This was a slow burning story about young Valora Luck; a Chinese British person who's trying to get to America and become an acrobat in the Ringling Bros Circus. While it was slow burning, I also remembered this story takes place on the Titanic and perhaps it was more the anticipation of what happens to the ship that made it feel slow. But it was definitely entertaining. Watching Valora pull off being a boy to hang out with her brother and his friends in third class to pretending to be Mrs. Sloane in first class, I loved seeing her dynamically navigate through those different worlds. It was also quite fun especially when she's fooling the rich folks that she's also rich and white.

It was interesting to see the dichotomy between first class and third class. Naturally, we've seen these class wars in movies like Titanic, but what Titanic failed to recognize was the level of discrimination people of color from third class were faced. It wasn't only Valora, Jamie, and the boys who are discriminated against and it made sense with the story. And although they were faced with a lot of discrimination, there were also people on board who looked beyond their ethnicity and befriended them. It made me happy to see a few allies in the mix.

I also loved that this story was loosely based off the six Titanic survivors who are of Chinese descent. It blew my mind reading the author's note at the end and seeing the inspiration for the story. Personally, as a Korean American, I never imagined someone who looked like me on board the Titanic. I think the biggest depiction of life then was that big blockbuster movie we all know and love. And in many ways, I was worried with the direction this story went. I was worried she would fall in love with some rich white guy and abandon her plans to be independent, but it didn't turn out that way! It actually made me so happy that she was so stubborn!

This book also deals a bit in grief/loss. When Valora boards the ship, there's a lot of recall to her mother and father who both tragically passed away. It fueled her determination to follow her dream especially since it was her parents that got her and Jamie into acrobatics in the first place.

The ending was definitely where all the action was. I mean, this is the Titanic and I don't think it's a spoiler with what happens to that ship at the end. But it was interesting to see this represented. I appreciate so much what Stacey Lee was able to do with this book. I loved the story and imagining myself in such a historical moment. Although, I am glad I wasn't on that boat in real life.

It is 2:30 in the morning and my eyes hurt from crying. I am beyond impressed with how beautiful this story is, and also how Stacey Lee managed to bring in much needed historical context. Lee pulled at my heartstrings with every single relationship that Valora had. From the bright eyed hope of Olly and Wink to the hard exterior of Fong, Valora managed to make an impact on every single one of these characters, and also on me. I always like to think that I would be a selfless person, but I don't think I would have the strength to do what Valora did towards the end of the book to save those that she cared about. I honestly almost DNFed this book because it was pretty slow in the middle, but I am so glad that I continued to read because it has quickly become one of my new favorites. I can't wait to recommend it to all of my friends and go on the emotional journey with them all over again.

I first heard about this book when I went to a virtual event that was held by Penguin Teen Canada, called HerStory Tea Time. It was a lot of fun and Stacey Lee was one of the author guests. I was immediately interested in the book because I love learning about the Titanic. I also love how we follow a group of people not often talked about, which are the Chinese passengers on the Titanic. This story also talks about the racial discrimination and hardships that our main characters face. It was heartbreaking but also very important to read about how this impacted the character's lives. Overall the plot was mainly character based until the last portion of the book where we saw a lot of action. The beginning was a little bit slow because of this but I also grew to enjoy hearing about each of the characters. That said I would have liked to learn a bit more about their backstories to become even more attached to them. I really enjoyed the strong sibling relationship that Val and Jamie had. I find that this isn't found often enough in young adult books. The writing style worked very well for this story and I definitely felt transported to the deck of the Titanic. The ending broke my heart and left my eyes watery.

Okay I absolutely LOVED this book. We all know the infamous story of what happened to and on the Titanic. But Luck of the Titanic takes the same story and retells it from a completely different perspective. Valora "Val" and Jamie Luck are British-Chinese twin acrobats who, for different reasons that are two sides of the same coin at the end of the day, decide to make the voyage on the Titanic to America. At the immediate onset of the novel, Val runs into an issue getting on the ship, despite her ticket: the Chinese were not welcome in America at this time. I knew about the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, but I had honestly never made the connection in a million years that such a policy was in place at the time the Titanic sank. But Val goes where Jamie goes, and she finagles her way onto the ship.

What I loved about this book - and what I find interesting in a sad way about the Titanic in general - is that it starts off about something else entirely than a sinking ship. It's about a girl who wants to move to a new country - a land allegedly filled with opportunity - and find success and fulfillment for herself and her brother. But Jamie isn't sure he wants what Val wants. It's a book about discovery and change, and is a coming-of-age novel in a lot of ways. But then one night, on April 14, close to midnight, the Titanic strikes an iceberg...and the plot changes completely as characters are forced to confront what means the most to them and why.

I looooved this book and I highly recommend it - it definitely transcends the YA demographic and would, I think, appeal to readers of all ages.

Thank you NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books For Young Reads for this eARC!

I love a good historical fiction and when I saw the description of this one, I knew I needed to read it. Valora is a young woman trying to join the Ringling Brothers as an acrobat. The way she does it? By smuggling herself onto the Titanic, where her twin brother and show companion are working. Being a stowaway isn’t her only problem—she’s Chinese and Chinese people aren’t being allowed into America because of the Chinese Exclusion Act. As Valora navigates the Titanic, the Titanic navigates the Atlantic until that fateful night that everything changes.

Wow! I have to say this: I am ashamed for not knowing there were Chinese people on the Titanic. Stacey Lee, thank you for bringing this to my attention!

This story was beautiful. In a way, it was hard to read because I *knew* what was going to happen, without knowing what was going to happen. I kept waiting for the moment the Titanic hit the iceberg (I don’t think that counts as a spoiler). Since I was anticipating that, it made it hard to focus on everything leading up to it. With that being said, the story was really interesting. I became invested in Valora and Jamie’s relationship since I’m a twin and I get it. I loved how dedicated they were to each other, since that’s how I feel about my twin! I also thought the overall concept was interesting; Valora could have been anything, but she was an acrobat. I also thought the writing was compelling—It was easy to get sucked into the story.

The only two things that I thought needed some improvement were the pacing of the story and the relationship between the MC and a certain character. To be fair, the author had a certain amount of time that couldn’t really be changed. It felt like it slowed down a lot after the first events and then, of course, everything picked up with a bang. I also wanted there to be more relationship building between the MC and a certain character, but again there was limited time and that wasn’t really Valora’s purpose on the Titanic.

This book was a solid 4 stars for me. I’d highly recommend this book if you like historical fiction like Code Name Verity (or even if you don’t!). I promise you won’t want to put it down (I know that I didn’t).

I will post my review on my Bookstagram, BookTok, and Goodreads the week of 04/26-05/02.

Content warnings: death (of a parent), drowning, alcoholism, racism, xenophobia, misogyny, sexism 

Luck of the Titanic is told from Valora Luck's perspective as she attempts to find her twin brother Jamie. I loved Val's guts to just go for what she wanted, like somehow getting onto the Titanic after she was denied because she was Chinese. The other side of the coin, however, is that I wanted to shake her sometimes because of these "half-baked" ideas. I'm a bit more like Jamie, who liked having firm plans before even trying to execute it.

On the subject of Jamie, I loved the twins' dynamic! Big-time sibling energy. Luck of the Titanic also had an overall found family feeling, so I really enjoyed how Val's relationship with Jamie's mates changed over time.

I also liked how Stacey Lee explored being biracial—the Luck twins are British Chinese; their father was Chinese and their mother was white—and what that meant during the early 20th century. There are frequent references and memories of their father (Ba) and their mother throughout the story. Lee considers the dynamics between each family member, and these relationships helped inform the twins' approach to moving through their reality. It was refreshing to see another story about the Chinese diaspora that is not set in the United States.

From the get-go of Luck of the Titanic, Val and the other Chinese people on board battle against the majority who don’t want them on the ship because they are Chinese. It doesn’t help that the U.S., where the Titanic is sailing to, has the Chinese Exclusion Act in place. Val, of course, faces more hurdles as a woman.

We see various responses to the xenophobia the Chinese people experience on the ship: Val finds ways to try and get an equal chance, even if that means hiding who she is; Jamie picks his battles and conserves his energy for the moments that matter the most to him. I wanted to scream at every little suspicious glance in their direction; I wanted to march into the ship’s kitchen and get them bread; I wanted to smack every crew member and every first-class person who didn’t even try (and more often actively pushed them away) to make a little more space in the lifeboats when the ship was sinking. 

I was really invested in Val's ambitions to gain entry into the U.S., but sometimes the pacing dragged. I found this more so in the beginning.

There is a romantic subplot, but it's only a few dashes, so not the main attraction. There are a couple of cute moments, frustrating moments, etc. I personally wasn't too attached to any of the couples.

A main reason why I ended up giving Luck of the Titanic 4 stars was because there was a point when I was reading where I wasn’t sure how I felt about book. However, after reading the last page, I can definitely say that Elizabeth Wein was correct in saying that this book is “unforgettable.” Same with Stephanie Garber writing that, "This book will make you fall in love and then fall to pieces" along with Abigail Hing Wen's words: "Stacey Lee has breathed new life and love into this iconic voyage." I will not be able to hear the word "Titanic" the same.

Above all, Luck of the Titanic made me think about these questions: How many untold stories are there waiting to be found? And especially, what were the stories of the eight Chinese (men) on the Titanic? What happened to the six that survived? Where did they go, and what legacies did they leave?

Luck of the Titanic gives a little insight into the second question through the fictional story of Val and Jamie Luck, but the actual answers may never be revealed completely.

I solidly recommend Luck of the Titanic! I would also highly recommend reading Stacey's author's note when the book comes out! She tells readers a little about why she tells this particular story about the Titanic.

Thank you Penguin Teen for my advance reader copy.

<b>"Life is a balancing act, and the better you get at juggling, the better you get at living.You could be killed walking down the street, but you don't let that fear stop you.You just practice until the fear is no longer part of the equation" </b>

Luck of the Titanic is loosely based on the 6 Chinese survivors of the infamous Titanic sinking, whose stories have surfaced recently. Stacy Lee does a great job of bringing the 1900's world with spectacular detail, the amount of research that's put into the story is quite adamant from the very beginning, the part I enjoyed most is how she was able to keep the well known facts intact while walking us through a completely contrasting POV to the infamous plot. There are certain well known characters from the history like the captain of the ship and some members of the main crew

As Valora luck boards the Titanic with two main goals, reuniting with her twin brother that's known to be working on vessel and then together grabbing the attention of Ringing brothers circus so that they can set a right path for their future in America-the land of opportunities as acrobats, but when her initial plan backfires she had to think fast to con her way into boarding the ship. Pretending to be a first class widow, she finds her twin Jamie in the lower decks, Valora's perspective shows the stark contrast in the hierarchy of the classes that are onboard along with blatant racial discrimination against Chinese people. As life has it just when everything seem to be working in her favor, the inevitable happens forcing her to change her goals- to survive and save her now found family that her brother had been calling home for years, at any cost.

Luck of The Titanic is fun, quirky and entertaining.The main character Valora is definitely a progressive and determined woman who does not allow injustice to rule her life, I really loved the sibling/twin dynamic and as well as the precious friendships the MC finds in the upper class. There is a sweet romance fitting for the era and the found family aspect is tear jerking and beautiful done

The story is still heart breaking though you already know how it ends partly because it is utterly devastating and partly because how class determined the survival of so many lives towards the end. The only issue I had is the pacing, it felt kind of dragged and redundant especially in the middle while the climax begins abruptly and ends abruptly.Overall it is a great read for Titanic lovers and historical fiction fans!

I found this to be a rather delightful, engrossing, and intriguing story. I've always been interested in the history and stories about the Titanic as a lot of people are, but this was a very interesting and different story spun with the Titanic coming from the fact that there were 6 Chinese survivors. The author imagined a sister of one of the Chinese men who survived the sinking of the Titanic and created this amazing story, which made me want to go research and learn more about the Titanic and everyone and the stories on it.
The characters come alive and have such great personalities too. Valora and Jamie Luck are twins, who are raised to be British Chinese acrobats and Valora has a ticket and sneaks onto the Titanic to find and meet up with Jamie. Jamie is with a group of Chinese men who are all working together shoveling coal and down in the 3rd class and with Valora's ticket she ends up in the first class. Valora wants to get Jamie to go with her to America and star as acrobats and Jamie has his own plans. Valora and Jamie meet and have relationships and friendships with a few others on the Titanic that are entertaining, important and also there's a little bit of swoony romance thrown in as well.
The ending of the story is, of course, one of the most intense things with everything that happens with the Titanic and each character and what happens with them. This is a very well-written and great historical fiction story that you should have on your radar to pick up to read and enjoy as soon as you can!
Thanks so much to NetGalley and Penguin Group Penguin Young Readers Group for letting me read and review this amazing book. All opinions are my own.

Initial Thoughts
I was so excited when Penguin Teen reached out about reviewing this book. I love historical fiction and I have heard amazing things about Stacey Lee's writing. This is my first Stacey Lee book and I couldn't have been more thrilled about the time period.

Some Things I Liked
Humor in the face of tragedy. Let's be honest, anything that has the name Titanic in it is always associated with tragedy. This is historical fiction, not fantasy, so I held out no hopes that this book would end any differently than the history I knew. But, that being said, I absolutely adored the way that there was so much fun and humor in this story. Val was a fantastic main character and I loved her attitude.
Lesser known history. Again, I'm a big fan of learning a side of history that I wasn't familiar with. We've all seen Leo's take on the Titanic but I was unfamiliar with the history surrounding the passengers in Third Class. I applaud the realism in the story as well as the fact that all I wanted to do was research the subject more after I finished the book.

Series Value
While I would love to follow the characters more, I feel like this story is complete. As the title suggests, this is their story on the Titanic. I actually liked the fact that the rest of the story is left as a bit of a mystery in the end.

Final Thoughts
I can't stand how much I loved this book. Books that make me feel all the feelings, like this one did, aren't usually my favorite. But, this. This was incredible. I cried so much in all the best ways. This book makes you feel things and I can't recommend it enough.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Recommended for fans of
The Lost Girl of Astor Street by Stephanie Morrill
Romanov by Nadine Brandes

I came for the Titanic and stayed for Val. I loved everything about this and thought it was such a unique and interesting look at a history not many of us know about. I’m glad to know more about the background of the Chinese survivors, even if this was a fictionalized account. I definitely recommend this to any history fan, and especially if you’re looking to add more APPI authors and characters to your list.

Luck of the Titanic is YA historical fiction about a pair of first-generation, Chinese twins from London who both end up aboard the Titanic's maiden (and only) voyage. Valora, the female twin, deceives her way into the first class cabin of her former employer. She boarded the Titanic to find her brother Jamie, who is a fireman deep in the ship's boiler rooms. The twins once performed together as acrobats and upon hearing that a man influential with Ringling Brothers is also aboard the ship, Valora develops a plan to secure her entrance into America and become a circus act at the same time.

This book is pretty far outside my wheelhouse, but it was just the light, popcorny read I needed. And honestly, until the ship started to sink (spoiler alert--haha), I forgot that this was taking place on the Titanic at all. (Though I have to admit that at times the foreshadowing was a little heavy-handed.) If this had just been about the twins, their reunion and Valora's dreams of the circus, I would have been perfectly happy. Once the iceberg made an appearance my stomach was in knots as Jamie and Valora rushed about the ship, trying to find a way out for themselves as well as the other Chinese sailors Jamie was bunking with.

All in all this was a really entertaining read and I would very much recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.

Look at this beautiful cover!!! I love reading historical novels, and when they are inspired by true events, they read different. I have always been fascinated by what happened with the Titanic. So many hopes and dreams were on that ship. I love that this novel included diverse characters, as well as a very important message on family. If you’re new to historical fiction, this one is perfect. The narrative flows beautifully, make it it effortless to grasp the story line. Inspirational story, it will stay with me for a while.

Historical Fiction is a genre that I love but don’t read nearly enough. When I saw the Luck of the Titanic, I was intrigued because everyone knows the fate of the Titanic but we can only guess at the majority of the passengers lives and ultimately, their fates. I’m interested in their stories.

Valora Luck smuggles herself onboard the Titanic hoping to reunite with Jamie, her twin. Her hopes are to make it to America with him and live their dream of performing as acrobats for the Ringling Brothers. Things have changed, though, and Jamie’s dreams don’t quite match up to Val’s anymore.

Once upon the ship, Val gets a first-hand view of the classism and racism aboard the ship, which really comes into sharp focus once the ship begins to sink and lives need to be saved.

I enjoyed seeing Val’s perspective of what may have happened those last days on the ship; while it’s no secret what happened to the Titanic, the mystery of so many passengers has been lost or never recorded. Ms. Lee explored a whole found family of characters and the lengths they would go to protect one another.

While this may not be a hair-raising read, it is no less engaging and compelling because Ms. Lee wrote the characters to be those that I became invested in. Knowing that they would be part of a doomed sinking ship made their plight that much more dramatic and intense.

Final thoughts: Ms. Lee wrote a captivating book focusing on the Asian passengers experience and she did this with thorough research into actual passengers that survived; writing an extraordinary story to recognize the hardships and racism they went through.

My thanks to Penguin Teen for providing me with a DRC in exchange for my review.

Valora Luck is confident, bold and not afraid to go after what she wants. As a half-Chinese companion to an elderly lady, she’s only getting into first class because of her employer. Unfortunately, her employer dies before they can set sail, but Valora’s determined to make the voyage anyway to reconnect with her twin brother Jamie. She wants to convince him to help her make a new life in America as an acrobat.

This book brings a new perspective to the tragedy of the Titanic. I didn’t know that the Titanic had Chinese passengers, and this book doesn’t shy away from the racism and harsh conditions they would have faced. Valora moves freely between first and third class, so we get a look at both worlds.

It also brings to life numerous characters, from Ollie and Wink, Chinese boys Valora befriends, to a young fashion designer who recruits Valora to wear her clothes.

This story ends in a heartbreaking struggle for survival as the Titanic goes down, threatening everyone’s life and dreams.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really appreciated the story Stacey Lee was trying to tell within this book. There were only 6 Chinese survivors from the sinking of the Titanic and history has nearly erased them. Stacey Lee tells this story as a tribute to the Chinese passengers on board of the Titanic and the struggles they might have faced. The story itself however, was quite slow at times. The idea of the Luck twins finding each other on board and facing family problems along with trying to get the attention of the man working for the circus was a really good idea, there were just a lot of slow moments in the book. I found myself having a hard time getting through it. Once the Titanic hit the ice the pace really picked up though. I would have like to see the ending stretched out more instead of the pacing turning so abrupt, The ending was really powerful and emotional though and I really did enjoy that. Overall this was a good historical read and readers who have an interest of the Titanic should pick it up and give it a try!

Luck of the Titanic is one of my current favorites of the year, and here is why you should read it.
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- acrobats! On a ship!
- estranged family relationships that get better!
- the Titanic!
- inspired by the untold story of 6 Chinese men on the Titanic!
- pretty dress descriptions!
- an awesome protagonist!
- very, very sad!
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I read this book over the course of a couple of hours, and I don’t really have coherent thoughts because I just finished sobbing. Stacey Lee is definitely one of my new favorite authors.
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CW- racism, racial slurs, sexual assault
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Luck of the Titanic releases on May 4th!
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Thank you to PenguinTeen and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Penguin Teen, for sending me an eARC of this in exchange for an honest review.

This is going to be a really short review since I have hardly any thoughts about this book which is so disappointing. I felt that our main character was super annoying and was just not someone that I connected with. She felt so much younger than someone who was almost 18, she read as if she was 12-13. Because of that, it makes me want to recommend this book to the younger side of YA since it does read like young YA (if you know what I mean). This is not a bad thing at all! I simply wasn't expecting that from this story and was hoping it would have read more like an older YA book.

Overall, I feel really bad for not enjoying this as much as I had hoped. I do really appreciate the author's note where she discusses the Chinese passengers who were on the real Titanic at the time and how history has invalidated their presence on the ship. Personally, I had not known about this and appreciated that this book touches on that and brings those stories to life through this book. I do still recommend this book since I think it is important to read about historical events from a perspective that is not written about in textbooks (but really should be). This was a good read and I would implore others to pick it up.

Luck of the Titanic is a stunning suspenseful masterpiece. Directly addressing the racism not only on the Titanic, but also in the US with the Chinese Exclusion Act, I knew from the beginning that this would be emotional. But, y'all, I was not prepared. Stacey Lee delivers a setting that makes the gilded halls and freezing waters come alive. At the same time, Luck of the Titanic has fantastic characters nursing struggling flames of ambitions. The ways you want to root for Valora while being juxtaposed with that dread in your stomach.

Because we all know of The Titanic for a reason. Throughout the book, as the time ticks down, I could not put Luck of the Titanic down. As readers we witness Valora's plans, even if they're half baked, they're made of love and desire, ambition and family. It's so easy to empathize with her almost infectious determination.

What a beautifully-written, diverse Titanic story!

Going into Luck of the Titanic, being a YA Historical Fiction novel, you at least have an idea what's going to happen...I mean, Titanic, yaknow. BUT Stacey Lee throws a few curveballs at you along the way making for a very intriguing story. The pacing is quick, the descriptive elements are great (I felt like I was walking the ship as Val was), and the twin's story is told in such a way that their backstory blends seamlessly with the present.

The Luck twins, Valora and Jamie, find themselves aboard the maiden voyage of the Titanic. Val is a dreamer and quite snarky at times...which I love! Jamie is more level-headed and just wants to move on from his childhood, he's grown up in the time he's been working away from his twin. We meet a few other fantastic side characters along the way and I couldn't help by fall in love with all of them!

This does follow the story of the Titanic as accurately as possible, so it's heartbreaking at times, but the journey to the end is so worth reading. I highly recommend this book!


Huge thank you to G.P. Putnam's Sons Books via NetGalley for the e-arc to read and honestly review!

Southampton, 1912: Seventeen-year-old British-Chinese Valora Luck has quit her job and smuggled herself aboard the Titanic with two goals in mind: to reunite with her twin brother Jamie, her only family now that both their parents are dead and to convince a part-owner of the Ringling Brothers Circus to take the twins on as acrobats. Quick-thinking Val talks her way into opulent firstclass accommodations and finds Jamie with a group of fellow Chinese laborers in third class. But in the rigidly stratified world of the luxury liner, Val's ruse can only last so long, and after two long years apart, it's unclear if Jamie even wants the life Val proposes. Then, one moonless night in the North Atlantic, the unthinkable happen, the supposedly unsinkable ship is dealt a fatal blow and Val and her companions suddenly find themselves in a race to survive. Oh my heart, I love this story and Valora! Valora has such love, determination, and survival instincts. She has big dreams but those dreams are shattered when the ocean liner sinks. This story takes place in the 1900’s, yet it sadly resonates to present day with all the anti Asian hate and crime going on in the US. Thank you to Putnam, NetGalley, and the author for a gifted copy. This is my honest review.