Lucky Few

by Kathryn Ormsbee

In the tradition of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl comes a hilarious, madcap, and “quirky novel” (School Library Journal) about a group of oddball teens struggling to find themselves when facing their own mortality.

The life of homeschooler Stevie Hart gets all shook up when she meets Max, a strange boy who survived a freak near-fatal accident and is now obsessed with death. He enlists her and her best friend, Sanger, to help him complete his absurd “23 Ways to Fake My Death Without Dying” checklist. What starts off as fun begins spiraling downward when Stevie’s diabetes sabotages her fumbling romance with Max, Sanger announces she’s moving out of state, and then death—real death—cuts a little too close to home.

• ISBN10: 1481455303
• ISBN13: 9781481455305
• Publish Date: 7 June 2016
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Format: eBook (EPUB)
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

"Stevie, Max, and Sanger: keeping Austin weird."

I always associate Austin with being this quirky place, and so, I feel it was the perfect backdrop for this lovely story of friendship, first love, and accepting that some things are out of our control, while we can fight for others.

As I said, this story covers quite a few things, but for me, the heart of this book was the friendship between Stevie and Sanger. They were super tight, ride-or-die friends, and their affection and dedication to each other was a beautiful thing.

You know I was all over the sweet and endearing romance that was in play, but I also loved the dynamic between all the characters. I found them funny and interesting and couldn't wait to see what they would do next. I also found them very real and honest, and their interactions were always worth witnessing.

Overall: a fun, interesting, and thought provoking story filled with great characters, which both warmed and broke my heart.

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[shannonmiz]

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight
4.5*

This was a fun book. I didn't really think it was going to be as fun as it was, actually. Of course I thought it would be good or I wouldn't have wanted to read it, but I was not expecting laugh-out-loud funny either. Stevie and Sanger are just delightfully weird, and when Max comes into the picture, well, he and his wacky fake-deaths fit right in somehow. I think I assumed it would be extra tragic? Frankly, I thought that we were going to find out that Max really DID have some terminal illness, or that Stevie's diabetes was going to do her in. I was basically scared of some kind of TFIOS moment.

And sure, faking one's death 23 times is kind of silly (and in hindsight, disrespectful) but... they're kids. And they learn a lot throughout their adventures, which I think makes it worth it. Because look, who among us hasn't done something when we were younger (or even now) that in retrospect was a little flippant? That's how we learn, right?

I really loved all the characters. They were very well done, and I found myself caring for each of them- even some of the more minor ones. I felt like they were the kind of quirky people I'd know in real life. They weren't perfect, either, which I liked. Sanger tried to be tough all the time, even to the point of hurting her friend, Stevie could be judgmental, and she was quite sheltered. And Max... well, he was faking his death 23 times, so there's that. But they were just decent kids trying to navigate their way through changing relationships and growing up.

I think the best part was that each of them learned so much about themselves- and each other- along the way. And the reader was endlessly entertained by their shenanigans, and yes, by some of the more poignant moments as well. Because while it was a fun book, it did tackle a bit of the tougher stuff too, which is kind of my favorite thing in a contemporary novel.

Bottom Line: The writing was fabulous and funny, the story flowed perfectly, and the characters were so much fun to read. A definite win!

**Copy provided by publisher for review