2024 the best lucky review

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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...

From the Publisher

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08FK7C4QK
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper (May 11, 2021)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 11, 2021
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2916 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 298 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0063073056
Reviewer: Jonesy
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Immensely Enjoyable Read!
Review: This is the first book I have read from author Will Leitch. That being said, I am and avid reader of his weekly newsletters and his coverage of MLB. I first discovered his writing in the daily MLB Morning Lineup newsletter. If you're a baseball fan, you should be a subscriber -- if you haven't already subscribed, stop reading this and go do that, you can thank me later. Needless to say, I am a fan of his writing. Let's get to the review, shall we?"How Lucky" is a fantastic novel (Stephen King says so on both the front AND the back cover -- if he gives praise it is most often well deserved) filled with on the edge of your seat suspense. It's also filled with the larger than life main character Daniel. Daniel was a surprise and truly a joy for me to read. There are so many funny moments in this book that it made me laugh out loud.Daniel lives in Athens very near to the campus of the University of Georgia and has his daily routine that serves him well. That is until he is certain that he witnesses a kidnapping while sitting on his front porch. He begins investigating the young woman and her potential kidnapper to the best of his abilities.While he is an extremely resilient and independent young man, Daniel is unable to speak or move without his wheelchair due to a disease he has had since a small child. You see, as an infant Daniel was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy (or SMA). Don't worry, if you aren't aware of it you aren't alone. SMA is a neuromuscular that is similar to ALS. Except that SMA affects children whereas ALS typically affects adults. I'm sure you were aware of ALS."How Lucky" at its core is Daniel's story of wanting to help along with his close knit friends. He doesn't see himself as a victim to his disorder and he desperately wants to help the young woman that he experienced a momentary connection with just before she got into a stranger's car. The supporting cast are all so well written and these characters felt like real people.Without a doubt, five stars out of five stars. If you're looking for a read that is unexpected and amazing I encourage you to give "How Lucky" a ready. You never know, maybe you will be as lucky to feel the way I felt about it!

Reviewer: Donna E. Ross
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Such a intriguing story. I loved reading it. I have a smile and feel so positive after reading it.
Review: Such a good feeling story. Loved all the characters and their interaction with each other. Just a great story line.

Reviewer: Michael J. Steele
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A Mystery but also much, much more
Review: Written by a well-known sportswriter Will Leitch, How Lucky feels like Rear Window but with stronger heart strings. This is at once a modern mystery, a suspense-filled thriller, and thoughtful novel about life told with narrative lightness and humor but warmth and heart too. I have been in a reading rut for awhile, but I tore through How Lucky, eager to reach its conclusion.Daniel has been afflicted by SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy) which he calls “Lou Gehrig’s disease for kids.” Living in Athens, Georgia on the periphery of the University of Georgia and its football program, Daniel works social media from his home, cared for by Marjani, a professional caregiver who works all manner of odd jobs to provide for her son, and Travis, his longtime best friend and good-natured stoner.One morning, Daniel watches from a porch as a Georgia student enters a car. Soon that same student is missing and Daniel finds himself pulled into the mystery as both the campus and community respond to her disappearance and an ominous direct message finds him on Reddit.I adore Leitch’s prose in general but he has a deft touch with his debut novel. Daniel is funny and thoughtful and delightfully real, but he is also uncompromising in his honesty about SMA’s impact on his life. Seeing the people around him through his eyes is beautiful; I found myself as attached to Marjani and Travis as I was Daniel because he was. These were portraits of love in dual directions, and Daniel’s works felt fully realized because all three of them were.Paired with the suspenseful search for Ai-Chen and all that it invites into Daniel’s world, the novel moves with a torrid pace but also feels contemplative in a way that wouldn’t seem to work but does. The comparison to Rear Window is low-hanging fruit—both protagonists must grapple with impaired mobility while investigating a crime that falls into their laps—but Daniel’s medical profile and self-awareness elevate that story into something far greater. Daniel will not get better, so there is an urgency to his involvement. He’s not seeking answers and trying to help this student because he’s antsy and frustrated; he’s doing it to leverage all he has to do for others what the people in his life do for him.In any event, How Lucky succeeds on all fronts. I snickered, I pondered, I cried; my heart raced as I worried about fictional characters. This is a top-shelf book that reads light but carries with it surprising oomph, not unlike Daniel’s chair. And Chapter 49 is one of my favorite things I’ve ever read and took conscious restraint to not highlight every line of.How Lucky is a good one.

Reviewer: Amazon Customer
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Loved learning about SMA but book has a ton of bad language which distracts from the story
Review: I enjoyed how the book talks about SMA and I loved the great friendship that was between the two main characters. The only down side is this book has so much bad language, drinking and pot smoking. That really distracted from the story for me. I would have enjoyed it so much more without all of that. It wasn't necessary.

Reviewer: J. A. Mathews
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: An excellent read!
Review: This book surprised me. I honestly had no idea where it was going initially, and it ended up being a complete surprise. The characters are well-drawn and believable, and the narrator’s voice is believable (mostly). I enjoyed it.

Reviewer: Cozmickid80
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Amazing protagonist
Review: This is not the type of book I usually read, but it seemed interesting, so I took a chance. Glad I did. Loved the pacing, and like many, I suspect, I didn't know a damn thing about SMA.The main character is wonderful. I found him interesting, funny, brave, quirky; you know, like a real person, with flaws and fears and contradictions galore. Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, Daniel might be the best character I've read in quite a long while.The pacing was great and the dialogue snappy and real. There was a fair amount of current social and political stuff in this book as well, all of it from one side of the spectrum, if you like, that sometimes annoyed, or that made me roll my eyes a bit. But, as I said, the main character was so likeable and sincere in his humanity, that I felt like overlooking those things, just as if he were a real person you befriended, even though he votes for the 'wrong' candidate and always has CNN on in his house.Life is like that.

Reviewer: Swati Trivedi
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Well I have two ratings for the book for the first 100 pages it’s just takes too long to set it up and the rest of the book flies by like a banger… give it a read… for you have lived too

Reviewer: Amazon Customer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: This book is exceptionally well written. I learned a lot about a disease I wasn't at all familiar with, but I learned it in an enjoyable and interesting way. The characters were so easy to "see" and "hear" in my mind - vivid and likeable. The storyline was certainly different than what I'm often accustomed to and the story didn't drag in the least. Well done!

Reviewer: May
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: 主人公Daniel は筋肉が麻痺する進行性の病気を抱え車椅子生活。しかし仕事も持ち、介護者や友人の手を借りながら自立し充実した生活を送っている。ある日、自室の窓からよく見かけていた女子大生が失踪してしまったことから事件に巻き込まれていく。20代後半のDaniel が読者に話しかけてくれているような軽快な文体で、どんどん彼に親近感が沸いてきて、次々起こるハプニングにヒヤヒヤ、ハラハラ。ただDaniel のコンディションは決して笑い飛ばせるようなものではなく、物語は理想ではあるが現実はそうはいかないだろうな、と想像できてしまう。kindle 価格わずか￥250で十分楽しめたので、星5つにしたかったけど個人的に病気がメインになっている小説は苦手なので...。

Reviewer: Nadine Togneri
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Excellent read, uplifting.

Reviewer: Danny Katelnikoff
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Loved it.