Lucky

by Eddie de Oliveira

A clever debut about love, sex, and everything in between, for anyone who's ever fallen for a friend (come on, admit it) Sam is a teen boy who's attracted to both boys and girls. He doesn't know what... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0439546559
• ISBN13: 9780439546553
• Release Date: February 2004
• Publisher: Push
• Length: 239 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.1" x 7.0"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

A Book For Older Teens

Lucky is a story that describes how cruel people can be. The author tells us how he thinks we should deal with such cruelty. This is a young adult novel that shows us love has no labels. It is easy for teens to relate to what the author is saying. I would not recommend this book to children, but to very mature teenagers. It would be a little hard to understand being a younger child. This book is easy for teens to relate to what the author is saying. It is an interesting, well written book that tells teenagers to look past labels and find the true personality of a person. Although a young adult novel, it demands that the readers have a mature outlook on life. The story offers a means of opening discussions with teens about sexuality.

I wanted to see one more act

Eddie De Oliveira is an extremely talented young writer. Seeing that he was born in 1979 was rather humbling. With another book to be released in August 2005, he has overcome what we in the writing industry call "resistance", and is a true professional, practicing his vocation - as opposed to an amateur who plays around with his avocation. The description of the relationship between Sam and Toby - and HIM - is extremely realistic and tangible. It was difficult not to pity Sam as he found his attractions for Toby growing exponentially, although Toby remained distant. And then when Toby met Lucy, a girl that Sam saw first and fancied, although Toby approached her and hit her up, Sam's and Toby's relationship went into a tailspin. Oliveira did an excellent job getting directly into Sam's head with regard to his fears, concerns and conflicts regarding sexuality. Am I straight - I *am* attracted to girls. Am I gay - I *am* attracted to guys. Am I bisexual - I *am* attracted to boys and girls. Sam actually searched the dictionary to try to find the right word to describe what he felt, and ultimately decided that he couldn't label himself. I've always referred to that as: you love who you love. If you love a girl, you love a girl. If you love a guy, you love a guy. I felt there was a little too much rumination and focus on soccer, as opposed to direct action - such as dialogue, interaction between characters, etc. While the latter certainly existed, it seemed that rumination captured the majority. I also felt that his declaration of his sexuality came at a very strange time, and I was completely taken by surprise. That said, "coming out", whether as a bisexual, trisexual, whatever - sometimes just happens as it happens, and there is no real reason behind why or when. However, I thought there was a third act that was missing here, and that would be Sam's interaction with HIM, the guy he had been casually eyeing and flirting with at soccer games. I understand that we our own imagination could fill the blanks for us, but after declaring a label-less bisexuality, his first romance with a guy would have introduced an entirely new element, and one that I think we should have seen. My recommendation would have been less rumination, and a final act with HIM.

live without labels

To label or not to label; that is the question. Everyone, at some time or another, asks themselves the question: Who am I? In this book, Sam - a British, football-playing teen, asks himself this question and finds there's no easy answer. Sam struggles with his friendships - from his new friend Toby, who nearly tells their football team that Sam might like boys, to the new hot girl, Lucy, who becomes more than just a third wheel. Sam does this all while hiding out on the toilet, pondering his own sexuality. Not only did this book made me laugh out loud, but Eddie De Oliveira's skill at examining the complex inner-lives of his characters moved me as well. I especially loved the moments where Sam connects with a boy across the field at a football match, and they develop an unspoken quasi-relationship after months and months of seeing each other and saying nothing. It is the hope displayed in these moments which moves LUCKY along, and makes you want to keep reading - to find out if Sam will actually say yes, and take that first step into learning who he really might be... even if it is without a label.

Hilarious

I loved this book! I laughed from cover to cover and found it really hard to put down. The characters were brilliant, the plot was exciting and the setting (England) provided a great background for this story to be told.