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The Hard Pan Trilogy #2
Lucky Breaks
"Eleven is much more intrepid than only ten."
On the eve of her eleventh birthday, Lucky wants to let loose and become intrepid; she's ready for life to change. But Hard Pan (population 43) drones on like it always Lincoln all tied up in knotty matters, Miles newly diagnosed as a genius but as needy as ever, Brigitte running her Café and trying to figure out what it means to be American.
Enter Paloma, tagging along on a visit to Hard Pan with a pack of hungry geologists. She's smart and pretty and fun -- definitely best-friend material. But will Lucky be able to cope with tomato worms, Short Sammy's mysterious box, the potential for disaster when Paloma's parents visit Hard Pan, and Lincoln's fame among knot tyers of the world?
Lucky's intrepidness is put to the test in this satisfying sequel to the Newbery Award-winning The Higher Power of Lucky.
On the eve of her eleventh birthday, Lucky wants to let loose and become intrepid; she's ready for life to change. But Hard Pan (population 43) drones on like it always Lincoln all tied up in knotty matters, Miles newly diagnosed as a genius but as needy as ever, Brigitte running her Café and trying to figure out what it means to be American.
Enter Paloma, tagging along on a visit to Hard Pan with a pack of hungry geologists. She's smart and pretty and fun -- definitely best-friend material. But will Lucky be able to cope with tomato worms, Short Sammy's mysterious box, the potential for disaster when Paloma's parents visit Hard Pan, and Lincoln's fame among knot tyers of the world?
Lucky's intrepidness is put to the test in this satisfying sequel to the Newbery Award-winning The Higher Power of Lucky.
192 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
14 people are currently reading
552 people want to read
About the author
Susan Patron
26 books49 followersSusan Patron specialized in Children's Services for 35 years at the Los Angeles Public Library before retiring in 2007, the same year her novel The Higher Power of Lucky was awarded the John Newbery Medal. As the library's Juvenile Materials Collection Development Manager, she trained and mentored children's librarians in 72 branches. Patron has served on many book award committees, including the Caldecott and Laura Ingalls Wilder Committees of the American Library Association. She is currently a member of the Advisory Board of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.
Patron's previous books for children include the Billy Que trilogy of picture books; Dark Cloud Strong Breeze; and a chapter book, Maybe Yes, Maybe No, Maybe Maybe. All earned starred reviews, and the latter was named an ALA Notable book. The Listening Library audio edition of The Higher Power of Lucky is an ALA Notable Recording; the book will be translated into twelve foreign languages and has been optioned for a motion picture.
Patron's previous books for children include the Billy Que trilogy of picture books; Dark Cloud Strong Breeze; and a chapter book, Maybe Yes, Maybe No, Maybe Maybe. All earned starred reviews, and the latter was named an ALA Notable book. The Listening Library audio edition of The Higher Power of Lucky is an ALA Notable Recording; the book will be translated into twelve foreign languages and has been optioned for a motion picture.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 224 reviews
October 5, 2025
Lucky makes a new friend while sabotaging her closest friendship. There's a little adventure with a treasure hunt, but mostly it's just slice-of-life, middle-school drama so bland I wonder why the author even bothered.
My wife is still going to read the final book in the trilogy to me, but I hope there's actually a point to that one.
My wife is still going to read the final book in the trilogy to me, but I hope there's actually a point to that one.
March 30, 2009
[Insert usual why-can't-a-book-be-a-standalone-book-anymore rant here. Also: there will be a third, or at least that's the implication in Patron's acknowledgments at the end. ]
As her eleventh birthday draws near, Lucky finds herself wanting just one thing: a girlfriend. Lincoln's been her best friend for years, but lately Lucky's looking at him more critically: he's always so calm and rational, and so caught up in his knot-tying, and the secret project he's working on for the knotting competition he's entered. What Lucky wants in a friend is someone who knows how to have fun and do things that are maybe a little more dangerous, less predictable. So when Lucky meets Paloma, a girl her own age tagging along on a trip through Hard Pan with her geologist uncle, she knows Paloma is the adventure-friendly best friend she's wanted. As her friendship with Paloma grows, Lucky pushes Lincoln away--even when he's rescued her from an impossible jam of her own making.
Like its predecessor, Lucky Breaks has a quiet grace, a bittersweet story of learning just what loving someone means, whether it's a maternal figure (Brigitte in Higher Power) or a friend, as is the case here. Lucky is struggling to distance herself from Lincoln, and while adults will recognize exactly what she's doing and why, Lucky herself doesn't seem to know.
Unfortunately, while adults will recognize what Lucky is going through and appreciate the humor and bittersweet sadness of her early adolescence, it will be the rare kid who takes to this book. Lucky is so much younger than the older teens her character will speak to that they are unlikely to pick up her story; middle-school students who will relate to Lucky's chronological age will lack the maturity to understand her situation. It's a beautifully written story, but it's unclear who the audience for it will be.
As her eleventh birthday draws near, Lucky finds herself wanting just one thing: a girlfriend. Lincoln's been her best friend for years, but lately Lucky's looking at him more critically: he's always so calm and rational, and so caught up in his knot-tying, and the secret project he's working on for the knotting competition he's entered. What Lucky wants in a friend is someone who knows how to have fun and do things that are maybe a little more dangerous, less predictable. So when Lucky meets Paloma, a girl her own age tagging along on a trip through Hard Pan with her geologist uncle, she knows Paloma is the adventure-friendly best friend she's wanted. As her friendship with Paloma grows, Lucky pushes Lincoln away--even when he's rescued her from an impossible jam of her own making.
Like its predecessor, Lucky Breaks has a quiet grace, a bittersweet story of learning just what loving someone means, whether it's a maternal figure (Brigitte in Higher Power) or a friend, as is the case here. Lucky is struggling to distance herself from Lincoln, and while adults will recognize exactly what she's doing and why, Lucky herself doesn't seem to know.
Unfortunately, while adults will recognize what Lucky is going through and appreciate the humor and bittersweet sadness of her early adolescence, it will be the rare kid who takes to this book. Lucky is so much younger than the older teens her character will speak to that they are unlikely to pick up her story; middle-school students who will relate to Lucky's chronological age will lack the maturity to understand her situation. It's a beautifully written story, but it's unclear who the audience for it will be.
May 9, 2022
"Sammy sighed. 'Poor old Roy.' His voice wasn't mad any longer. It sounded sad. 'Sometimes we get this gift, man, and we just take it for granted. We only figure it out, how much we lost, when it's gone.'" (PG. 163)
The reason for reading this sequel was because I loved "The Higher Power of Lucky." And now I'm a little disappointed that the author made a sequel and then a trilogy. I don't feel it needed one. It was fine on its own.
It was fine overall. A good YA for kids. In this sequel, Lucky makes a new friend called Paloma and starts treating her old friends like forgotten spoiled milk until something scary happens to her and she figures out her truth. A good story on adolescence and how held in anger can lead to dangerous mistakes.
The reason for reading this sequel was because I loved "The Higher Power of Lucky." And now I'm a little disappointed that the author made a sequel and then a trilogy. I don't feel it needed one. It was fine on its own.
It was fine overall. A good YA for kids. In this sequel, Lucky makes a new friend called Paloma and starts treating her old friends like forgotten spoiled milk until something scary happens to her and she figures out her truth. A good story on adolescence and how held in anger can lead to dangerous mistakes.
February 27, 2010
In her first companion novel to the Newbery Medal-winning The Higher Power of Lucky, author Susan Patron has managed to do something rare and quite beautiful: evoke all of the charm stitched into the seams of the original while tackling issues old and new that force Lucky to stretch her heart and mind to their fullest capacity.
Susan Patron is an excellent, wonderfully sensitive writer, capturing with grace and nuanced skill the moods and conversations of the kids that populate Lucky Breaks. She never allows anyone to become cliche, or for the deep personal realizations that they grow into to become hackneyed in the least bit. It's all very real, and unfolds with the dignity and drama that makes up so many of the seemingly small moments that have such a big impact on the lives of all people.
Lucky is an enthusiastic, passionate girl, whose high hopes for her life now that she is on the cusp of age eleven shine brightly in the ways that she sees others, and how she views her own legacy in the world. She is a confused girl, though, whose friendships are redefining themselves right before her eyes. If she doesn't shift along with them, she knows that she will be left behind, but what is she to do when her best friend Lincoln appears destined to leave their tiny town to go live in England as a champion knot-tyer, when she comes across a new girl named Paloma who just might be the sort of girl who would make a perfect best friend, when the small boy next door turns out to be a genius, and her pal Short Sammy might be making plans to deal with his own demise?
Lucky's life never has lined up with the tracks on which most people so smoothly ride. As with The Higher Power of Lucky, in Lucky Breaks she is learning to deal with her own pain and anger, with her sense of abandonment caused by her mother's death years earlier and her father's repeated refusal to be a part of her life. Lucky has a strong, big heart that allows her to forge her own way in life, but it's a heart that also makes a big target for deep hurt.
Stretched between her two so different best friends in a world that has such goodness and pain swirled around in an impossible to divide mix, Lucky must try to make peace with the unchangeable fixtures of her own past and understand that a person doesn't get forever to do right by the people around them, that relationships can disappear unexpectedly and that to hold on to both of her best friends, she will have to learn to let go of some things and embrace the inevitability of change.
Susan Patron has definitely found the ideal story in which to use her humorous yet delicate writing touch. She understands Lucky with such wonderful tenderness, and that is what transforms the book into what it is, a splendid work of literature by an author who is consistent in producing tales that charm, while also provoking a lot of deep thought. This is a superb novel with a great deal of heart.
Susan Patron is an excellent, wonderfully sensitive writer, capturing with grace and nuanced skill the moods and conversations of the kids that populate Lucky Breaks. She never allows anyone to become cliche, or for the deep personal realizations that they grow into to become hackneyed in the least bit. It's all very real, and unfolds with the dignity and drama that makes up so many of the seemingly small moments that have such a big impact on the lives of all people.
Lucky is an enthusiastic, passionate girl, whose high hopes for her life now that she is on the cusp of age eleven shine brightly in the ways that she sees others, and how she views her own legacy in the world. She is a confused girl, though, whose friendships are redefining themselves right before her eyes. If she doesn't shift along with them, she knows that she will be left behind, but what is she to do when her best friend Lincoln appears destined to leave their tiny town to go live in England as a champion knot-tyer, when she comes across a new girl named Paloma who just might be the sort of girl who would make a perfect best friend, when the small boy next door turns out to be a genius, and her pal Short Sammy might be making plans to deal with his own demise?
Lucky's life never has lined up with the tracks on which most people so smoothly ride. As with The Higher Power of Lucky, in Lucky Breaks she is learning to deal with her own pain and anger, with her sense of abandonment caused by her mother's death years earlier and her father's repeated refusal to be a part of her life. Lucky has a strong, big heart that allows her to forge her own way in life, but it's a heart that also makes a big target for deep hurt.
Stretched between her two so different best friends in a world that has such goodness and pain swirled around in an impossible to divide mix, Lucky must try to make peace with the unchangeable fixtures of her own past and understand that a person doesn't get forever to do right by the people around them, that relationships can disappear unexpectedly and that to hold on to both of her best friends, she will have to learn to let go of some things and embrace the inevitability of change.
Susan Patron has definitely found the ideal story in which to use her humorous yet delicate writing touch. She understands Lucky with such wonderful tenderness, and that is what transforms the book into what it is, a splendid work of literature by an author who is consistent in producing tales that charm, while also provoking a lot of deep thought. This is a superb novel with a great deal of heart.
May 2, 2018
This is the second book in The Hard Pan Trilogy by Susan Patron. I read the first book in the series, The Higher Power of Lucky, many years ago so I had to refresh my memory about the plot.
I really enjoyed listening to Cassandra Campbell narrate the story on audiobook, but I have to admit that Lucky is not a very sympathetic character for most of this story. In fact, she was very irritating and whiny.
Nevertheless, the story ends on a good note and I am looking forward to listening to the final story, Lucky for Good, soon.
I really enjoyed listening to Cassandra Campbell narrate the story on audiobook, but I have to admit that Lucky is not a very sympathetic character for most of this story. In fact, she was very irritating and whiny.
Nevertheless, the story ends on a good note and I am looking forward to listening to the final story, Lucky for Good, soon.
July 6, 2009
Another return to Lucky Trimble and the eccentric inhabitants of Hard Pan, California. Like its predecessor, The Higher Power of Lucky, it moves at a leisurely pace, low on plot and high on minute observations of inner turmoil. Lucky gets a new best friend, and worries that her other best friend, Lincoln, is growing apart from her. The solution? Sabotage.
Yeah. I was there to read about it, and I still can't quite figure out why Lucky does the things she does. This is a book about the desire to be impulsive, to become more intrepid and independent with the onset of early adolesence, and the slow realization of the consequences of such behavior. Good stuff, so why did the book still manage to irritate me?
At the beginning of the book, someone describes a lost treasure at the bottom of a well, and as a reader you KNOW KNOW KNOW someone's eventually going to be stuck at the bottom of that well. With many a long paragraph about The Meaning of It All. Sigh.
Yeah. I was there to read about it, and I still can't quite figure out why Lucky does the things she does. This is a book about the desire to be impulsive, to become more intrepid and independent with the onset of early adolesence, and the slow realization of the consequences of such behavior. Good stuff, so why did the book still manage to irritate me?
At the beginning of the book, someone describes a lost treasure at the bottom of a well, and as a reader you KNOW KNOW KNOW someone's eventually going to be stuck at the bottom of that well. With many a long paragraph about The Meaning of It All. Sigh.
April 13, 2009
I noticed she made sure to get the word "scrotum" in again. Hee, hee, hee....
Update: In fact, she got it in twice!
I enjoyed this, but I found the pacing a bit off--it needed something more before the final chapter. I know this is now part of a planned trilogy and it feels a little as if she was hurrying to finish this one and move on to the third book.
BTW, I don't find Lucky's thoughts or language unusually advanced for her age--she sounds a lot like my own thoughtful almost 10 year old. Besides, she's growing up in a very small town made up mostly of adults--it makes sense that she doesn't talk like a city tween who's been overexposed to Disney Channel slop and too much time with technology!
Update: In fact, she got it in twice!
I enjoyed this, but I found the pacing a bit off--it needed something more before the final chapter. I know this is now part of a planned trilogy and it feels a little as if she was hurrying to finish this one and move on to the third book.
BTW, I don't find Lucky's thoughts or language unusually advanced for her age--she sounds a lot like my own thoughtful almost 10 year old. Besides, she's growing up in a very small town made up mostly of adults--it makes sense that she doesn't talk like a city tween who's been overexposed to Disney Channel slop and too much time with technology!
October 7, 2025
I think this book is a classic example of second book syndrome. We have already been introduced to the weird little desert town of Hard Pan and it's eccentric characters, so that source of interest is no longer available. Lucky's flaws and occasional bad behavior in the first book also added interest, and I readily forgave them because she's young and dealing with a lot of grief and anxiety. In this book she steps a bit over the line to just distasteful meanness. I really like the idea of introducing a new, female, friend for Lucky, but unfortunately Paloma has very little personality beyond an almost saint-like patience with Lucky and a quirky speech mannerism. Other than introducing new characters, not much happens in this book until the end. Still, I have hopes that it really is second book syndrome and I intend to continue with the third book.
March 7, 2023
Another great story from Hard Pan!
I guess it would have been too much to hope that Lucky and the gang had actually found the other half of Paloma's brooch. Oh well.
A few of my favorite bits from this story include: Miles being absolutely adorable (and a literal genius), Lucky getting to feel all of her feels about being brave and adventurous, about how she wants her friend circle to look like, and about how she grapples with feelings for her deadbeat dad, and how Lincoln and Paloma come through as amazing friends.
The brief illustrations help bring everything to life.
Looking forward to reading the next one!
I guess it would have been too much to hope that Lucky and the gang had actually found the other half of Paloma's brooch. Oh well.
A few of my favorite bits from this story include: Miles being absolutely adorable (and a literal genius), Lucky getting to feel all of her feels about being brave and adventurous, about how she wants her friend circle to look like, and about how she grapples with feelings for her deadbeat dad, and how Lincoln and Paloma come through as amazing friends.
The brief illustrations help bring everything to life.
Looking forward to reading the next one!
January 9, 2024
Second in this ya series.....enjoyed.
August 16, 2024
Reread 2024:
This was definitely a comfort book for me when I was ten/eleven, and I honestly forgot about it completely until a few days ago. I definitely think that, although this is a middle grade book, people of all ages can relate to Lucky's struggles with her emotions, friendships, and family. I also think the prose was amazing, especially considering what most mg books are written like.
Overall, even though this book (or Hard Pan Trilogy in general) aren't super popular or loved, they definitely shaped my writing and reading journey for the better :) 🫏🛁🍽️💨🐌
Original Review (around 2021??):
Ooooh, I loved this book.
I think I've read/listened to it maybe four times (?) and I haven't gotten around to reviewing it until now!
Lucky is relatable, as well as Hard Pan and the rest of the characters. The writing style is exquisite and descriptive, for the Audiobook version, Cassandra Campbell does the book a great justice, (she's one of my favorite narrators), and the plot is wonderful!
I know this book isn't very well-known, but it deserves way more readers and listeners. HIGHLY recommended.
Reread 2022:
I have new appreciation for this book, rereading it. I like different authors for different reasons: Some have great plots, some have great characters, some have great settings. Susan Patron does a splendiferous job in all of these areas, but I think she really excels in the area of the actual writing itself. Her careful use of adjectives, describing everything so perfectly.
If you're on the fence about reading this book for whatever reason, I would say go ahead, not only for the marvelous ride, but for the high-standard writing, too!
This was definitely a comfort book for me when I was ten/eleven, and I honestly forgot about it completely until a few days ago. I definitely think that, although this is a middle grade book, people of all ages can relate to Lucky's struggles with her emotions, friendships, and family. I also think the prose was amazing, especially considering what most mg books are written like.
Overall, even though this book (or Hard Pan Trilogy in general) aren't super popular or loved, they definitely shaped my writing and reading journey for the better :) 🫏🛁🍽️💨🐌
Original Review (around 2021??):
Ooooh, I loved this book.
I think I've read/listened to it maybe four times (?) and I haven't gotten around to reviewing it until now!
Lucky is relatable, as well as Hard Pan and the rest of the characters. The writing style is exquisite and descriptive, for the Audiobook version, Cassandra Campbell does the book a great justice, (she's one of my favorite narrators), and the plot is wonderful!
I know this book isn't very well-known, but it deserves way more readers and listeners. HIGHLY recommended.
Reread 2022:
I have new appreciation for this book, rereading it. I like different authors for different reasons: Some have great plots, some have great characters, some have great settings. Susan Patron does a splendiferous job in all of these areas, but I think she really excels in the area of the actual writing itself. Her careful use of adjectives, describing everything so perfectly.
If you're on the fence about reading this book for whatever reason, I would say go ahead, not only for the marvelous ride, but for the high-standard writing, too!
January 11, 2011
"The beauty of Patron’s 'Lucky' books thus far, is while connections and meaning can be found in the stories, they are still really character-driven and encapsulated ideas are held in balance. Lucky is eleven and this is what is going on in her world. Character-driven plots are ever dangerous, of course, because if the reader finds none of the characters or their struggles endearing… Yet, many have responded to these novels, feel invested in one or more of the characters. Patron has written some marvelous/interesting characters. What interests me is how the least adorable character is the central one."
[...]
"I don’t really know what audience reads the higher power of lucky or lucky breaks, other than award committees and people protesting the use of the word scrotum in a children’s novel—wait, did the protesters actually read the book?
I would recommend anyone the attempt. The novels are not long. The writing is accessible, clean, and the illustrations are lovely*. The first novel had a rough start for me, but through persistence and reflection, I enjoyed it—found it worthwhile. I have since enjoyed both novels and I think Lucky Breaks is an excellent sequel and an excellent bridge to another Lucky (this is me hoping).
According to Powell’s Books, they have the audience aged 8-12. And I would guess a girl’s interest over a boy’s. For those interested in stories of friendship, books populated with quirky characters, and like to feel dread, humor, and the gripping need for a happy ending."
L @ omphaloskepsis
http://contemplatrix.wordpress.com/20...
[...]
"I don’t really know what audience reads the higher power of lucky or lucky breaks, other than award committees and people protesting the use of the word scrotum in a children’s novel—wait, did the protesters actually read the book?
I would recommend anyone the attempt. The novels are not long. The writing is accessible, clean, and the illustrations are lovely*. The first novel had a rough start for me, but through persistence and reflection, I enjoyed it—found it worthwhile. I have since enjoyed both novels and I think Lucky Breaks is an excellent sequel and an excellent bridge to another Lucky (this is me hoping).
According to Powell’s Books, they have the audience aged 8-12. And I would guess a girl’s interest over a boy’s. For those interested in stories of friendship, books populated with quirky characters, and like to feel dread, humor, and the gripping need for a happy ending."
L @ omphaloskepsis
http://contemplatrix.wordpress.com/20...
July 27, 2009
What do you do when you are about to be eleven, you live in small town, and all you want to be is intrepid? In author Susan Patron’s follow-up to The Higher Power of Lucky, we meet again with the day-dreaming girl named Lucky, one of the forty-three individuals who inhabit the small California town of Hard Pan. Like most children, ten-year-old Lucky believes that her life will be more exciting when she turns one year older. But when exciting things don’t happen as quickly on their own for Lucky as she would like, she creates some excitement by enlisting the aid of her new friend Paloma to investigate a local legend surrounding an abandoned well. The sometimes less-than-lucky Lucky learns that being intrepid is not always what it is cracked up to be. Filled with a cast of endearing characters who act as Lucky’s supportive adoptive family, and wistfully illustrated in black and white by Matt Phelan, Patron creates a memorable tale of the difficulties of friendship and of growing up. Middle grade, 2009.
May 4, 2009
Eh. I just do not see what the Newbery committee sees.
I like Lucky. I like the relationship between Lucky and Paloma, and of course, Brigitte is always solid. But the star of this book, to me, was Lincoln. He was kind, loyal, trustworthy, mature, and incredibly patient with Lucky, who was downright mean to him.
Oh--and the burro. He rocked.
My major problem with this book is a picky thing, something that drove me nuts. It was Patron's continual referencing to Lucky's glands: The meanness gland in her heart and the crevices full of questions in her brain.... Once or twice, maybe, but by the 4th or 5th time she's mentioned one of Lucky's glands, it's not folksy, just distracting. But maybe that's just my meanness gland talking....
I like Lucky. I like the relationship between Lucky and Paloma, and of course, Brigitte is always solid. But the star of this book, to me, was Lincoln. He was kind, loyal, trustworthy, mature, and incredibly patient with Lucky, who was downright mean to him.
Oh--and the burro. He rocked.
My major problem with this book is a picky thing, something that drove me nuts. It was Patron's continual referencing to Lucky's glands: The meanness gland in her heart and the crevices full of questions in her brain.... Once or twice, maybe, but by the 4th or 5th time she's mentioned one of Lucky's glands, it's not folksy, just distracting. But maybe that's just my meanness gland talking....
May 4, 2009
As is so often the case, I'd rather leave characters I liked just as I left them. Continuing the story of Lucky, Lincoln, Brigitte, and Miles feels forced here, as does the continuing referral to the bitten dog.
Lucky decides it's time for a new best friend when Lincoln's knot tying just might win him a trip away from her to spend a year in England. New character Paloma is likeable enough, but the story lacked the character development and sincerity of the first book. I suspect these characters are going to come back in a 3rd novel. I'm not sure I'd want to read it.
Lucky decides it's time for a new best friend when Lincoln's knot tying just might win him a trip away from her to spend a year in England. New character Paloma is likeable enough, but the story lacked the character development and sincerity of the first book. I suspect these characters are going to come back in a 3rd novel. I'm not sure I'd want to read it.
October 3, 2012
Lucky is a year older, but not a year wiser. She becomes outright mean. Instead of character growth, she regressed. In the previous book, her running away felt authentic. This time, her meltdown was self-inflicted and selfish. When people come for the rescue, she scorns. It's difficult to know why people befriend her when she's so selfish. Pretty words too late don't erase bad behavior.
Though there's charm and some acute observations, this fell flat for me.
Though there's charm and some acute observations, this fell flat for me.
March 19, 2014
Wonderful sequel to the "The Higher Power of Lucky." Lucky makes a new friend...a girl...but what can she do to keep Lincoln and Miles out of the picture? The emotional stakes are not as high as in the first book (Brigitte is here to stay), but Lucky manages to create some serious trouble for herself. I love "Hard Pan," as improbable as it is, and I love a girl protagonist who models herself after Charles Darwin. My daughter, age 10, adores this series too.
May 17, 2012
This doesn't live up to the first. It reminded me of books I read in grade school, though, which was good.
September 4, 2015
It was amazing!
January 2, 2023
S'alright. Didn't love it nearly as much as the first one. (I can't remember much about the first one, which is no reflection on quality—I like it when books go hazy, then I can reread them, but I do remember I loved it!)
I couldn't really relate to the main character as much this time. When she was giggling with her new friend, instead of thinking "Isn't it lovely when people get you," I was thinking "Gosh, aren't pre-teen girls annoying sometimes."
I was so horrified when Lucky did a certain mean thing (no spoilers!) that I assumed it was the crux of the entire book, the plot point that would bring things to a head, but it was ... nothing. She didn't suffer pangs of guilt, and she was let off the hook quietly and quickly. The actual climax seemed to come out of nowhere, didn't last long, and didn't feel particularly integral. (Compare to Holes, which absolutely kills this.)
The sentences themselves were nifty (there are some horrendous writers out there—even some who aren't self-published, shockingly—so I always want to point out if the actual writing is good!) It's just the overall arc of the plot and the use of characters within it that somewhat bored me. So it was always pleasant to read, unless you paused to think "where is this going" or "how did they get here?"
(Note: I'm a writer, so I suffer when I offer fewer than five stars. But these aren't ratings of quality, they're a subjective account of how much I liked the book: 5* = an unalloyed pleasure from start to finish, 4* = enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = disappointing, and 1* = hated it.)
I couldn't really relate to the main character as much this time. When she was giggling with her new friend, instead of thinking "Isn't it lovely when people get you," I was thinking "Gosh, aren't pre-teen girls annoying sometimes."
I was so horrified when Lucky did a certain mean thing (no spoilers!) that I assumed it was the crux of the entire book, the plot point that would bring things to a head, but it was ... nothing. She didn't suffer pangs of guilt, and she was let off the hook quietly and quickly. The actual climax seemed to come out of nowhere, didn't last long, and didn't feel particularly integral. (Compare to Holes, which absolutely kills this.)
The sentences themselves were nifty (there are some horrendous writers out there—even some who aren't self-published, shockingly—so I always want to point out if the actual writing is good!) It's just the overall arc of the plot and the use of characters within it that somewhat bored me. So it was always pleasant to read, unless you paused to think "where is this going" or "how did they get here?"
(Note: I'm a writer, so I suffer when I offer fewer than five stars. But these aren't ratings of quality, they're a subjective account of how much I liked the book: 5* = an unalloyed pleasure from start to finish, 4* = enjoyed it, 3* = readable but not thrilling, 2* = disappointing, and 1* = hated it.)
June 22, 2012
Review of all three books in the 'Hard Pan Trilogy'
Lucky Trimble lives in Hard Pan, California, in a canned-ham bedroom attached to a trailer. She lives with Brigitte, who is not her mother but her biological father's French ex-wife. Brigitte came to Hard Pan all the way from France because Lucky's father asked her to, after Lucky's mother went out into the desert after a storm and was struck dead by lightening.
So for now Lucky lives with Brigitte, who calls her 'petite puce' which sounds lovely in French, but really means 'little flea' in English. Lucky loves Brigitte, but does not dare hope that she will want to be Lucky's mother for good.
So in between trying not to hope that Brigitte will become Lucky's mother, and avoiding looking at her real dead mother's ashes in an urn, Lucky decides to find her higher power to get her through. It's what everyone talks about at the Alcoholics Anonymous meeting held at Hard Pan's Found Object Wind Chime Museum. Higher power. Short Sammy talks about it a lot, when he recounts the story of the day his beloved dog got bit by a snake and his wife left him, and how he ended up finding his higher power that got him through the worst time in his life.
'The Higher Power of Lucky' was Susan Patron's 2007 Newberry award-winning middle-grade book. In 2010 Patron went on to continue Lucky's story with 'Lucky Breaks', and ending with 'Lucky For Good' in 2011, when Lucky is twelve-years-old, rounding the books out to the 'Hard Pan Trilogy'.
Susan Patron's series is a complete delight; for both its charismatically flawed heroine and her delightfully quirky hometown of Hard Pan. The first book, 'Higher Power of Lucky' begins when Lucky is ten-years-old, and her mother has just recently passed away, 'replacing' her with her father's ex-wife, the French Brigitte. We are introduced to this very unconventional family unit, which encompasses the wider town of Hard Pan, populated with quirky characters. There's Lucky's best friend, Lincoln, a knot-tying protégé with hopes of becoming the future President of the United States. Litle boy Miles who has a perfectly-timed cookie-retrieval system for visiting all the Hard Pan residents. There's also Short Sammy who lives in a water tank, and mourns the loss of his best dog friend not to mention an archeological team who breeze through Hard Pan to stop at Brigitte's renowned French-bistro café.
The books are all about Lucky; a glorious ragamuffin of a girl who is navigating the changing landscape of her life after losing her mother. The books begin when she is ten and follow her to age twelve, but Patron's brilliance lies in not restricting Lucky to her young age - she has moments, particularly in 'Lucky Breaks' and especially 'Lucky For Good' when she's starting to notice the opposite sex, beginning to appreciate (and resent) the flaws in her character and truly come to realize the impacting world beyond Hard Pan. 'Lucky For Good' is a particularly interesting book for Lucky's evolution, because she starts to think on the feelings of resentment and anger she has towards her absent father - who abandoned Lucky and her mother shortly after she was conceived. Patron doesn't inundate the books with all of these life-changing, big marker moments - and it's partly thanks to the third-person narration that as readers we can see Lucky's forming character, but don't get bogged down in the life-changing momentousness of it all. Patron is such a masterful storyteller, particularly in her middle-grade revelations, that she gives the readers just enough incite to have that spark of recognition regarding big changes within Lucky. And some of Patron's emotive descriptions and similes are just so pitch-perfect and brilliant;
Lucky had the same jolting feeling as when you're in a big hurry to pee and you pull down your pants fast and back up to the toilet without looking - but some man or boy before you has forgotten to put the seat down. So your bottom, which is expecting the usual nicely shaped plastic toilet seat, instead lands shocked on the thin rim of the toilet bowl, which is quite a lot colder and lower. Your bottom gets a panic of bad surprise. That was the same thump-on-the-heart shock Lucky got finding out that Miles's mother was in jail.
— 'The Higher Power of Lucky'
These books are very much focused on family, but not the conventional, nuclear one of other middle-grade books. Patron, in her 'Lucky' series really embraces the notion that it takes a village to raise a child, and lacking blood-ties doesn't mean lacking in love. Lucky's interactions with her stepmother, Brigitte, are heartfelt and lovely;
Brigitte laughed. "I tell you a little story about why I love to live here. When I first arrive in California, I see the sign on the highway; 'Soft Shoulder.' I think this is a very beautiful thing for a road sign to say: 'soft shoulder.'"
Mrs. Wellborne laughed and nodded.
"We do not have any like it in France, and I am curious. Later I learn it means the side of the road is too sandy and your car can get stuck. So 'soft shoulder' is a practical warning, but sweet. Like a small poem. It is a romantic way to see the world, just like to believe anything is possible." She shrugged. "Before, when I live in France, I believe not everything is possible. Never do I imagine that one day I will go to a little town in the middle of this big California desert or that, even working very hard, I can start my own business."
Lucky listened with some amazement. Usually Brigitte didn't share those kinds of private thoughts with someone she'd just met. The two moms must have really bonded because of those phone calls.
"And," Brigitte continued, "certainly never do I dream that the girl waiting inside a water tank house will later be my daughter. So now that I am almost American, I see out of my almost-American eyes that it is true: Anything can be possible. And if Lincoln does become president, he will be a very great one."
— 'Lucky Breaks'
I really enjoyed reading Susan Patron's Newberry-winning series, focused on Hard Pan native, little girl Lucky and the cast of quirky characters in her desert hometown.
November 3, 2024
A sequel equally as charming as the Newbery Medal winner that starts this trilogy. In Lucky Breaks, Lucky, Lincoln, Miles, Brigitte, Short Sammy, all return and are joined this time by Paloma, the 11-year-old niece of a local scientist who is in the desert near Hard Pan studying with his fellow "ologists". Lucky is enchanted by the idea of a girlfriend her age and their relationship is adorable. It brought back memories of my own childhood and my own best friend. Meanwhile, Lincoln may be spending a summer in England and Lucky is hurt by this and strikes out to hurt him back. A joint birthday party, for Miles and Lucky, is being prepared in the background of this story. Adventure, humor, good lessons about friendship and learning how to say "I'm sorry".
January 2, 2021
Several years ago I read the first book, The Higher Power of Lucky, and very much enjoyed it. I love kid, middle grade and YA books and read a decent number of them yearly. Lately, I’ve not been thrilled with the writing styles and feel there’s too much “telling” and not enough character development through “showing”. Patron, however, is skillful with this and I’ve become very attached to all the characters. I’m looking forward to the 3rd book and would recommend this trilogy to anyone with elementary aged kiddos.
December 31, 2024
I did not expect that lucky would start to evolve into saying mean things. I liked it better in the 1st book. Paloma was an interesting character. At the beginning, she seemed very brave and daring, but when Lucky goes into the well, Paloma is too scared to go inside the well. I also don't get it when lucky says Lincoln has changed. Over all, this was a good book. I'm looking forward to the next book.
January 6, 2026
I enjoyed book number 2 a little better than book number 1. There were a few things that in movies would be called potty humor, including what she did in the first book. I have also struggled with the fact that she makes these 10 year old kids all sound overly intelligent for where they live and their ages but then they do something that is overly stupid. But I do enjoy Susan's style and the overall way she can weaver her stories.
December 25, 2017
This is a great follow up to "The Higher Power of Lucky" which won the Newberry Medal. I hadn't read the first book in several years, but just a few pages in and I was back in the little desert town. This book almost makes me want to move to a small town in the middle of nowhere. I love the community Patron describes and the inner world of Lucky.
April 16, 2020
This delightful middle book of the Hard Pan trilogy was nearly as enjoyable as the first. I loved reading about the further exploits of Lucky Trimble and her friends. The addition of Paloma was fun, and finally gave Lucky a chance to have a female friend, since there are only three kids in Hard Pan and the other two are boys.
August 27, 2024
Lucky was beginning to annoy me so much with her self-centered behavior and snarky attitude that I was about to call it quits on this trilogy, but she managed to get her head straight and redeem herself near the book's end. So, onward I go to THPT #3!
September 10, 2017
I enjoyed reading the further adventures of Lucky Trimble and other characters of Hard Pan, California.
February 27, 2018
Lucky is an endearing character wrestling within herself ~ pretty mature for an almost 11 year old. dear story
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