My oldest daughter found 10 Lucky Things That Have Happened to Me Since I Nearly Got Hit by Lightning by Mary Hershey this book on the library shelf and asked if she could check it out.
I read the first page and told her, “yes.”
“When you’re the kid of a crook, and you live in a small town, you can count on three things. First off, nobody, except maybe your mom, is ever going to ask you to watch their purse. Second, kids are going to make fun of you.”
I’ll let you read the book to read the third thing you can count on.
10 Lucky Things is a well-written story about a 10-year-old girl, Effie, her older sister and mother as they try to make their way through life after their father/husband went to jail for embezzlement. Effie’s mom is a basketball coach, so there’s lots of Team Meetings and pep talks between mother and daughters.
Effie is also struggling with friendship issues and the inevitable feeling of not fitting in at her small Catholic elementary school.
And when her mother’s college friend moves into her mother’s office, Effie goes on the defensive, in a major way.
It all comes to a head on the night of Effie’s first slumber party… with an unexpected outcome.
I enjoyed this story, but I wish that my 10-year-old hadn’t read it. Effie and her sister talk frequently about puberty and related issues. For girls dealing with these issues at a young age, this book would be appropriate. However, my 10-year-old isn’t, and wasn’t quite ready to read about it.
If that is a concern for you, I would recommend pre-reading this book before your daughter read it. Otherwise, I’d recommend your daughter be in 6th-grade before reading 10 Lucky Things. Either way, this book is a good book for a mother-daughter book club, even if it’s just you and your daughter.
Recommended for ages 11 and up.
Cultivating Readers 
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