Reviewed by Rebecca Wells for TeensReadToo.com
No matter what else is going wrong, no one is unhappy at Gull Island - or so twelve-year-old Cecile Thompson believes. Even if her parents are quarreling, even if her older brother Henry is away working, even if her sister Natalie is suddenly pretending to be grown up, they will all be happy once they are on their holiday, a month away at the idyllic Gull Island over the summer.
But now things are different. Cecile's parents fight more than ever, she never hears from Henry, and worst of all, Natalie appears to be boy obsessed. Is it possible that the magic of Gull Island has disappeared?
In this touching coming-of-age story, Cecile learns that you may have to make your own magic as she navigates the unknown waters of the grown ups for the first time.
Stephanie Greene presents a complicated situation of familial discontent with flair in THE LUCKY ONES, and utilizes a winning protagonist in Cecile to narrate the story. Cecile is a precocious girl hovering on the cusp between childhood and the land of teenagers, and as such, she is an ideal character for narrating the story of her entire family - like Cecile herself, the Thompson family is one caught in between - in between happiness and discontent, in between giving up and holding on.
I would have liked to see the book delve deeper into some of the conflicts it presents. In many places THE LUCKY ONES illuminates a hidden conflict only to shy away from complete exposition. While this may be partially due to Cecile's limited point of view, I feel myself wanting more resolution than THE LUCKY ONES eventually comes to regarding certain situations.
All in all, though, THE LUCKY ONES is a bittersweet coming-of-age story that tells not only the story of Cecile, but also that of her entire family.
No matter what else is going wrong, no one is unhappy at Gull Island - or so twelve-year-old Cecile Thompson believes. Even if her parents are quarreling, even if her older brother Henry is away working, even if her sister Natalie is suddenly pretending to be grown up, they will all be happy once they are on their holiday, a month away at the idyllic Gull Island over the summer.
But now things are different. Cecile's parents fight more than ever, she never hears from Henry, and worst of all, Natalie appears to be boy obsessed. Is it possible that the magic of Gull Island has disappeared?
In this touching coming-of-age story, Cecile learns that you may have to make your own magic as she navigates the unknown waters of the grown ups for the first time.
Stephanie Greene presents a complicated situation of familial discontent with flair in THE LUCKY ONES, and utilizes a winning protagonist in Cecile to narrate the story. Cecile is a precocious girl hovering on the cusp between childhood and the land of teenagers, and as such, she is an ideal character for narrating the story of her entire family - like Cecile herself, the Thompson family is one caught in between - in between happiness and discontent, in between giving up and holding on.
I would have liked to see the book delve deeper into some of the conflicts it presents. In many places THE LUCKY ONES illuminates a hidden conflict only to shy away from complete exposition. While this may be partially due to Cecile's limited point of view, I feel myself wanting more resolution than THE LUCKY ONES eventually comes to regarding certain situations.
All in all, though, THE LUCKY ONES is a bittersweet coming-of-age story that tells not only the story of Cecile, but also that of her entire family.
