Lucky Enough

Fred Bowen Sports Story Series

by Fred Bowen

Trey is overjoyed when his lucky charm helps him make the travel team, but will his luck hold out?
When Trey's treasured lucky charm--a piece of blue sea glass he found near his grandmother's beach house--"helps" him make it onto the Ravens travel team with his friend Cole, he is overjoyed. This stroke of good fortune reinforces his superstitious behavior, and the rituals become more and more important to him. In spite of some teasing and even some sarcasm from his teammates, Trey persists--he never steps on the foul line, he obsessively taps the corners of home plate when he's at bat, he always chooses the same lucky bat--and the list just keeps getting longer. Why stop? After all, his tactics are working; he's doing quite well on the field and in the batter's box. Then one day he can't find his lucky sea glass. He and Cole search everywhere--but it's no use. Trey's performance begins to slip, and he is convinced that his future with the Ravens is doomed. It is no comfort to him to learn that many pro baseball players also depended on lucky charms or rituals. Things don't start to improve for Trey until his uncle reminds him of his grandmother's favorite saying: "The harder you work, the luckier you get."

Genres: Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Sports

128 pages, Hardcover

Published March 1, 2018

About the author

Fred Bowen is the author of Peachtree’s popular Fred Bowen Sports Story and All-Star Sport Story series. A lifelong sports fanatic, he has coached youth league baseball, basketball, and soccer. His kids’ sports column “The Score” appears each week in the KidsPost section of the Washington Post. Bowen lives in Maryland.

Reviews

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another great read from Fred Bowen, who consistently writes engaging sports stories for the middle grade audience. As he does in his other books, here Bowen combines real sports trivia (this time about the superstitions of famous baseball players) with an engaging life lesson (it's better to work hard than to rely on luck!) starring a child athlete who has been inspired by an influential adult (in this case, it's Trey's deceased grandmother). Trey is a sympathetic character, and the reader both empathizes with his desire to follow certain rituals during baseball games and understands his need to put in a bit more effort to improve his game. Supporting characters are also appealing, include Trey's well-to-do Uncle Dave who checks in on him and his single mom from time to time, and the groundskeeper at the ball field, Mr. Kiley, who is involved in the search for Trey's lost good luck charm, and Trey's realization that it may not hold as much power as he thinks.

This is a book with appeal to a wide range of ages. Advanced readers in the lower elementary grades who need novel-length stories with age-appropriate content won't find anything offensive in this book, but kids as old as middle-school age can still relate to Trey and enjoy all the sports action, and the details of things like player stats and batting rosters. I've never read a book by Fred Bowen that I couldn't wholeheartedly recommend, and this book is no exception. I'm already eager to read whatever he writes next!

[Sue Poduska · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this installment of the Fred Bowen Sports Story Series, the reader gets a feel for how superstitions and lucky charms play a role in the wide world of baseball. The best achievements are those we work hard for. Bowen delivers a life lesson without preaching and while telling a good story.

[Diana Colby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bowen has written a lot of books about sports. Great lesson about luck and hard work. I think boys and girls will like it. It is not too difficult to read which makes it a perfect fit for Chuckwagon novel.

[Sloane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was ok! Although it wasn’t entirely interesting or my favorite, I liked the story line and I found some parts very interesting! I likes the mystery factor of this book! I’m not very much into baseball so some things I found more boring but overall it was alright.

[Wendy Post · Rating 3 out of 5]

ACA 4-5 fiction

[Kelly Chester · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book