Lucky Strikes by Louis Bayard

Once I started Lucky Strikes, I could not lay it down. The hiccups created by the author, intentional, funny, and totally engaging and sometimes surprising, all caught me like a fish on a hook. I hardly know how to describe the book, but suffice it to say that it was unlike most books I have read in the last few years. The storyline was entirely unique—seriously: have you read a story where when someone needs a father they snag a “hobo” who just fell out of a racing car onto the side of the road---or was he pushed? Nonetheless, instant father for a family much in need. What about a 11-year-old female protagonist who makes mistakes, tries to keep her sister and brother with her after their mother dies, and can fix virtually any car or truck? There are tons of truckers and odd sorts who are totally committed to the three kids and Brenda’s Oasis, the solitary gas station amidst a whole heap of service stations that one rich, owns-a-ton-of-service-stations bully that serves as keen backdrop and fabulous center of the story. Lucky Strikes is great fun, a perfect summer read with lemonade or on a rare rainy day during the month of July. Happy reading for certain!!