The Thing About Luck

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Bibliography
Kadohata, C. (2014). The Thing about Luck. Atheneum Books for Young Readers.
Plot Summary
Summer and her family are just having a streak of bad luck. One after another bad event has affected them including Summer’s almost death experience with getting sick with malaria. This led Summer to have a paranoia for mosquitos. When her parents have to return to Japan to help sick elderly relatives Summer and her brother must go with her grandparents. Obaachan and Jiichan are very into the old ways. When the family runs into economic issues everyone must try and pull their own weight for the good of the family. However, Summer being so young has a lot on her shoulders. She worries about her brother making friends, trying to help Obaachan in the kitchen when she is feeling sick, and dealing with Jiichan’s expectations.
Critical Analysis
The story has characters that are real and relatable. The descriptions of settings are wonderfully made such as the wheat fields. As the reader comes to know Summer and her brother are growing up in the U.S. and wanting everything a normal teen would want. However, their parents and grandparents are originally from Japan. It is a great book to bring down stereotypes and show the life of Japanese Americans. The reader can see the presence of Asian culture through Summer’s grandparents traditional values. They have really high expectations and Summer is trying to do her best in all aspects. I liked how they mentioned the Japanese belief of wabi-sabi that you can pave the path for your future which was something the main character came to understand. I liked how one of the main characters was on the Autism spectrum, because it brings awareness in which readers can create empathy.
Review Excerpts
Review in Booklist, “Another engaging novel from the Newbery Medal–winning Kadohata."
Review in Kirkus Review, “Readers who peel back the layers of obsessions and fears will find a character who is determined, compassionate and altogether delightful."
Review in Publishers Weekly, "Sharp characterizations and descriptive details about modern farming invigorate Newbery Medalist Kadohata’s (Kira-Kira) funny and warm story about the Japanese-American daughter of migrant workers.”
Review in School Library Journal, “What a perfect middle grade book. Summer, 12, is a sympathetic heroine.”
Connections
This could be used for students to compare parts of the book to their own incidents. Books that are similar:
Lin, Grace. The Year of the Dog. ISBN13: 9780316060028
Lin, Grace. The Year of the Rat. ISBN13: 9780316114264

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