The Thing About Luck

There is bad luck, good luck, and making your own luck-which is exactly what Summer must do to save her family in this winner of the National Book Award by Newbery Medalist Cynthia Kadohata.

Summer knows that kouun means “good luck” in Japanese, and this year her family has none of it. Just when she thinks nothing else can possibly go wrong, an emergency whisks her parents away to Japan-right before harvest season. Summer and her little brother, Jaz, are left in the care of their grandparent...