Lucky Strikes

Starred review from June 13, 2016
Featuring a heroine as pragmatic and resourceful as Mary Call from Where the Lilies Bloom, adult author Bayard's (Roosevelt's Beast) poignant Depression-era novel traces the struggles of 14-year-old Melia Hoyle and her siblings after their mother's death. Now orphaned, Melia has to care for siblings Janey and Earle, keep the family gas station running, and find a legal guardian so they won't be put into foster care. Unexpected help comes from a down-and-out hobo, Hiram Watts, who agrees to pose as their estranged father. While he spends his days holed up in a tiny bedroom, Melia pumps gas and fixes engines. The deception works for a while, but a competing businessman, Harley Blevins, is bent on bringing down Melia and the gas station. Set in rural Virginia and told through Melia's no-nonsense narration, this period novel evokes the stoicism of mountain people and the ways neighbors help each other during hard times. Although a loner by nature, Melia's uncompromising integrity wins the trust and affection of community members while earning her a steady stream of customers, too. Ages 12âup. Agent: Dan Conaway, Writers House.

Starred review from April 15, 2016
"Mama died hard. You should know that."Thus begins the sparkling upper-middle-grade debut from adult fiction writer Bayard (Roosevelt's Beast, 2014, etc.). Fourteen-year-old Melia, resilient, pragmatic, a talented mechanic, self-described Gas Station Pagan, and quite often profane, has been running the family's filling station in rural Walnut Ridge, Virginia, ever since Mama took sick months ago. It ain't easy, what with the Depression and younger siblings Earle and Janey to care for, but she doesn't have a choice--Earle and Janey's daddy is in the state pen, and Melia never knew a thing about her own father. Desperate to keep the family together after Mama dies, she hires a drunken hobo who falls off a coal truck to impersonate her parent. Sobered up, Hiram reveals a flair for wild invention, which helps them stave off the machinations of Harley Blevins, "emperor" of Standard Oil, who plots to destroy their business and, in doing so, nearly destroys their family. Told in Melia's brisk voice, with fast pacing and a strong cast of characters (all white, reflecting the demographic of the setting), the story hurtles to a surprising, honest conclusion--the "you" addressed in the first line is a tender surprise.A grand adventure. (Historical fiction. 10-14)

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May 1, 2016

Gr 8 Up-Notable adult author Bayard tries his hand at writing for young teens with the story of 14-year-old Virginia-born Amelia. Raised with no father and an ailing mother, Amelia has been forced into the role of head of household for most of her young life. When her mother passes away, Amelia takes it upon herself to keep what's left of her small family together. With no parents to help and the Great Depression still having its effect on businesses, the family service station is losing money fast. In an effort to keep the station running and prevent her siblings from being sent to separate foster homes, Amelia devises a plan to turn a homeless drifter into a makeshift father. Can she convince the town that Hiram is her long-lost father, allowing them to evade child services? Or will bringing a homeless man into her family lead to more trouble? Bayard deftly depicts life in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Reading about the poverty experienced by the characters will bring awareness to the struggles families endured during the Depression.

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Troll - I really enjoyed this one! It wasn't exactly what I was anticipating but it was still good in it's own right. I would definitely classify it more as a Middle Grade novel than an Young Adult one, but I still thoroughly enjoyed my reading of it. I was put off a bit by some of the phrasing of things and the fact that this was basically one long letter but I wasn't sure who it was addressed to or if I was supposed to be someone in Melia's life. I thought that there was a good mix of believable good things that came out of this and some things that were almost too good to be true. And while it works in some novels, I found that this one could have used with more of the down and out sort of feeling rather than the happily ever afters. There were definitely some things that went wrong, but it felt like it went up and up and the real issues that could have set them back didn't really do so. And I feel like that made me feel a bit cheated for the story. I did really like all the characters though. I thought Melia was really strong and tough and while she sounded older than 14, I could believe it through context and timing. I feel as though with historical fiction, you can get away with how your MC sounds and acts because of context and this was definitely one of those instances. I think she was really brave and did anything and everything she could to survive and keep her family together. I liked that she was really innovative but also still a child and allowed to be a child in this story. I think the family was really well constructed. I liked that everyone had their role but they were also really dependent on one another. I think there was a lot of pressure for Melia to be the leader but she defected when she had to because it was the right thing to do. I really liked this one. I thought it felt like the time period, had a really strong main character, and enough hope to mix with the sad parts that I found myself smiling as much as I did crying. Overall a well rounded novel with a great message that no matter what life throws at you, you are stronger than it.

Starred review from April 15, 2016
Grades 6-9 *Starred Review* You have read the bare bones of this book before: mother dies, oldest daughter takes care of her siblings, trouble comes, and help arrivesbut not without complication. Even the Virginia mountain town of Depression era Walnut Ridge feels mighty familiar. But Bayard's unseemly cast of characters gives it fresh life in a story as colorful as a Shenandoah spring and as gritty as the gravel surrounding the family's gas station, Brenda's Oasis. And 14-year-old Amelia is determined to keep that gas station running, even if she only has 11-year-old Earle and young Janey for help. Unfortunately, Harley Blevins owns all the other Standard Oil stations in the area, and he wants the Oasis bad enough to see the family split up. Enter Hiram Watts, a hobo who could be the father figure to save the day, if he didn't come with his own problems. Narrator Amelia tells the story with a folksy twang and uses plenty of cussin', heaps of hollerin', and tons of gumption. Her foible-ridden supporting cast features more adults than kids, and in an interesting twist, they give young readers insight into grown-up issues that transcend those usually found in youth books. Most of all, though, this is a darn good yarn with plenty of room for rooting and more than a few laughs.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)