The Thing About Luck

I’ve read Cynthia Kadohata’s "Weedflower" and "Kira-Kira," and while I really enjoyed those books, "The Thing About Luck" is my favorite of hers. What I like about this book is that even if you’re not Japanese, and you haven’t nearly died of malaria, and you don’t know a thing about wheat harvesting, it’s still a story almost everyone can relate to in some way, because it’s all about dealing with bad luck—or, in other words, life. But let me back up a little.Twelve-year-old Summer is a survivor. She has recently recovered from malaria, which she contracted when an infected mosquito bit her. Now, even though she is terrified of mosquitos, she draws pictures of them in her sketchbook—a most unusual way to confront her fear. Unfortunately, her malaria is just the beginning of a long season of bad luck for Summer and her family. Her parents suddenly have to go to Japan for a family emergency, which means her grandparents have to come out of retirement to take their place working as cross-country wheat harvesters. This is not going to be easy, as Summer’s grandmother recently started suffering from excruciating back pain. Also, Summer and her brother Jaz, who can’t seem to make a single friend because he’s so different, have to come along with their grandparents and help out.As someone with Japanese heritage, I thought it was super cool to read a book in which two of the characters go by Obaachan (“Grandma”) and Jiichan (“Grandpa”), nearly identical to what I call my own grandparents. Also, Summer mentions Japanese cultural things here and there, such as umeboshi (pickled plums) and jan ken pon (the Japanese version of rock, paper, scissors).However, as I said before, you don’t have to be Japanese to appreciate this book, not by any means. Summer doesn’t make a big deal out of her ethnic heritage—it’s just one part of who she is. Nor do you have to have any knowledge of wheat harvesting or malaria. Summer talks about wheat harvesting and her bout with malaria matter-of-factly as part of her life experience. And I think that’s the beauty of this book. It’s not really about getting malaria, or being Japanese, or working as a wheat harvester. What it’s really about is one girl’s experience with a season of bad luck, unwanted responsibilities, her first crush, mixed embarrassment and pride for her family, feelings of inadequacy, and the discovery of her inner strength. Those things are pretty universal, no matter what your background or experience.Spoiler alert: Summer and her family do not get out of their spell of bad luck by winning the lottery. "The Thing About Luck" shows that bad luck just happens sometimes, and the best way to combat it is to look inside yourself and figure out what you can do to make a positive change.

Rating: 3.5/5The Thing About Luck is narrated by Summer, a twelve-year-old girl, who is the daughter and granddaughter of Japanese-American wheat harvesters, who travel from farm to farm during harvest season. Summer’s parents have returned to Japan to care for some sick relatives, leaving Summer and her brother, Jaz, with their grandparents.Summer’s grandmother is strict and formal, and rides Summer mercilessly. She is harsh and mean and demanding. But her grandfather tells Summer and Jaz bedtime stories and reminds them: “You find magic everywhere, in wheat field, in mosquito, even here” (“in the town of Lost Springs, Wyoming, which had a population of four”). Obaachan and Jiichan had an arranged marriage and have been together over fifty years, and they gripe at each other incessantly.The book follows Summer, Jaz, and their grandparents during part of one harvest season. Summer is at a critical age. She is making the transition into adulthood, becoming more responsible, and figuring out the deal with boys. Her grandparents are getting older, her brother is getting weirder, she is growing up, and the whole family is suffering from a year of bad luck.The Thing About Luck won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature this year. The reading level is very basic (AR level 4.7), but it tackles a lot of issues, including cultural differences, generational differences, anxiety (Summer has a pretty intense fear of mosquitos following a bout of malaria), and autism (Summer’s brother has been to three different doctors and received three different diagnoses: OCD, ADHD, and PDD-NOS). It’s also an informative look at the life of traveling wheat harvesters (something I, for one, knew nothing about).The writing is smooth and easy, and the book is peppered with cute illustrations (Summer’s drawings of mosquitos and combines and such).

When both television and I were much younger, there was a short and inviting program on Sunday afternoon. It used time lapse photography to make blooming flowers dance to classical music. Something very much like that is at work in this lovely book.This is a quiet work about a girl adding size to her life. She has an introvert brother and ailing but tenacious grandparents. Of Japanese ancestry, they all live in Kansas but travel seasonally to harvest wheat on the Plains. The time frame covers perhaps a month of their lives.There is very little action but a great deal of change. The young brother begins to stir. The grandparents are strong in character even as they physically weaken. And the girl gently emerges as she confronts a test of integrity and passes. Then she commits an act of family heroism, but does it in near anonymity and in the night. It is a firm step toward maturity, her only reward the satisfaction of knowing she came through.Such a touching, comfortable book.

This book is intended for middle school aged kids, but is an enjoyable story for adults as well. The main character is a Japanese-American girl named Summer who goes along with her brother to stay with their grandparents in Kansas while their parents deal with a family problem in Japan. The grandparents are part of a custom combining crew that travels from Kansas south into Texas and then back north through Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota harvesting the wheat crop. Much of the story is a "coming of age" tale involving this girl, but other parts describe quite accurately the lifestyle of the harvesters.I was especially intrigued because I have relatives who have done custom combining, so it was interesting to see how this story matched up with what I had heard before.I would recommend the book for 10-12 year old readers and to adults who are interested in this topic. It would be a good book for a middle school library.