The Higher Power of Luckyis the story of a young girl and her search of an actual mom. Lucky is currently under the guardianship of Bridgette, a french native now living in Hard Pan, California. Lucky recently lost her birth mom in an accident and must come to grips with her lack of a traditional family. Bridgette is not the same as her birth mom, even though Bridgette sometimes does have some good qualities that could make for a good mother. So, in honor of Mother’s Day, The Higher Power of Lucky is the perfect book because it celebrates all that is great about birth moms, guardians, and adopted parents.
Lucky is always prepared (she always carries around her survival kit) for emergencies and when she becomes convinced that Bridgette is headed back to France, Lucky is already prepared to run away. If no one wants her, then Lucky will simply remove herself from Hard Pan. In the process, Lucky learns that family is more than just your birth mom and sometimes your family is your entire community.
I love that each of Lucky’s friends are from non-traditional homes. Lincoln, Lucky’s best-friend has only one mom and Miles, who’s five, is raised by his grandmother. It is so wonderful to finally read a book that has strong mother characters who help the main character become herself. Although the story is really about Lucky and her struggle with identifying family and finding peace with Bridgette being her adopted mom, it still is a sweet read.
Susan Patron has recently written a sequel the The Higher Power of Lucky! It is titled Lucky Breaks and is about Lucky’s quest to be loose and intrepid, now that she has turned eleven.