The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had

I don't have a single complaint about this book. It was well-written, enjoyable, and I learned a little something about being 13 years old in small-town Alabama in 1918. I'd be happy if it got a Newbery nod.

The story's told by Dit, one of ten children, who is just your average kid until he befriends the daughter of the town's new postmaster: a super smart girl named Emma, who is black. Because it's 1918 and rural Alabama, their friendship is uncomfortable for many townspeople, both black and white. But it evolves naturally. Emma helps Dit with school. Dit teaches Emma, a city girl, how to play baseball. There's not a whole lot of plot until a fight between the awful white sheriff and a kind black barber results in a crime that rocks show more the small town--and Dit and Emma get involved in setting things right.

Because the chapters were short and filled with great details, I didn't mind at all that it took the story some time to get going. First-time author Levine was so great at setting the scene that the climax was ultimately pretty believable (which is rare in these kinds of books). Dit's moral development, and his understanding of race relations and history, never felt preachy or didactic.

This is one of those books that will be equally enjoyable for girls and boys, I think. While it is indeed about racism (the n-word is used quite a bit), it's also about friendship between a boy and a girl, and how bonding with a person who's different from you can change your life. In that way, it reminded me of [b:Bridge to Terabithia|2839|Bridge to Terabithia|Katherine Paterson|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1161661043s/2839.jpg|2237401], which is a pretty high compliment in my book. show less

Finishing this book on the same day that the Newbery and Caldecott and other children's and young adult book awards were announced brought real meaning to Kate Messner's poem that she posted on her blog-- "What Happened to Your Book Today." This story of the friendship between white Dit and black Emma in 1917 Alabama is beautifully told. You would never know this is Levine's first novel-- I had trouble putting it down to attend to various weekend activities. It may not have one of those gold or silver medals on it, but this book is truly a winner.

Set in Moundville, Alabama in 1917 this charming juvenile novel was based on the author's grandfather's handwritten memoir.

Folks who didn't grow up in the South may not "buy" that children of different races played together and often became friends, and Levine's story captures perfectly the truth that among White Southerners there was (and still is) a vast difference between those who were (and are) unencumbered by prejudice, those who hold their prejudice inside and allow graciousness and good manners to take precedence over personal feelings, and those who are just "no count." In my own experience as a child growing up in the South in the 1960's, I can tell you that if I had ever used the "n" word, or been otherwise contemptuous of show more those of other races I would have had my mouth washed out with soap.

But I digress.

Dit and Emma become very good friends when her father comes to Moundville to serve as Postmaster there. No one in town was expecting Mr. Walker and his family to be black, but Dit is more crushed when he finds out that the Postmaster's child (whom he'd been told was a boy) turns out to be a bookish girl.

Their friendship develops in spite of all their differences and more than a little peer pressure, and in many ways I was reminded of another great story of childhood friendships that has long been a favorite -- Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson.

Levine's understated writing drew me in, and the bittersweet ending was powerful. show less

In Moundville, Alabama, in 1916, "Dit" is eagerly awaiting the new postmaster's arrival, because he has a 12 year old child. He is shocked when the postmaster arrives, and the family is black... and the child is a girl. Emma turns out to be both smart and well educated. Dit's mother always taught him that you don't have to like anybody, but you do have to be nice to everyone. Dit and Emma rapidly go from tolerating each other, to getting along, to becoming close friends.
Everyone in town is not so agreeable to a black girl and a white boy being friends, and the grumpy, bullying, usually half-drunk sheriff, "Big Foot," is the worst. Eventually a chain of events in which Dit and Emma are both involved, leads to violence and a death.
By show more turns funny, sweet, sad, and tragic, "The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had" is definitely added to my list of all time favorite books. Emma and Dit will always have a place in my heart. show less

I LOVED this book. What an amazing and touching story of two children that became unlikely friends. Each child gave the other something that they were lacking and a insight on parts of life that they were not faimiliar with. This is one of my new all time favorite books and one that I will look forward to share with my students. I must admit that this book touched me emotionally and brought tears to my eyes. Great story!

The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had tells the tale of a boy named Harry "Dit" Sims and Emma Walker. These two are the most unlikely to becomes friends. The book takes place during 1917 in small town. The two friends get much controversy over their friendship because Dit is white and Emma is black. Unfortunately, this is not socially acceptable in their town. The book goes through their trials as friends but also has them work together in order to save Doc, their town barber, from a terrible sentence. It is a compelling tale and I would highly suggest it for a unit study.

Dit befriends Emma, daughter of the town's new black postmaster. Their unlikely friendship teaches Dit valuable lessons about the nature of true friendship, personal sacrfice and justice. I enjoyed the folksy tone of Dit's narrative and several lively characters, such as Jim Dang It. But the flaws stuck out like stones in my shoe. Dit and his father sharing a table at the diner with Emma and her father, as well as sitting together at the circus seems highly unlikely in 1917 Alabama. And the plotline about saving Doc Haley from a hanging undergoes various contortions to make a happy ending for the sake of suspense. If not for these chafing flaws, this would be a solid book about seeing past skin color.