Tess, the main character, is a superstitious girl. She carries lucky charms and each chapter begins with a quote about luck. She lives on an island that will lose its school unless they can get more students before fall, so the community decides to take in five foster children in order to save their school.
Tess's family gets Aaron, a teen boy with a lot of baggage. I liked that this book seemed realistic. It is told from Tess's point of view, yet we get to see Aaron's reaction to things as well. He struggles being away from his mom, he has moved from the city to a small island where everyone is in his business, and he acts coldly toward Tess and her family.
There is growth in the characters. They don't always make the right choices but their motives are good. Tess's five year old sister is written well. She acts like a five year old other than the fact that she loves to play Monopoly. Granted there could be five-year-olds who are obsessed with Monopoly; I've just never met one, but I had a two year old who was obsessed with Phantom of the Opera, so I'll accept the Monopoly obsession.
This is the third book by Cynthia Lord that I have read and enjoyed. I hope to read more by her. If you liked her book Rules or Half a Chance, you will like this book.
Read to a child today even if that child is you.
Link to our NICU book registry if you'd like to donate books to babies.
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