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A review by athomewithbooks
The Lucky Kind by Alyssa Sheinmel
3.0
The Lucky Kind is a young adult novel written from the perspective of a high school junior named Nick. It was a nice change to read a young adult book from a boy’s point of view since most of the YA books I read have female main characters. This book was written by a woman, and while I thought she did a decent job getting inside a boy’s head I really am not an expert judge, being a girl myself. I would be curious to hear a guy’s perspective on this book as to how realistic her characterization was.
In The Lucky Kind Nick is faced with two problems: figuring out how to approach the girl that he has a crush on, and discovering what secret his parents are hiding from him. Once he finds out the secret it wreaks havoc on the rest of his life, and causes him to reexamine how he sees himself and his parents.
I have to admit that reading this book was a lot like watching an after-school special. You don’t know quite how the character is going to mess things up, but you’re pretty sure he’s going to learn some life lessons about relationships in the process. This is great for me because I’ve always enjoyed after-school specials. On the flip side, I have to wonder how much this story would really appeal to teenage boys.
Some young adult books have crossover appeal to the adult audience, but I think this is one that is going to appeal mostly to a younger crowd. I should also mention that the following issues play a role in the book: teenage sex, drinking, and smoking. More than anything else though, it is a story about the difficulties of keeping open and honest relationships between teenagers and parents.
In The Lucky Kind Nick is faced with two problems: figuring out how to approach the girl that he has a crush on, and discovering what secret his parents are hiding from him. Once he finds out the secret it wreaks havoc on the rest of his life, and causes him to reexamine how he sees himself and his parents.
I have to admit that reading this book was a lot like watching an after-school special. You don’t know quite how the character is going to mess things up, but you’re pretty sure he’s going to learn some life lessons about relationships in the process. This is great for me because I’ve always enjoyed after-school specials. On the flip side, I have to wonder how much this story would really appeal to teenage boys.
Some young adult books have crossover appeal to the adult audience, but I think this is one that is going to appeal mostly to a younger crowd. I should also mention that the following issues play a role in the book: teenage sex, drinking, and smoking. More than anything else though, it is a story about the difficulties of keeping open and honest relationships between teenagers and parents.