Book Review: How Lucky

by Jessica Oravec

 

We say we are lucky if we find money in the couch or an old coat pocket. We think we are lucky when we narrowly avoid a car accident. But our luck (good or otherwise) depends upon our perspective and our circumstances. In Will Leitch’s novel, How Lucky, Daniel considers himself to be a lucky guy.

 

Daniel lives in Athens, Georgia, home of epic college tailgates. He has a steady paycheck working in customer service for an airline, and he gets to see his best friend every day. But Daniel also has a debilitating disease, one that has robbed him of the ability to speak, walk, and occasionally, to breathe. But he lives on his own, he has caregivers who come in both day and night to make sure he is safe, and he and his best friend, Travis, can carry on an entire conversation without saying a word out loud.

 

Daniel’s daily routine works well for him until, as luck would have it, he’s almost sure that he sees a woman kidnapped. Ai-Chin Liao walks by Daniel’s house almost every day. One day, he sees her get into a car, and she isn’t heard from again. Daniel tries to tell the police what he saw but is unable to make them understand. So, he surfs the internet, trying to help. But when a post he made on Reddit brings some unwanted attention, Daniel will face the fight of his life to save Ai-Chin, his friends, and himself.

 

Leitch does a wonderful job of balancing Daniel’s story with the disappearance of Ai-Chin Liao. In a genre when most “detectives” are fully able people, it is refreshing to read about a character who refuses to let his debilitating disease win. How Lucky is about luck and determination, and how we can consider ourselves lucky despite our circumstances.