The Thing About Luck

Cynthia Kadohata, a Newbery Award-winning author of Kira-Kira, brings another story about the strength of a family.  Summer’s parents must fly to Japan to take care of some elderly relatives, leaving 12-year old Summer and her brother Jaz with their grandparents – strict Obaachan and quiet, kind Jiichan during the busiest time of year – summer harvest.  Summer must navigate the difficult age between childhood and teen years, while helping her grandparents and keeping an eye on her brother.

Most middle school students will be unfamiliar with the process of wheat harvesting and the men and women who do the job, but this background creates a stronger bond between the characters as Jiichan falls ill and Summer must figure out what to do in order to help her family.

A quiet read that girls will enjoy as the coming-of-age story it is – even amidst the unique background and different cultural norms that Summer faces.

For more information about Newbery Award winning author, Cynthia Kadohata, click on her website link!

Title: The Thing About Luck
Author: Cynthia Kadohata
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: 2013
Page Number: 288 pgs.