Lucky for Good

In this final installment of Patron's Hard Pan trilogy, 11-year-old Lucky's adoptive mother's café is under investigation, her friend's mother is released from jail, and Lucky learns more than she anticipated when she creates a family tree. Lucky's life in her tiny town in the Mojave Desert is full of dissecting owl pellets, reading about her hero, Charles Darwin, and discussing big questions about God and science and family with her quirky neighbors. Cassandra Campbell's performance brings intimacy and warmth to the story. She doesn't differentiate much between characters' voices, but her French accent for Lucky's adoptive mother, Brigitte, shines. Campbell's subdued tone matches Lucky's as she contemplates the meaning of the family she was born with and the family she creates. A.F. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

June 27, 2011
Patron satisfyingly concludes the trilogy that began with the 2006 Newbery-winning The Higher Power of Lucky. Lucky Trimble, now 11, has carved a comfortable life for herself in tiny Hard Pan, Calif., helping her adoptive mother, Brigitte, run her cafe and spending time with her favorite quirky neighbors and friends, who will be familiar to readers of the previous books. But in the summer before junior high, Lucky is rattled by a threat to Brigitte's business, news about her long-absent father, and her sweet, confusing feelings about her best pal Lincoln. She also worries about her friend Miles, who is forging a relationship with his mother, born-again and recently returned from prison. Lucky navigates these stresses and others with realistically kidlike aplomb, consulting her Higher Power when things seem particularly tough. Patron's memorable setting and cast, as well as some crisp, thought-provoking dialogue, will keep readers hooked as she resolves the plot lines she's set in motion. But the biggest treat is ever-hopeful Lucky, who ends her adventures on a high note. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8â12.