Today’s book recommendation is Lucky Strike, by Bobbie Pyron—and it’s one for Marjorie. Marjorie grew up very near to where Lucky Strike takes place, in Paradise Beach, FLA.
“Losers and weirdos stick together through thick and through thin.” That’s the motto of Nate and his best friend Genesis Beam (aka Gen, the smartest girl in Franklin County). So what happens when the loser survives being struck by lightning on his eleventh birthday, suddenly becomes popular, and leaves the weirdo behind?
Gen’s passion, besides calculating probability, is to save the sea turtles of Paradise Beach. This year the turtles aren’t arriving, and without Nate there to help, she has her work cut out for her—especially when an unseasonable hurricane hits.
Nate lives with his grandfather in a trailer park. Like Piper, my girl hero in The Curse of the Neverland, Nate lost his parents when he was young. Unlike Piper, who never new her grandfather, Peter Pan, Nate’s grandfather has been the loving person parenting Nate since his parents’ untimely death.
Lucky Strike is truly heart-warming. It shares a strong theme with The Curse of the Neverland: the power of friendship, and how believing in each other helps us to believe in ourselves. Lucky Strike goes a step further, demonstrating how true luck lies in those friendships, throughout our communities.
I like this author’s voice. I intend to look to see what else he has written so I can enjoy more.
Did you know that lights are a problem for sea turtles? I learned this when I visited Sanibel Island, FL earlier this year. Sanibel has no streetlights precisely for this reason. Cool when communities work to preserve their treasures…
Speaking of treasures, Marjorie is one herself. She’s an incredibly talented artist (Click here to see some of her work, I love the turtle and the mermaids). Her art reflects the beach she grew up. She’s also the author and illustrator of Once Upon a Pearl, a great gift book for girls about self-confidence through a friendship between a mermaid and a girl.
You may be getting the gist of what themes I care deeply about: friendship, self-confidence, life-changing events, mentors, voyages, synchronicity, and magic, among other things.
Stay tuned for more news on book 2 of Piper Pan and Her Merry Band—my illustrator and I have been working on the portrait of Queen Titania and King Oberon.