The Higher Power of Lucky

Written by Susan Patron and illustrated by Matt Phelan. This book was realistic fiction. The book has two major themes, the search for a "higher power" and friendship. The primary character in the story is Lucky Trimble and secondary characters include Miles, Lincoln, HG Beagle, and Brigitte. The Higher Power of Lucky won the Newberry Medal in 2007. It was published by Aladdin Paperbacks.

This story is about a young girl, Lucky, who lives in a small town in California. The town where she lives is very poor. Her mother was electrocuted and killed two years ago. Lucky does not know her father, but his previous wife, Brigitte, comes to take care of her. Lucky has two friends, Miles and Lincoln. She has three jobs in the town, one of which is to clean up where the Anonymous meetings take place so that no alcohol, cigarettes, or candy is left behind. While cleaning up for these meetings, Lucky hears the people refer to a "Higher Power" several times and decides to search for what one is. The rest of the story takes her through her journey for this. At the end of the story, a dust storm is coming through the town and Lucky is preparing to run away (because she believes Brigitte is planning to  return to Paris). While Lucky gathers her bag to run away, Miles comes to her house and Lucky makes him leave. As the storm worsens, everyone realizes Miles is gone. Then Lucky runs away with her dog and they come across Miles as they are heading to the dugout. Shortly after they get to the dugout, Lincoln shows up to tell them that the townspeople are looking for them. When everyone arrives, Lucky covers for her and Miles by welcoming everyone to her mother's memorial service and she releases her ashes from the urn. When they all return to town, Lucky discovers that Brigitte was not leaving her, instead she was going to adopt Lucky and open her own restaurant.
I would use this book with children ages 9-11. I believe children would just enjoy reading this book because it has adventure and is written from a view that children can relate to. This would be a wonderful way to introduce this age group into more lengthy chapter books because it is a fast read. The book does mention "scrotum" which could be offensive to some parents, but other than that it was a great book.