Ratings28
Average rating3.6
2022 Edgar Award Nominee for Best Novel “A fantastic novel. . . . You are going to like this a lot.”—Stephen King “What’s more thrilling than a fictional character speaking to us in a voice we haven’t heard before, a voice so authentic and immediate—think Huck Finn, Holden Caulfield, Mattie Ross—that we suspect it must’ve been there all along, that we somehow managed to miss it? Daniel, the protagonist of Will Leitch’s smart, funny, heartbreaking new novel How Lucky, is just such a voice, and I’m not sure it will ever completely leave my head, or that I want it to.”—Richard Russo For readers of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and Nothing to See Here, a first novel as suspenseful and funny as it is moving, the unforgettable story of a fiercely resilient young man living with a physical disability, and his efforts to solve a mystery unfolding right outside his door. Daniel leads a rich life in the university town of Athens, Georgia. He’s got a couple close friends, a steady paycheck working for a regional airline, and of course, for a few glorious days each Fall, college football tailgates. He considers himself to be a mostly lucky guy—despite the fact that he’s suffered from a debilitating disease since he was a small child, one that has left him unable to speak or to move without a wheelchair. Largely confined to his home, Daniel spends the hours he’s not online communicating with irate air travelers observing his neighborhood from his front porch. One young woman passes by so frequently that spotting her out the window has almost become part of his daily routine. Until the day he’s almost sure he sees her being kidnapped...
Reviews with the most likes.
Storygraph recommended this novel to be and I am glad of this as I enjoyed it as much as any novel I've read or listened to recently. The first person narrator is endearing, honest, insightful - and funny! The supporting friends of his are well drawn and loveable too. I enjoyed the setting in Athens, GA - as the author captured the light and the dark of a football weekend in a southern college town. The mystery/suspense was the right amount to keep me turning the pages as I blew through this relatively short novel quickly. Recommended highly also as it helped me better understand what life with a degenerative physical disease/disability might be like. Again - so glad I found and read this story!??
It was a fast paced book that hooks you from the start. However, it ended up being just “okay” for me. It was cute and educated me on SMA but otherwise parts of it seemed juvenile/silly/unbelievable. Overall, I enjoyed my time reading it but would not pick it up again