The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron

Utterly delightful. Downright charming. A beautiful little book marred by stupid controversy. “The Higher Power of Lucky” came out of nowhere this year to win the most coveted award in children’s literature, the Newbery. A slim volume and tremendously fast read at 133 pages, it is a simple tale richly told. Lucky is a 10½ year old girl living on the edge of the Mojave Desert. Two years earlier, her mother was killed in a freak accident. Lucky, a girl whose innocence and curiosity rings very true, spends the story trying to understand that which is fairly difficult even for adults to comprehend – the nature of life, love and loss. We begin as Lucky listens in on an AA meeting, understanding only that a “Higher Power” is something deeply desirable. She hears much that she doesn’t understand, including the word “scrotum”. And herein lies the controversy. Condemned by school librarians across the country (according to a New York Times article) the book is already being widely banned in a number of school districts. The language is deemed “inappropriate” for young children and “unnecessary to the plot”, some saying that it was placed in the book only for titillation. I couldn’t disagree more. Susan Patron, in the same NY Times article, said the word “scrotum” was “delicious”. As a cursory reading of the opening passages will indicate, the prose here is stunning. To say so much with such economy is a gift among writers, and a book of this quality, IMHO, has not been seen among the Newbery winners in quite a number of years. The “word” ***is*** important, because it shows Lucky’s childlike view of the world. She sees and hears much around her, but hasn’t quite figured out what all the pieces mean. Lucky does what many bright young children do, she attempts to make the unknown fit into her own private reasoning. What doesn’t fit, she creatively makes up stories about. From an adult perspective, there is a sweet nostalgia to her world view. A fond remembrance of the time when our “newness” in the world brought a kind of clarity. Perhaps, under their hysterical harping, this is what all the censors are really concerned about. The protagonist is a child, the book is short, there are even pictures … but it is not a child’s book. The humor is subtle, sly, and at times employs a gentle irony. Would a ten year old “get it” on that level? Probably not. But how many kids would understand and connect to Lucky’s sense of a life that is out of her control? How many kids would know exactly why she takes “a survival bag” with her everywhere so that she will always be safe? As a Newbery Medal winner, this book will be read, and if my gut has anything to say about it, this one is going to be a sentimental favorite for years to come. Take that, you book banners, you. Scrotum, scrotum, scrotum.