How Lucky - Opinion and Review

How Lucky by Will Leitch was the book chosen for our virtual book club for May, and I'm SO HAPPY that it was! This book is easily one of the top books I've read in 2021.

The book starts off very different than anything I had read before. The narrator isn't just speaking in 1st person, but speaking directly to the reader. He's smart, witty, and seems to have a completely normal life. That is until you find out that he's suffering from a disease that should've killed him many years ago. Daniel has SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy), and as he explained it, SMA is ALS but for kids. His muscles are basically useless, and he's 100% wheelchair bound, and unable to communicate any way other than his computer by typing with his left hand. However, this doesn't stop him from trying to have as normal of a life as possible for someone in his position. He lives on his own, with 24 hour care, has a job, and a best friend who's just your typical young 20's college boy (Travis is hilarious). Additionally, Daniel's mother never treated him like he was disabled, but always instilled in him the knowledge that he could do anything he wanted to do, but that he would have just a few more obstacles to overcome.

One day, Daniel notices that the girl who usually walks past his house like clockwork isn't there. He takes it upon himself to try to figure out what happened to her. In a strange twist of fate, he finds her abductor on Reddit of all places, and communicates with him via the internet. Through a couple different series of events, he comes face to face with the young student's abductor, in a few scenes that are very hard to read (so TRIGGER WARNING: HARMING OF THE DIFFERENTLY ABLED). It was the perfect mixture of mystery and action for a book that seemingly shouldn't have any of that.

I loved this book! I told everyone and anyone who would listen to me about it the storyline! I've already recommended it to more people than I could count. I gave How Lucky by Will Leitch 5 out of 5 well-deserved stars.

Dates read: May 25, 2021 - May 27, 2021