Lolly Luck

It is on Lollyanna’s 11th birthday that things start to go wrong.  Lolly has always thought of herself, fittingly since her surname is Luck, as a lucky person but even she cannot make everything good when her dad loses his job. Financial problems escalate and the family have to move to a tiny flat on a rundown estate, Lolly’s school work begins to suffer and she risks losing her starring role in the school play. The strain impacts on her parents’ marriage and they start to argue. Then during one of their rows, Lolly hears a secret not intended for her ears and her world is suddenly turned upside down…

This is an assured debut from a writer who is of Afro-Caribbean descent and whose heroine shares this background. Told in the first person by Lolly, the narrative flows easily in a button holing, chatty style that conjures up events at home and at school from the point of view of its lively, likeable heroine. At the same time Daines conveys subtly the powerful emotions provoked by the stressful events that occur – although the word is not used, it is clear for example that dad is suffering from depression as his job search comes to nothing.  Lolly’s feelings about having to leave her childhood home when the mortgage payments can’t be met and her fear that her parents will divorce are also handled sensitively and with a light touch. The story is also full of excellently observed detail of the things that interest older primary children.

This is a strong contemporary story very well pitched for younger readers.