Lucky by Rachel Vail

Phoebe Avery has always been a lucky girl. Both of her parents are successful business people and she has lived in the lap of luxury for as long as she can remember. Everything she could ever want is at her fingertips and that's exactly the way she likes it. She's also having a ton of fun planning a big bash for her eighth grade graduation with her four best friends. Everything is perfectly coordinated and put in place and Phoebe knows that it's going to be the night of her life. Especially if she gets to wear that delicious green dress she saw in Teen Vogue in front of her on again, off again, sometimes, maybe boyfriend. Then something goes wrong. Phoebe's mom gets fired from her job and Phoebe is forced into the real world where money matters and people have to work for what they want. When Phoebe's check for the party arrangements bounces, she fears that everyone will find out about her misfortune and she won't be such a lucky girl anymore. Will she be able to pull through trials of friendship, money, and romance to show that she really is a strong Avery woman?

*scratches chin thoughtfully* It wasn't until after I finished this book that I realized that it was more of a middle grade book. And for that, I'm going to cut it some slack. While the characters were stereotypical and the plot events were cheesy and predictable, I guess this could still count as a decent book. I think the whole thing was rather boring though. I just wasn't jumping out of my seat with passion, excitement, surprise, or anything. Which kind of stinks. And with a cover as cool as this one, you'd expect a fabulous book to go along with it wouldn't you? And while it didn't meet my expectations, there's still a certain sort of earnest feeling about it. You could tell that the author wasn't so much about realism but about getting the message across which is laudable. It really is a good message. Phoebe came from this background of pampering and had to learn that not everything revolved around her. In the end she discovered that life isn't about the material things, it's about friendships and family; which is a message that should be driven home for middle grade girls everywhere. I really hate seeing those materialistic rich girls who get everything they want. It's a serious pet peeve of mine. And I'm not saying that people who are well-off are bad are horrible, far from it, just be smart about it. You know what I mean? Oh and the last thing that bugged me about this book was that all the girls were dating in, like sixth grade. I certainly didn't date or get any action when I was in middle school so I don't really know how realistic that aspect of the book was. Or maybe I was just a girl that no guy would want to go out with in middle school. Heh. Anyways, although Lucky wasn't astounding in any way, the message was cute and well meant which redeems the book somewhat. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the books in this trilogy from Phoebe's older sisters' perspectives. Hopefully I'll be able to relate to them more as they're closer to my age. :D