Janice ErlbaumLucky Little Things

LUCKY LITTLE THINGS pulses with all the things that have made Janice Erlbaum's adult fiction and memoirs so unforgettable--her acute understanding of the interior life of girls, the complexities of friendship, the bonds between mothers and daughters, and the syncopated rhythm of life in New York City. Emma McIntyre is an irresistible protagonist--impatient, imperfect, and impossible not to love. How lucky we are to be brought into her company. LUCKY LITTLE THINGS will make you laugh a lot, and if it makes you cry once or twice, too, just blame your allergies.

I don't have children of my own, but I believe the world Erlbaum designs in this book. The behavior of the characters tracks accurately looking at my friends' kids, and the social dynamics are authentically what they're dealing with in schools and in social situations. There're a lot of bittersweet notes blended into the sturdy character-building of Emma Macintyre, and I enjoyed watching her arc from the beginning to the end. I doubt there's a sequel coming, but I wouldn't mind seeing where Emma chooses to go to college.

This is such a sweet, charming book About how everyone makes his or her own luck. It is aimed at middle school kids, but I still loved it and MIGHT have cried at the end.

highly recommended this book is great for young adults and up! i love this book! i’ve never EVER read anything better in my life

wonderful writer.

The book is about Emma Macintyre (a very Irish last name). Her mom had an affair with a married Latino man and accidentally had Emma. Before Emma was born, Mom was an alcoholic and cursed a lot. Now she attends Alcoholic Anonymous meetings (where she has found a couple new boyfriends) and changes her curses to things like "duck knocker" and "hockey puck". (Other characters use words like binch, and bish, though there's at least one actual "bitch" along with pissed and damn.)Grandma still drinks alcohol and says offensive things about Emma's biracial heritage.Emma has a crush on the popular boy at school. Her best friend is starting to hang out with the popular kids and Emma just found out that her friend "hooked up" with her crush.After this point, Mom inherits a bunch of old photos from an 80 yo client and they see pics of him as a young man kissing another man (p. 112). They tell how he married a woman to hide the fact that he was gay, but he and his lover remained "friends" for 45 years. Later on p. 188 there is film of the two men dancing. At the end, Mom donates the photos for a display in town celebrating homosexuality.It turns out that Emma's best friend sent topless photos to Emma's crush, and he sends them to the entire school. Later, he tries to get another girl to send him nude photos, but Emma and her friend manage to help keep the girl from doing it. During this time, we read texts the boy sent Emma's friend.One text says: "I was thinking about you last night. You owe me new sheets :)"The book tells about other times Emma knows of her mom flirting with married men. She's doing it again in the present, but eventually she finds out the man doesn't actually have a girlfriend. Mom and that man end up lovey dovey at the end.Emma ends up having a couple of romantic moments that involve hand holding and kissing which are described in emotional detail.Also, one day Emma tells her mom "Shut up!" before school. After school that same day, her mom surprises her with a brand new cell phone. And the female superintendent of their building shows her butt crack while bending over to do work in their apartment.

My 8yo has been enjoying this story - the angst, looking for luck and friendship dynamics - all great topics for discussion for the just before tween years.But the sexting episode took me by surprise. Even would irritate me if she were a 12yo reader.The upshot? We’ve had some accelerated conversations about boundaries, self respect and confidence.I’d recommend this for an age group over over 12s based on content, and steer younger advanced readers elsewhere.

I really enjoyed this book. It was well-written, a quick read, and interesting. I would recommend this for upper middle grade readers (the characters are at the end of their 8th grade year). There are more mature themes of bullying, friendships, relationships, sending nudes to boys, as well as some light profanity. I think it was realistically done and I think tweens will be able to relate to it.