Bayard, Louis. Lucky Strikes. Macmillan/Henry Holt 2016
313p $16.99 ISBN 978-1-62779-390-2 ms Realistic
fiction VG-BN
In 1929, during the Great
Depression, Amelia and her younger brother and sister suffer a heart-wrenching
loss when their mother passes away unexpectedly. But Amelia is a very
resourceful young girl. Somehow the three siblings must come up with a way to
stay together. Amelia’s idea is to talk a hobo who dropped off a passing truck
into posing as their long-lost father. Together they run the small local gas
station and try to eke out a living.
The so-called hobo turns
out to be an asset when Amelia starts dreaming up marketing ideas for ensuring
the survival of the gas station. It is not easy, because a local businessman
owns all of the other stations in the area, and he wants theirs because it is
on a heavily accessed trucking route. The novel provides readers with insight
into the fears and tensions of being an orphan and presents Amelia as a strong
and resourceful young girl.
Summary: Amelia, the big
sister, must find a way to keep her brother and sister out of foster care after
their mother dies unexpectedly. Readers will enjoy the family interactions and
the dynamics of running a gas station while fighting a local bully.
Poverty-Fiction, Family
life-Fiction, Orphans-Fiction, Great Depression-Fiction —Linda McNeil
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