Lucky T

by Kate Brian

With perfect looks, athletic talent, and a cute boyfriend on her arm, Carrie knows she is a very lucky girl, but when her mother donates her special t-shirt to a charity in a foreign country and her luck begins to sour, there is nothing Carrie won’t do to get it back--even if it means traveling across the world!

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Young Adult Romance, Chick Lit

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Kate Brian is the author of the SHADOWLANDS TRILOGY (SHADOWLANDS, HEREAFTER & ENDLESS), as well as the New York Times bestselling PRIVATE and PRIVILEGE series, and the wildly popular MEGAN MEADE'S GUIDE TO THE MCGOWAN BOYS. She also writes teen fiction under the name Kieran Scott.

Reviews

[Jessie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to give this book 5 stars for the simple reason that, aged twelve I read this in a few hours and fell in love with Carrie and wanted to be just like her; the way she turned out at the end. It has become a comfort book due to it's heart-warming story and for me, the element of another country and an adventure that, for once, seemed real to a twelve-year old realising that she would never go to Hogwarts.

Underneath what at the beginning of the book seems to be a purely materialistic story are those lessons that have to be learned, and learned properly. That the world does not revolve around you, and that other people, and happiness, really does matter more than your favourite tshirt. I already had a pretty good grasp of these, however reading about the emotional growth of Carrie and the realisation that all she needs is right under her nose never fails to cheer me up and give me a little perspective.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave this book a 5/5. This book was one of Kate Brian's best. I read this book and it had some sad times, funny times, scary times, and interesting times. I read this book and I fell in love with it. It was about this girl and her mom was best friend's with a lady that was so committed to helping India's homeless. So, the girl Carrie's Lucky T accidently fell in the India pile of clothes her mom's friend was giving to India. so, they figured it out and went over to the friends house only to find out that the shirt had already been shipped off. So, her mom's friend and her daughter were going to India to help even more, so she went with them. Carrie was no help to India, but she just wanted to find her shirt. The Help India program told her to go out and leave after some awful events took place in the shelter. So, Carrie set out to find the shelters were her shirt could be when she meets a boy. This boy is really into working with the parent-less kids, he works at a foster home and soon he invites Carrie to come live there. But, the boy finds out about Carrie's motives and she gets kicked out. After that replayed itself once again (She got kicked out again) Carrie really looked in the mirror. Eventually, Carrie finds the shelter and the Lucky T but, she finds out that the person that has her lucky shirt has... Nothing, but she's so happy! Carrie really realizes that she was so selfish, she came all the way to India, planning to take this shirt back, but she never ever thought about who had it, or about all the other wonderful stuff she had. This book was one of the best I have ever read. It really opened my eyes and made me think about how blessed I am with my Hollister and American Eagle clothing. I actually cried in this book, which I never do. I really enjoyed this book.

[Bella Witte · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main characters are Carrie, Piper, Carrie's mom, and Dee, Doreen,and Doreen's mom. This book is about a girl named Carrie Fitzgerald in California. She is tall and pretty with shoulder length hair. And how her parents got divorced. When her dad left he became a air plain polite that travels all around the world. One time Carrie's dad brought her a red short sleeve shirt with small green diamonds in a shape of a star. Every time Carrie wore the shirt she was lucky and good things happened to her. Like when she wore the shirt to basketball tryouts and was the only freshmen to make it onto the varsity basketball team and she wore it when she had tests in school and always got an A+.
But one day Carrie and her best friend Piper just went shopping and were trying on clothes that they got. Piper is not that tall, has brown hair. brown eyes, and is chubby. When Piper found Carries lucky shirt and asked about it. Carrie had to explain about the shirt and Piper laughed. They went down stairs to eat lunch as they were eating lunch Carrie's mom went to Carrie's room and picked up a pile of clothes and the lucky shirt to give her friend for kids in need in India. When Carrie figured out she freaks out. She goes to her mom's friends house and asked for the shirt but it was already shipped to India. Doreen with long brown and her mom with short frizzled blond hair are going to India this year to help build homes for the homeless. Carrie convinces her mom to let her go with them so she can get the shirt. When they get to India they build homes with other people in the organization. Know one likes Carrie she keeps messing everything up so finally she leaves. She runs into a guy named Dee he has black hair, tall, smart, and athletic. He works at C.C.S. Children Care Service. Its a place for kids to learn and have fun. The kids here have no parents. This is where they live. Carrie starts to work there. She loves it! Carrie tells Dee about why she is here and he tells her that ''she is selfish and these kids have nothing!'' ''Your going to take away a piece of clothing from them!''Dee was so mad. Carrie kept looking for the shirt. When she found it she saw the little girls clothes she had on. They were torn and dirty. Instead of asking for the shirt she told the little girl about how this shirt was lucky. I think this book is a good book. Sometimes it got a little boring by going on and on about stuff. Yes, I would recommend this book to a lot of people.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cheesy but cute. Not my favorite by Kate Brian, but despite having a somewhat ridiculous premise, still had a decent message. I wasn’t wild about the romance though.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com

Have you ever cleaned your room/closet and decided to donate your excess clothes to charity? Maybe it was a mother-ordered mandate to get rid of the clutter? Whatever the reason or inspiration, did you ever give away something you didn't really mean to give? What would you do to get it back?

Carrie's mother does just that. She gives Carrie's favorite T-shirt to the Help India foundation. Unfortunately, the T-shirt is not just a T-shirt. It was given to Carrie by her father, and she superstitiously believes it is the reason for every success in her young life. She must get it back.

Since the T-shirt is traveling to India, Carrie makes arrangements to travel there, too. Carrie arrives at the Help India headquarters to find herself bunking with several roommates in a hostel. The roommates are horrible, and India is nothing like she expected. She is assigned to the group building homes in Calcutta. Needless to say, Carrie seriously lacks building trade skills. From dropping a hammer on her flip-flop-exposed big toe to dropping a boxful of nails in wet concrete, Carrie is not very popular at the building site.

Much to her relief, Carrie meets Dee, who tells her about his work at the Calcutta Children's Shelter. When she's offered a chance to start volunteering there, she decides anything is better than her current situation. Her work with children is the beginning of a new understanding for Carrie. Maybe the T-shirt isn't that important after all.

When I started LUCKY T, I was frustrated with the whining of main character Carrie. As the storyline began to unfold, though, it gained depth and purpose, and everything fell into place. Kate Brian gives readers a chance to watch the growth of Carrie and what her experience teaches her about exactly what things/people are important in life.

[Ella Perkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carrie’s life was perfect. Had everything she could ever want. But that luck was a by a t-shirt. So when she looses it her life changes. Is it for the better or worse?

I can make a text to self -connection with Carrie. Her and I love to give a donation to kids like the shelters when you can help out. Also we both hate flying on planes. I would recommend this book to someone who likes a good funny/romantic book.

I would give this book 5 stars. I thought this book was really good because the topic of the whole story makes everyone laugh. But in the middle of the book it gets romantic a little cause she meets a guy…

[Kalyn Schwartz · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Lucky T" should be read by all teenage girls who have a crush. They will be able to relate to the feelings Carrie has.This book has a great story line that actually made me cry. With all of the little side notes and the background behind the plot, this story plays with your heart. The main question of this book is, can a t-shirt really change your life? For Carrie, it did. "Lucky T" took an average girl and put her in the position to make a hard decision. The choices she made led her to realize that there's more to life than most people think. Kate Brian did an awesome job with making the reader feel the emotions of the characters throughout the book.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was about a 16 year old girl named carrie. She had a perfect life and a lot of luck. But her mom accidentally gives her "lucky t-shirt" to help India, and all her luck changed. She goes to India to get her shirt back, but exactly how far will she go?? It mostly took place in India, but it had also taken place in California. The main characters were Carrie and Dee. Carrie had an external conflict when she got into a fight with her best friend, Piper. She had an internal conflict when she wasn't completely sure if she should go to work at the CCS and leavae Celia.
Text to text. When Celia was driving Carrie to the CCS, they saw many children that were homeless. Carrie felt really bad and Celia said that when she saw them, it made her want to do something about it. I could connect to that because when I see kids less fortunate, it makes me feel that I want to do something to help them.
I would give it 3.5 stars. I gave it a 3.5 because,I thought it was cool how a self obsorbed girl from California went to India, and became more aware and caring of other less fortunate people.

[Kaia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Real cute; I read it a long time ago and my mind was distracted. I remember wishing it wasn't over. Now that I'm older, I can't say I totally absolutely loved this book and it had my mind blown.

But hey, those books are rare.

Despite that, what I can remember was a girl who had an amazing life (she superstitiously believed that her lucky T was the big reason for this) until one day she came home and found her mother had accidentally donated a pile of her clothes that she had left on the floor to India. Her T was in this pile. Of course this is what we can expect from a teenage girl, piles of clothes on the floor.

At least that is what I think happened.. *looks up in thought.* Oh well.

She decided that the only choice she had left was to go on a trip to India with her (cousin I think?) to track down this T. That's what we would normally do.

Either way, it makes an entertaining story.

[Camille · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book about a 15 year old very superstitious girl named Carrie Fitzgerald. Carrie got a t-shirt from her dad after her parents got a divorce, and she believes that the t-shirt brings her good luck because she a lot of lucky things happen to her everytime she wears the lucky shirt. But her mom accidentally gives the shirt away to charity in India. Carrie thinks she lost her luck because her boyfriend is the cutest guy in school and hew broke up with her on their 1 year anniversary. Carrie decides to get on a plane to get her t-shirt back. When she gets to India, meny things happen. She meets an even cuter guy named Dee who is actually in "lurve" (love) with her, and he teaches her that its not the t-shirt that makes the luck, but its her. Then, Carrie finally learns why Doreen has been really mean to her for years even though they used to be best friends.

[Ervis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was amazing. It was about a girl whose parents were divorced and her father is a pilot and she doesnt see hm very often. Once, he brought her a red t-shirt with a green glittery star in teh middle. ever since she wore that shirt, she was very lucky. But all that is about to change when her mother accidenatally doantes the shirt to Help India. Carrie does what any normal girl would do- she goes to India to look for her shirt. But when she goes there, not only does she find her shirt, but she finds something much more than that. Something that would make her not wanting to go back home again.

[Stacie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved some of the messages in the book. "Confusion ultimately leads to a deeper understanding." "Not many people would admit to doing wrong. ...Everyone makes mistakes. Not everyone tries to correct them." Very inspiring book. For teens [girls] and gives insight to opportunities to give a little more back in a society that is mostly take these days! Great regard to humanity programs and stepping outside of a persons wants and selfish desires. I think we are all a bit of a teen most days. This book makes you think without realizing you are doing it.

[Summerskies · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carrie was very superstitious she also has all the luck; because of her lucky t shirt. So when her mom accidentally donates her shirt to India her luck starts to run out. So what does she do, hops on a plane to find her luck once again. Once she gets there she finds herself in the midst of a life changing experience! Loved this book Kate Brian is a great author another of her books is sweet 16 which is amazing!

[Bhavani · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book so far is amazing! I got it yesterday and I managed to read 247 pages! It is a book that you will NEVER want to put down, no matter how much your mom yells at you!! LOL I am now on page 283 with 8 more pages to go! It teaches you that you make your own luck, and superstitious people will LOVE it! All I can say is....READ IT!!!

[Kuljeet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in the 4th grade. I picked it up because it was an American book that took place in India

I think it was a good book overall. The main character (forgot her name) goes to India for something. Meets a guy named Dee. If she loses her favorite shirt she gets bad luck

Good book

[Ramnik · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cool book. Different from all of the fantasy I usually really but I still really liked it.

[Luigi]

This is an awesome book!
-romantic
-funny
-situations that could ACUTALLY happen :P

[♫ Maren ♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am reading this book right now and it is very interesting, if your a girl you should read it!

[Rose Kuan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love his book! It's a really nice book, Kate brain is marvelous, one of my favorite book ever! :D

[Mysterio · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Stars

[Thalia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read the review on my blog:
http://thaliasbooks.tumblr.com/post/5...

[Ben Nagel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would you travel across the world for a lost t-shirt? In Lucky T by Kate Brian, Carrie will follow her lucky shirt to the corners of the world. Carrie’s “lucky” T-shirt is a simple red shirt with a green star. It was a gift from her father on one of his many trips as an airline pilot. Her father was told by the street vender that it is a very lucky shirt. Carrie misplaces it and her mom donates it to an organization that helps kids in India. This book is filled with the thrilling tales of Carrie reclaiming her “lucky” shirt. In the meantime she learns more than ever about herself and those around her. I really enjoyed this book because it is an adventure filled thrill ride.

Kate Brian has written numerous books and most of them involve youth and teens. She has written everything from children’s books to youth fiction. This book does a fantastic job of creating dramatic tension so thick you could cut it with a knife. The reader is kept on the edge of their seat and thrilled through and through. An example of this is the action packed book is moving through the streets of Calcutta at a rapid pace. There are very few slow parts to this book as it was kept high strung and fast paced. My favorite part of the book is Carrie realizing that Doreen was not out to get her but just wanted to get to know her better. Carrie learned not to judge people on first impressions, which she had previously done.

My least favorite part of this book however, is the first day that Carrie arrives in India. This section simply described the house she was staying in for a short time. It was definitely the slow point of the book and did not maintain my interest. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the book quickly moved past the slow segment and jumped right back into the action. Some people might not like this book because it is difficult to get engaged in the beginning. While this is a valid point, the rest of the book is very fun and intriguing to read. Additionally, others might not like this book because of how specific and detailed this book is. However, I think the detail really allows this story to come to life, while also allowing the readers to paint a picture of their own.

In conclusion, this book is a fantastic read and I would highly recommend it to the high school audience. The book is thrilling but also shares some great life lessons. The message in this book is to reserve judgement. Lucky T is very intriguing and keeps a grip on the reader. This book is not challenging to read which makes it both fun to read and easy to understand. Furthermore, many readers will relate to Carrie and her struggles as a teen. Overall this book was enjoyable and a recommended read.

[Judith Kenyon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Carrie Fitzgerald , the main character in Lucky T leads a very nice life in California. After her mother mistakenly donates her “lucky” t-shirt to an organization, Carrie thinks that all her new problems are arising because of the lost t-shirt. She convinces her mother to allow her to go to India with her mother’s best friend and a classmate of Carrie’s to find her t-shirt and do volunteer work. I loved the way the story evolved with Carrie becoming truly attached to the children in the center where she volunteered. I also liked how she was able to resolve problems with her classmate who was also volunteering in India. None of the other reviews mentioned something that seemed like a glaring problem with the story. The boy Carrie gets involved with in India was described as a student at Cambridge, a university. Even if Carrie turned 16 in India, it was difficult for me to see a man of at least 20, maybe 19 , romantically interested in Carrie. It has overtones of a disturbing- possibly predatory- nature. Why nobody else sees this puzzles me. Other than that, it was a good book.

[Ishita Bose · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book felt like an attempt at a 2000's-era teenage girl version of Eat, Pray, Love and while it succeeded in some parts--the main character, Carrie, falling in love with an international hottie and learning about herself through traveling--it was decidedly a below average read. The biggest problem I have with it is its multiple uses of the word 'exotic' to describe multiple aspects of Indian culture, from looks to food to style. Throughout the story, Carrie played the part of the privileged stereotypical white girl who treats an entire country and culture as if they were the rare minority even though she herself was the minority there. I understand that that's the way she was supposed to act in the beginning to mark the before and after of her change of heart, but I can't say too much had changed by the end.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carrie Fitzgerald is the luckiest girl: She is the only sophomore on the varsity basketball team, she always had the lead in the school play, and she has the cutest boyfriend in school. Carrie Fitzgerald is also the most superstitious girl: She attributes all of her good luck to a Moroccan T-shirt that her father sent her from one of his distant jaunts around the world. When her mother accidentally donates Carrie's lucky T to Help India and her good luck starts running out, Carrie does what any logical girl would do -- she travels halfway around the world to get it back. But as she scours a foreign land for her luck, she finds a lot more than she ever expected. She's going to need more than luck to find her way back home again

[Blair · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was such a positive YA book. Different from the YA books today (this was published in 2005) and having inappropriate topics- this was about giving to others, volunteering with kids, friendships, culture and diversity, and romance. Carrie goes to India to find her lucky t-shirt that got donated. While there she realizes how blessed she is in her life compared to the Indian children and people. The t-shirt is found but decides to leave it with the little girl and wants her to have all the luck from that shirt. She finds a new romance with Dee and repairs her friendship with Doreen and Piper. Also, talks to her Dad about how much she misses him and they start putting more effort into their dad-daughter relationship.

[Ashley Heredia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lucky T is an amazing story, it's about a sixteen year old girl named Carrie Fitzgerald she has straight A's, an a adorable boyfriend which is on the Varsity basketball team. Carrie does what any girl would do: she's going to India. Carrie knows that her mom accidentally donated her Lucky T-shirt to the store.Now her perfect T-shirt is dumped.

[Crimelpoint · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jest to książka typowo dla nastolatków. Można się przy niej pośmiać i zasmucić. Jest lekka i przyjemna.
Choć nie ma fabuły, która wyróżnia się z tłumu to warto ją przeczytać. Autorka ma lekki i przyjemny styl pisania.
Jest to powieść, która była po prostu ok bez żadnych ochów i achów.

[Jessyka Russell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was cheesy and trope-y, but the main character did show a lot of growth. 2.5 stars rounded up. Plenty of eye roll worthy moments, but ultimately I did get invested in Carrie's story and search for her t-shirt in India.

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I enjoyed reading about Carries's adventures in India. I really want to visit India thanks to this book.