"The Higher Power of Lucky" by Susan Patron was the recipient of the 2007 Newbery Medal. It is the insightful (and controversial) story of a ten-year-old girl named Lucky. At times heartfelt and sad, it is not a depressing book. It balances genuine humor with serious topics--like death, parental abandonment, parental imprisonment, and addiction.
I loved Patron's writing style. She nailed her main character's "voice" and "point of view." She writes in the third person point of view, yet--unless you are paying attention--you almost think she is writing in the first person, because she just completely nails Lucky's voice! She is a stunning writer. Like the truly gifted storyteller that she is, Patron does not get in the way of her story. She does not allow her own voice, her own psyche, her own ego to interfere. It is as if you--the reader--are being told the story by Lucky herself. And again: Patron manages this bit of magic without writing in the first person.
Patron's writing dazzled me. In addition to her deft use of voice and point of view, she is equally skilled with character development. There is an age old question among writers: which is more important, plot or character? Clearly, Patron is a master in the character department. Her characters come alive. My favorite character was Miles, a sympathetic five-year-old boy and a friend of Lucky's. One of his quirks involves cookie-hunting. The author writes, "Miles had done a thorough cookie-availability check with everyone in town at one time or another. He was an expert on who had what kind of cookies, who would give him one, and where they stored them. He made his cookie rounds every day." If that doesn't paint a picture of being five, then I don't know what does!
Another great character is Brigitte, Lucky's Guardian. Brigitte also happens to be Lucky's father's first wife; she is from France and comes to California to care for poor Lucky, whose mother died and whose father wants nothing to do with her. You get the sense that Lucky thinks of her Guardian as a foreign, ethereal goddess. Lucky likes Brigitte but fears that she will leave and return to France, since she only agreed to care for the child temporarily.
Lincoln, another lovably quirky character, is Lucky's best friend...and possible crush. Lincoln has a quirky penchant for tying knots. In fact, at age 10, he is a member of the International Guild of Knot Tyers. He reads their monthly newsletter cover to cover and is perpetually engaged in tying and untying knots. Later, Lucky sees Lincoln's knot tying talents as a kind of art, as a special way of seeing.
On the topic of character development, Patron is fearless with her protagonist. What I mean is this: she is not afraid to show Lucky's faults. At one point in the story, she makes Lucky be extremely mean to one of the more sympathetic characters. Many authors, I think, would be afraid of doing that, thinking that it may alienate readers.
Unfortunately, Patron's stellar writing talents have been overshadowed by the controversial use of the word of "scrotum". Lucky hears that her friend's dog gets bitten on his scrotum. Patron writes, "Scrotum sounded to Lucky like something green that comes up when you have the flu and cough too much. It sounded medical and secret, but also important."
Although the word is one part of a beautiful and complicated story, some librarians are banning it from their libraries. I understand the controversy; however, the story is too gorgeous, too important not to be told--just because it uses a highly clinical, anatomical word for a body part. In my view, Patron is not some writer-version of Lady Gaga or Madonna. What they lack in talent, they make up for in churning contoversy. On the contrary, Patron is a remarkable writer who happened to use the word "scrotum".
And the use of that word is part of Patron's story. But it isn't the whole story.
To deny children the chance to read this stellar book because of the use of the word "scrotum" smacks of censorship.
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