Lucky Trimble, age ten (soon to be 11), returns with the 42 other Hard Panners in this sequel to the 2007 Newbery Award winner, The Higher Power of Lucky. Brigitte, Lucky’s adoptive mother from France, has opened a café and continues to seek American citizenship. Lincoln, Lucky’s best friend, is working on an entry for a contest sponsored by the International Guild of Knot Tyers. Lucky feels like a lump of boredom until she meets Paloma, who’s visiting Brigitte’s cafe with her geologist uncle. Lucky finagles a return visit for Paloma despite her new friend’s overprotective parents, and in the process of attempting to appear interesting, Lucky gets them both in trouble. Readers new to Hard Pan would be better off starting with Higher Power; the stories therein make this a richer experience. Patron’s second Lucky novel, much like the first, is about the strength of the families we create rather than those we’re born into. If Lucky’s brain crevices and her “glands” make one too many appearances, she can be forgiven because it’s so nice to have her back. (art not seen) (Fiction. 8-12)
