If you’re a YA Contemporary reader and you haven’t heard of Jenn Bennet, I can only conclude that you’ve been living under a rock. This author has been on my radar for what seems like ever, and I have finally jumped on the bandwagon with CHASING LUCKY. And folks, make room because I’m here to stay! Chasing Lucky follows Josie Saint-Martin as she and her wandering mother return to their hometown of Beauty to run the family bookshop while Josie’s grandmother and aunt go to Nepal. And Josie can’t help but hope that they will actually put down roots here - even if it’s only for a year.
Josie has a plan. And much like her mother, it has nothing to do with staying where she is. Once she graduates, she’s hitting the road and heading for the west coast where her mostly absent famous photographer father lives. That is until her old friend Lucky Karras comes onto the scene and challenges Josie at every turn. So, I love a surly hero. I can’t help it. I just do. And that’s Lucky from the moment he’s introduced. It’s clear he harbors some resentment from when Josie and her mother left town in the middle of the night. Even though it wasn’t Josie’s fault, Lucky’s fragile teenage heart hasn’t been able to reconcile that. And I was living for those angry layers being peeled away. I loved Josie, too. It was fun being inside of her head; her inner dialogue was hilarious at times and so genuine for her age. Josie and Lucky, at least from Josie’s point of view, live lives that are nothing alike. Lucky has his boisterous family to surround him, and for Josie, it’s always been just her and her flaky mother.
Josie and Lucky are at odds until Lucky takes the blame for something Josie does, and then Josie is left confused as all get out, and the fun begins as she begins to peel back those Lucky-layers. I really enjoyed the progression of their relationship from the memories they shared when they were young to the confusion that surrounded them now that they’d done some growing up.
I enjoyed the secondary characters in this book. I even found Josie’s mother likable, as well as her cousin Evie and like I mentioned before, Lucky’s boisterous family. For them, it was as if no time had passed; they pulled Josie right back into the fold. I found the ‘villain’ in this book to be typical, however, I also found him to be sadly realistic with his toxic ways, so from that respect, he did add a lesson to the story.
Even though I thoroughly enjoyed the relationship between Josie and Lucky, it was Josie and her mother that I found most gripping when I reflected on the story. It really highlighted the fact that there is so much more to our parents than we know, a lesson that Josie’s mother is learning as well, and that there’s nothing they wouldn’t do to protect their children. I found their dynamic to be so realistic, and it was so interesting to read. I really enjoyed every moment of this story.
CHASING LUCKYby Jenn Bennet has some great themes, and I’m glad to have finally read it. I’d regret not having read her sooner, except that now I have what are sure to be some amazing backlist reads ahead of me!
Narration: Rebekkah Ross did a fantastic job with this story. She captured Josie’s emotions perfectly, and I loved the voice she used for Lucky. I thoroughly enjoyed her narration, and I’m looking forward to listening to more books that she narrates.
In this coming-of-age romance perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Sarah Dessen, scandal and romance collide when an ambitious teen returns to her hometown only to have her plans interrupted after falling for the town’s “bad boy”--a.k.a. her childhood best friend.
Sometimes to find the good, you have to embrace the bad.
Budding photographer Josie Saint-Martin has spent half her life with her single mother, moving from city to city. When they return to her historical New England hometown years later to run the family bookstore, Josie knows it’s not forever. Her dreams are on the opposite coast, and she has a plan to get there.
What she doesn’t plan for is a run-in with the town bad boy, Lucky Karras. Outsider, rebel…and her former childhood best friend. Lucky makes it clear he wants nothing to do with the newly returned Josie. But everything changes after a disastrous pool party, and a poorly executed act of revenge lands Josie in some big-time trouble—with Lucky unexpectedly taking the blame.
Determined to understand why Lucky was so quick to cover for her, Josie discovers that both of them have changed, and that the good boy she once knew now has a dark sense of humor and a smile that makes her heart race. And maybe, just maybe, he’s not quite the brooding bad boy everyone thinks he is…
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