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Jun 23, 2014litriocht rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Twelve-year-old Summer and her younger brother, Jaz, are under the care of her grandparents for the duration of this year's harvest season. Summer's parents, who would ordinarily be in charge, have been dispatched to Japan for the summer to take care of elderly relatives. The unexpected trip to Japan is not the only piece of bad luck the family has endured recently. Earlier in the year, Summer almost died due to a rare case of malaria that she acquired from a mosquito bite. As a result, Summer has developed an intense fear of mosquitoes. She habitually drenches herself in DEET and attempts to avoid mosquitoes. Gathering ripe wheat is a time-sensitive task, so the drivers of harvesting vehicles must work extremely long days to reap the crop before it spoils. When Jiichan, the grandfather, becomes too ill to drive for an entire workday, the family becomes worried that they will be fired. Another solution simply must be found or their mortgage will go unpaid. Despite her phobia of nighttime insects that bite, Summer summons the courage to drive a combine in Jiichan's place. Arguments and conversations are portrayed with humor. Summer feels close to Jiichan, but is constantly challenged by her interactions with Obaachan, her grandmother, and Jaz. Jiichan and Obaachan bicker like siblings, full of love for each other despite their trivial arguments. As Summer's mom phrases it, if you have been in a marriage for "that number of years, you no longer had to be polite all the time" (5). In fact, all Summer's family relationships portrayed in this book are like that: not especially polite, but supportive nonetheless. Just as Summer gets advice from her elders, her younger brother asks her complicated questions about life. Quirky relatives are a prominent feature of this book. One of the most droll aspects of the way Kadohata portrays family life is found in the adults' tendency to tell outright lies to the children for didactic purposes. Ken Jennings wrote a book, Because I Said So! : The Truth Behind the Myths, Tales and Warnings Every Generation Passes Down to its Kids, in which he debunks well-meaning lies that older generations tell younger generations. In The Thing about Luck, this type of prevarication is amusingly strewn throughout the plot. For instance, when Summer and Jaz are invited to drink a soda, they refuse "because Obaachan said bubbly things make little explosions inside of children, which can kill you eventually" (170). Perhaps I find this aspect of the novel especially hilarious because the elders in my family are guilty of this behavior; one such lie was that my grandparents' miniature poodle bit off the first joint of my grandfather's finger. In any event, read this book if you enjoy cantankerous grandparent characters.