Lucky T

Reviewed by Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com

Have you ever cleaned your room/closet and decided to donate your excess clothes to charity? Maybe it was a mother-ordered mandate to get rid of the clutter? Whatever the reason or inspiration, did you ever give away something you didn't really mean to give? What would you do to get it back?

Carrie's mother does just that. She gives Carrie's favorite T-shirt to the Help India foundation. Unfortunately, the T-shirt is not just a T-shirt. It was given to Carrie by her father, and she superstitiously believes it is the reason for every success in her young life. She must get it back.

Since the T-shirt is traveling to India, Carrie makes arrangements to travel there, too. Carrie show more arrives at the Help India headquarters to find herself bunking with several roommates in a hostel. The roommates are horrible, and India is nothing like she expected. She is assigned to the group building homes in Calcutta. Needless to say, Carrie seriously lacks building trade skills. From dropping a hammer on her flip-flop-exposed big toe to dropping a boxful of nails in wet concrete, Carrie is not very popular at the building site.

Much to her relief, Carrie meets Dee, who tells her about his work at the Calcutta Children's Shelter. When she's offered a chance to start volunteering there, she decides anything is better than her current situation. Her work with children is the beginning of a new understanding for Carrie. Maybe the T-shirt isn't that important after all.

When I started LUCKY T, I was frustrated with the whining of main character Carrie. As the storyline began to unfold, though, it gained depth and purpose, and everything fell into place. Kate Brian gives readers a chance to watch the growth of Carrie and what her experience teaches her about exactly what things/people are important in life. show less

In a light-hearted, easy-to-read novel, author Kate Brian tells the story of sophomore Carrie Fitzgerald, who has the perfect life: she’s a pretty, popular, straight-A student who’s dating the cutest guy in the school. However, this is all because of the lucky T-shirt her father bought her in Morocco. As soon as her mother donates the shirt to a clothing drive, everything starts to fall apart. Could life be worse? The shirt, of all places, is now in India. Carrie must of course track it down, even if it means traipsing across the world, with her worst enemy and terrible luck, to get it. The book is a combination of certain predictability and strange, crazy, unpredictable circumstances, but somehow works. It’s not great literature, show more but it’s an amusing, feel-good story — ironically, about not being shallow. show less

Have you ever cleaned your room/closet and decided to donate your excess clothes to charity? Maybe it was a mother-ordered mandate to get rid of the clutter? Whatever the reason or inspiration, did you ever give away something you didn't really mean to give? What would you do to get it back?
In "Lucky T" Carrie's mother gives Carrie's favorite T-shirt to the Help India foundation. Unfortunately, the T-shirt is not just a T-shirt. It was given to Carrie by her father, and she superstitiously believes it is the reason for every success in her young life. She must get it back, so Carrie makes arrangements to follow her T-shirt to India where she hopes to regain possession of it. At the Help India headquarters Carrie finds herself bunking show more with several horrible roommates in a hostel. India is nothing like she expected. She is assigned to the group building homes in Calcutta, but Carrie seriously lacks building skills. When she drops a hammer on her flip-flop-exposed big toe, and drops a boxful of nails in wet concrete, Carrie is not very popular at the building site. Fortunately, Carrie meets Dee, who tells her about the Calcutta Children's Shelter. She starts volunteers there and finds her work with children is the beginning of a new understanding. Maybe the T-shirt isn't that important after all. show less

Carrie is a typical teen – boyfriend, divorced parents, big future plans. Shes also very superstitious. This started when her dad sent her a lucky t-shirt. It seems like everything in her life just fell into place once she got that shirt – the school hottie asked her out, she got the lead in the play, and she aces every test. Then her mother donates her lucky t to Help India. When this happens, Carries luck vanishes-Jason breaks up with her, she fights with her best friend, her dad doesn't visit. Carrie sees one solution--go to India to track down her t. There, she learns that there may be more to life than boys and tests (maybe) and there may be more to luck than a t-shirt could ever bring.

I was a small bit hesitent to read this book. I was happily surprised, though. Carrie was really selfish and a bit annoying in the beginning of the book. By the end though her real charactor shined through and she was much more likeable. This book was a little deeper then expected which a nice surprise you dont always see in teen books. The ending was happy too.

This novel was full of adventure and fun that it was a really fun read. Kate Brian has a way of telling at story that has you rooting for the character as they change and develop through the course of their adventures. Through this book, Kate Brian also taught readers about good will, forgiveness, taking chances and taking responsibilities for your mistakes. It's definitely a book that gives more than your average young girl meets boy in foreign land.
I've been a fan of Kate Brian ever since reading Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys, which is one of my favourite YA books ever. Definitely read both of these books if you have the chance

Oh please. Could this heroine be any more full of herself? "Oooh, I can't help that I'm all legs." Oh well, I can't help that I'm all vomit. Go shoot yourself for being too pretty, why don't you?