Lucky Boy

"Heartfelt and utterly original; a book about an unlikely alliance that should touch readers of all ages." - Kirkus Reviews

Lucky Boy is about a 13-year-old misfit, Max, whose glasses don't fit right; his pretty and popular 15-year-old sister, Sadie, who is on the verge of making some bad decisions; and their developmentally delayed little brother Gabe, whose inability or unwillingness to talk confounds even the experts.

The story begins with a small fire and the unannounced arrival of the Buras family's self-professed "black sheep," Dewey Tomlinson, who is some kind of cousin to their mother. Max invites "Uncle Dewey" to school for show and tell -- the man has a very cool tow truck, after all -- and they later become friends while making regular visits to the video poker sites in town, raking in the winnings.

Dewey, a beaten-down loner with a shady past, is what polite society might call a lost cause, but he begins to find himself in Boise. He insists Max, his second cousin twice removed, is a lucky boy, and his "good mojo" is making the machines pay out.

Against his better judgment, Max -- also a lost cause, popularity wise -- begins to believe it, too. He starts to think maybe he's fated to be something more than misfit Max with the misshapen head. Sadie, meanwhile, rethinks her rush to grow up. And when Max, Gabe and Dewey link hands on Halloween night, and Gabe suddenly begins to find his voice for the first time, Max starts to suspect larger forces at work.

Lucky Boy is a meditation on luck, alchemy, and life's unlimited capacity for surprise.