needs to come to an end, and so does Valora and Jamie’s as well.

Wow. I am writing this review the day after sobbing at midnight after finishing this book. This was SO good. For so many reasons that I'm sure my review won't do it justice.

Valora is a phenomenal character.  She is clever and interesting. An extremely talented acrobat with a couple other tricks up her sleeve. She is determined and driven, but she is flawed.  It was an emotional experience seeing her realize that her world view and her view of her own family was being flipped upside down. That she had enough empathy to start to see things from her life through her brother's eyes and not just try and force him to join her in what she thought was the right thing for them to do. Her growth in her short journey on the titanic was momentous.  She was such a fun character to follow that I didn't want to put the book down because I had to know what she would do next. And the supporting characters were just as vivid. It was not a huge book, but I was instantly connected with most of them and by the end I felt like I had their fate in my hands as I turned the pages.

Another huge layer of this story is the racism and classism presented - and the titanic was the perfect place to display that.  We can imagine how the lowest class citizens on the boat were treated compared to the upper class rich families.  The author did such a great job depicting this through Val's eyes.  And then the way the Chinese characters were treated and viewed. It was heartbreaking reading about the Chinese Exclusion Act that is pretty glossed over in American history. It was hard to read, but I'm so glad it was brought to light in this book because it's something that needs to be understood and learned from. The author's note at the end about how the few Chinese passengers were treated compared to the rest of the survivors is appalling and I love how the author honored them in her own way in this story.

I knew this book takes place on the Titanic and of course knew the fate of that historic ship. But somehow, while reading Val's story I was so invested in her and her future that I completely forgot about what was sure to be awaiting her in a few short days.  Not until about 75% through did I sudden start to worry about where the ship was headed.  And the ending chapters during the sinking of the Titanic I was at the edge of my seat. No spoilers, but as you can imagine it was a gripping, gut wrenching experience to reach about and this author did an amazing job of describing the chaos, the strange calm, the desperation and honing in on how Val and her friends  were experiencing it.

I highly recommend this for lovers of historical fiction, readers of YA, and anyone who loves a compelling narrator and fast paced story.

Luck of the Titanic is an incredible book about family, friendship, and survival. The story focuses on Valora and her relationship with her twin Jamie and how they care deeply for each other despite their different temperaments. Valora, true to her name, is gutsy and ambitious, pushing forward in her goals despite the obstacles. Along the way, she makes some friends and unexpected allies and even a bit of romance. Even knowing that the Titanic sinks and ends in tragedy, I was still caught in a web of suspense created by the narrative tension and the possibility that maybe, just maybe, all the characters I like will survive. The ending was gut-wrenching and bittersweet. Once again, Stacey Lee gives a voice to Chinese people who are marginalized by history, writing them back into the narrative.