My New Friend, "LUCKY STRIKES" by Louis Bayard

 

Me and my new friend, Lucky Strikes by Louis Bayard

Hi. My name is Bobby Keniston, and my only friends are books. And sometimes, a friend can make you feel young at heart. 

Which brings me to today's new friend, Lucky Strikes by Louis Bayard. Louis Bayard is probably best known for his historical mysteries, including Mr. Timothy, a Victorian novel about a grown-up Tiny Tim. Lucky Strikes is also historical, taking place in the fictional Walnut Ridge, Virginia, during the Great Depression. But this novel is geared more toward late middle-grade readers (probably around 8th grade) and young adults, due to some of the themes and a bit of PG-13 language... well, more than a bit. 

I am no snob about children's, middle-grade, and YA literature. I enjoy reading it all. As a matter of fact, most of my income comes from the plays I have written for children, middle-grade and young adult audiences and performers. That's right. I'm a playwright. Have I not mentioned this? You can learn more about my work by CLICKING HERE. 

HOW I MET MY NEW FRIEND

In my hometown, there is a store called The Dollar Tree. Perhaps you have one in your town, too. I saw Lucky Strikes, liked the cover, thought the inside blurb sounded interesting, so I picked it up. 

Seriously book lovers: don't assume that The Dollar Tree just has garbage. Yeah, a lot of the books look pretty bad, but I have also found a number of mainstream literary novels in hardcover editions there, like Jonathan Safran Foer's Here I Am,  Jonathan Lethem's The Feral Detective, and most recently, Lawrence Ferlinghetti's Little Boy. And there are others. 

So don't just breeze by, assuming that there is nothing at your local Dollar Tree worth reading. You might be surprised. 

ABOUT MY NEW FRIEND

Lucky Strikes (also the name of a popular cigarette brand), is told by Amelia Hoyle, living in Walnut Ridge, VA, with her family. She tells us right in the first sentence that "Mama died hard, you should know that", but there is no time for much grieving. At only 14, Amelia has been taking care of everyone while her mother was ailing, keeping up the family gas station and convenience store, named Brenda's Oasis. After burying her mother with the help of her younger siblings, Janey and Earle, she gets to down to the business of keeping her family together. With the help of her mother's lawyer friend Chester, she goes through options, but has no real solid plan until one literally rolls off  of a coal truck and lands by her gas pumps. This is Hiram Watts, a vagabond, hobo, call him what you will. Amelia cleans him up, gets him off the sauce, and makes a deal with him:  she'll give him shelter and food in exchange for him pretending to be the father she's never known. 

Throughout the novel, we learn that Amelia is a gifted mechanic like her mother, and has earned the respect of a whole handful of truckers who only trust her to fix their trucks. And Hiram turns out to have quite a history himself, spinning yarns about being an actor, a ladies' hat salesman, and his travels to Hong Kong. They begin to form a strange, but unexpectedly warm family unit. 

If only the awful Harley Blevins, the local rich guy who owns a bunch of Standard Oil stations, wasn't intent on driving Brenda's Oasis out of business, using nefarious means he will never be punished for, since he has the local Sheriff and judges in his pocket. 

Watching Amelia make her way the best way she knows how is the real joy of this book. 

WHAT I LIKE BEST ABOUT MY NEW FRIEND

Amelia's voice is what really makes this book a fun, fast, terrific read. She is a smart, strong, resourceful, young woman who, despite the toughness projected, gives off a great deal of warmth and love. Bayard makes her a very believable protagonist and narrator, and, at the end, when we realize who she's telling the story to, it is a lovely little surprise. 

As Booklist said in its starred review, it is "A darn good yarn". 

BUT JUST ONE THING...

I understand that the entire cast being white is probably accurate for its time and place--- I get that. But I could have done without the mention of The War Between the States (a "South Will Rise Again" type name for the Civil War), though, again, it is what Amelia probably would have called it. And it seemed a bit unnecessary when Amelia, when going to discuss business with the nefarious Harley Blevins, was surprised he didn't have a "darkie" servant opening the door. It could have been worse, and again, it is probably a word that Amelia would have used, but it seemed like a simple enough sentence to excise without losing anything at all. 

FINAL TAKEAWAY

I am glad The Dollar Tree helped me find this book. I enjoyed the heck out of it, and introduced me to a new author. I am most curious to check out some of Mr. Bayard's historical mysteries. 

Let me know what you think in the comments below.