Helpful Score: 4
This was a very quick read and a good book. At some points it was very predictable, but at others it wasn't. It's marked as a young adult book, at least according to my library, but I don't think it should be. I would definitely recommend it if you're looking for a quick "in-between" book.
Helpful Score: 3
I enjoyed this book very much. The characters acted as the would in real life, and their fears and feelings seemed to be right on the nose. The plot keeps moving quickly, and I don't think there was a boring part in the entire book. It is an easy read, as I finished it in a weekend. I won't return it to the library yet, as I suggested my 15 year old daughter read it first.
Helpful Score: 1
I am such a fan of Billie Letts! I want to fight for her charaters, I shout at them and try to guide them. Another great book by Billie!!!
Nowhere near as good as the author's previous novels. The sister is such a self-centered brat. (I know, I know, she's just a teenager who's had a hard life; but c'mon! I just couldn't generate very much sympathy for her.) And the ending: I thought "Oh, great; now she's gonna be more self-centered than ever!
Excellent book! The story of a teenage girl and younger brother leaving their trbouled life behind in SD to travel to Las Vegas to find a father that never cared about them. This is the story of what they do to survive on the streets of Las Vegas. Gritty stuff for Lutie to deal with and her young brother wanting to fit in at a decent school. Lutie and Fate must learn to trust again and find a "family" in an unexpected way.
I definitely recommended this one! The author does an excellent job of telling Lutie's story as well as her brother, Fate's story as well. Good description of the characters and the situations. Loved it!
I definitely recommended this one! The author does an excellent job of telling Lutie's story as well as her brother, Fate's story as well. Good description of the characters and the situations. Loved it!
Billie Letts is a master of describing the redemptive powers of family love -- even when the family is cobbled together from an unexpected cast of characters. Lovely book.
Great easy read with fun characters that I really got to like. Lutie and Fate are abandoned by their father and he leaves them with his girlfriend when he runs off to Vegas. When the woman dies Lutie and Fate are on their own - scared of becoming foster kids they take the car and $300 they are able to find in their home and head off to Vegas in search of their father. Only 15 years old Lutie has dreams of becoming a star but she soon realizes life in Vegas is not easy and help from a very kind mysterious stranger saves their lives.
I can't even begin to tell you how much I love Billie Letts Novels. Although they are a bit predictable I still love the stories and how she writes them. So I picked up this one expecting it to be somewhat similar to the other 3 she has written and right off the bat it is so completley different. Normally her stories start off somewhere in Oklahoma. It's usually in a small town where the population is small and there is always a Wal-mart mentioned in there. She totally blew me away right on page 1 where the characters are from Spearfish, North Dakota and the characters are 2 kids who are brother & sister. The girl is Lutie and she is 15. The other is her brother Fate who is 11. Their father ran off to Las Vegas and left them with an ex girlfriend named Floy. While they are in Wal-mart Floy drops dead. Scared that they will be put in a home, Lutie grabs her brother and they run off to Las Vegas in search of their father in Floy's car that she can barely drive.
Once in Vegas they run into many pitfalls and dangerous situations that could have killed both of them except for a guardian angel that seemed to be keeping tabs on the 2.
Around the middle of the book Oklahoma comes into play (see the predictable side of Billie Lett's writing), but it is done in a suprising way. I won't tell anymore unless someone else wants to know more, but I loved it and it's one of those perfect coming of age books.
Once in Vegas they run into many pitfalls and dangerous situations that could have killed both of them except for a guardian angel that seemed to be keeping tabs on the 2.
Around the middle of the book Oklahoma comes into play (see the predictable side of Billie Lett's writing), but it is done in a suprising way. I won't tell anymore unless someone else wants to know more, but I loved it and it's one of those perfect coming of age books.
This book is about two gutsy kids, Lutie and Fate McFee's. Their father ran off to Las Vegas a year ago, leaving them behind with his 300 pound girlfriend Floy. We hear little about Floy because the first thing she does is drop dead in the checkout lane of Walmart in Yankton South Dakota.
The mother died several years before, fifteen yr old Lutie blames herself for her Mom's death and has a chip on her shoulder to prove it. Fate is a overly bright eleven yr old who worries.
Fifteen year old Lutie decides that they shouldn't wait around for social services to put them into foster care, so they take Floy's car and head off to Vegas to find their dad.
With little money and a whole lot of luck they make it Las Vegas.
Unable to find their dad, they try to survive. The things those kids go through while there will have the hair on the back of your head standing up!
I would be giving the plot away if I say anymore. I enjoyed the book, Billie Letts weaved a fine tale and proves that family is not always biological.
The mother died several years before, fifteen yr old Lutie blames herself for her Mom's death and has a chip on her shoulder to prove it. Fate is a overly bright eleven yr old who worries.
Fifteen year old Lutie decides that they shouldn't wait around for social services to put them into foster care, so they take Floy's car and head off to Vegas to find their dad.
With little money and a whole lot of luck they make it Las Vegas.
Unable to find their dad, they try to survive. The things those kids go through while there will have the hair on the back of your head standing up!
I would be giving the plot away if I say anymore. I enjoyed the book, Billie Letts weaved a fine tale and proves that family is not always biological.
Enjoyed this book. A fast read, parts are a bit hard but, it works out well.