Get Lucky: A Novel (edition 2010)

I was really surprised hwo much I liked this book! It's classic chick lit, but not as goopy as some of them are. The main chararcter is flawed (real) and while she tries to do the right thing, it's not always easy. Or possible.

This would be a great book to read on vacation, on a plane, or on a snowy afternoon. It's an easy read and pretty compelling. ( )

You know when a book starts with the above lines you’re in for a humorous ride – especially when said book was authored by Katherine Center, whose previous novel, Everyone is Beautiful, was one of my favorite reads of 2009. Sarah Harper did indeed e-mail a link to an inappropriate website to her entire company – but her heart was in the right place. Her intentions didn’t count with the higher-ups, however, and Sarah finds herself out of a job.

Sarah heads home to Houston to spend Thanksgiving with her sister, Mackie, and her father. After years of trying, Mackie and her husband, Clive, have given up on having a baby. Sarah, newly adrift and looking for a purpose, offers to be a surrogate mother for their baby. It seems like a wonderful decision, a selfless way for Sarah to give her sister what she wants more than anything else. What Sarah doesn’t know is that this offer will stretch her in ways she never imagined, wreak havoc on her relationship with Mackie, and change the direction of her life.

Ms. Center has a gift for capturing the interior world of her characters and as I read, I groaned with Sarah over her mishaps, cried with her when she was missing her mother, and rejoiced over her triumphs. As a woman with three sisters, I could relate to the complicated closer-than-friends relationship that sisters share – a relationship that is full of as much frustration as it is love, but one that will stick around for life.

There are a few authors who are able to find the perfect balance of humor and authenticity when writing fiction for women, and Katherine Center is one of them. She has become one of my must-read authors. ( )

The premise for GET LUCKY hooked me instantly. One sister decides to be a surrogate mother for her infertile sister. As a sister, I was immediately intrigued because it is a thought that has crossed my mind as a major “what if” question. What if someone you loved with all your heart needed something HUGE from you; a kidney, a lung, a baby? Is there anything as life-changing as carrying a baby for nine months and then turning that baby over to someone else? I may sound shallow here, but if my sister is wearing a t-shirt I gave her I immediately start to feel regret for giving it up. I couldn’t even imagine the effect a baby would have on my life.

I am making light of a very serious and selfless gift. In all honesty, I can say that I would step in front of truck for my sister, that’s how strongly I feel about family love. So yes, I would probably be a surrogate mother if my sister needed it. Would you? And what would it be like after you hand that baby over?

Can you see how this storyline immediately can spark some interesting questions and internal debates? Now couple that with brilliant writing and a knack for hitting emotional chords with pitch perfect prose and you have GET LUCKY. I can’t tell you how much I loved this book! Katherine Center has yet to disappoint. I adored THE BRIGHT SIDE OF DISASTER as well as EVERYONE IS BEAUTIFUL. Here is a sample from the beauty that makes up this book.

Here is what I tell myself now: That it’s vital to learn how to make the best of things. That there is no tenderness without bravery. That if things hadn’t been so bad, they could never have gotten so good. And that it’s always better to have what you have then to get what you wanted. Except for this: Every now and then, when you are impossibly lucky, you rise above yourself – and get both.

Sarah Harper had a top advertising job in New York City that she lost simply by hitting send to a mass email. Lost and without a clear sense of where to land next, Sarah heads home. She runs into a past love, reconnects with her sister Mackie and learns about her father’s new girlfriend, Dixie, who dispenses gems of advice and is one of the most sparkling characters in the novel. I found myself highlighting most of Dixie’s words of wisdom, for example:

When we comfort others, we comfort ourselves.

GET LUCKY is an intimate novel that explores the relationship between sisters and daughters, friends and lovers. Center beautifully shows us that lives can be changed in an instant, sometimes in the smallest and most significant ways. Other times life changes in big sweeping gestures. It is up to each individual person to seek happiness in all the different aspects of change.

Trying to get her to broaden her perspective. There were so many components of a rich life. Love was one, sure. But so was friendship, so was helping people. So was taking walks, and singing, and wondering about things. I wanted to convince her that a real love, a better love, would come to her if she took the time to enrich some other – any other – part of her life. I wanted to convince her that there are some things we can only find when we we aren’t looking.

Katherine Center has an impeccable ability to take the smallest details of a life and make them profoundly beautiful. Center has a knack for creating the most charming characters and I am so looking forward to her next release. I think I am going to start a star-rating in my book reviews for the sole reason that I want to give GET LUCKY by Katherine Center 5 stars! ( )

This is a very entertaining novel about 2 very close sisters who share everything. After getting fired from her job in New York City, Sarah moves to Houston to be a surrogate for her sister, Mackie & her husband, Clive. Subplots include dealing with a mother's death, a new step-mother, romance & preservation of a library. This book is a very entertaining, quick read. Highly recommended for a beach read or a plane trip. ( )

Ms. Center became a part of my world last year after I read raving reviews for Everyone is Beautiful. Unfortunately I didn’t get the chance to read it. When I heard her latest book would be released in the spring of this year, I immediately added my name to the wait list. My only regret is I waited to start reading her books.

Get Lucky is a fascinating story between two sisters Sarah and Mackie. Sarah makes one careless decision which costs her her job. Uncertain what to do next, she flies home to spend the holidays with older sister Mackie. Mackie and her husband have attempted several times to conceive a child. When Mackie informs Sarah they have decided to give up, Sarah decides for once she will take care of Mackie and offers to become their surrogate. Little did each sister know the impact this will have on their lives.

What I liked most about Get Lucky were the relational themes throughout the novel. At first glance, it’s obvious the story is about sisterhood. Ms. Center delves deeper and explores parental relationships, the loss of relationships and forming new relationships. Just when we think everything is okay, the past has a nasty way of blindsiding us. Until that moment of sudden impact, little did we know it was there all along shaping us and protecting us in all our relationships. Center does a great job of examining the unhealed wounds of the past.

So, yes I’ll admit my first thought of Get Lucky was a quick, light read. But after reading the last page and closing the book, I realized it was much, much more than that. Take a lesson from me, don’t wait to read a book by Katherine Center. Get Lucky was my first read, but will not be the last. ( )