Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Bayard, Louis. Lucky Strikes.

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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