How Lucky
by Will Leitch
Review By: Ellen Pristash
Published: 2021, Harper
Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Contemporary, Mystery Thriller, Adult Fiction, Disability, Suspense
Audience: 12, Adult
Triggers: Heavy language, violence towards disabled people, kidnapping
Goodreads Review: 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: The mystery story itself in this book is good as is the lesson of empathy, but the strong language was a turn off. Many instances I thought the strong language was unnecessary. The main character Daniel is twenty-one, is strong-willed and really speaks to the reader. He has SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy), confined to a wheelchair. Because of this progressive disease most of his body doesn’t work, drives his wheelchair with one hand. He lives on his own (with help from home aids and a friend), a
choice he made so his mom could move on with her life. Daniel is sitting on his front porch one morning, witnesses a young college student getting into a car, sees the driver’s boot, and his hat. He calls the police. After a vigil for the missing girl Daniel decides to go online to find any posts about her, posts some of what he saw, gets a response from a person who claims he has the girl. The police believe it’s a regular loner they follow online and move on. Daniel continues to correspond with the loner. With each correspondence Daniel is becoming more scared. Daniel gets an email in Chinese, the loner gets upset with Daniel because the police search his house and then the story becomes more intense. The kidnapper makes his move on Daniel, attacks him, one of the home aids, Daniel breaks free in his wheelchair, the kidnapper catches him, holds him hostage in Daniel’s home. Daniel makes one last effort to break free just as help arrives. As I read this story, I found myself cheering for Daniel and feeling sad for him, upset at what happens to him, laughing at times, and feeling the suspense, but again wishing some of the strong language was omitted. Knowing our student population, this is not a book I will add to my collection.
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