Friday, May 1, 2009

The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron


I had heard a lot about this book while researching a paper about self-censorship for my Ethics class. It is a book that a lot of school librarian's have vowed to keep out of their libraries! All because of one word, "scrotum". The word appears on the first page of the book, but actually refers to the anatomy of a dog. The book itself won the Newbery Medal for 2007 and has gotten a lot of great reviews, and to date the book has not been challenged or banned, other than an "unofficial" ban to keep it out of libraries.

It is an endearing story of a 10 year old girl named Lucky who lives in Hard Pan, California, who wants to find her "higher power" in life. It is a great coming of age book! And to me a very true account of the daily activities and thoughts of a 10 year old girl! She struggles with the death of her mother and abandonment issues with a father she has never met.

The book has lovable characters like Miles, a five year old who has a constant craving for cookies of all flavors, and Lincoln, who is an expert at tying knots, and whose mother hopes he will become president of the United States.

I would highly recommend this book, and felt that a lot of the librarian's out there who have kept this book away from their library really haven't read it as a whole, they have just based their opinions on one word. It is a book that would be great for ages 9-12.

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