By Isabelle M., South River High School
Love & Luck. Those two words are in fact, the basic guiding principles of this book. But the story encompasses so much more! It tells the story of Addie Bennet, a teenage girl with three older brothers. Addie and the closest brother to her in age, Ian, used to be super close, but the devastating thing that happened with Addie (something that isn't revealed until the end of the book), threatens their relationship with one another. When the siblings find themselves in Ireland for their aunt’s wedding, Addie finds a guidebook called Ireland for the Heartbroken and begins to read and complete the "homework" assigned within it to help heal her broken heart. She ends up on a crazy adventurous road trip with Ian and a new friend, in which they explore the treasures of Ireland. But Addie's relationship with Ian is falling apart and they fight constantly. And they're keeping secrets from their parents. Plus, a whole new trip changes their plans, and leads them on a whirlwind adventure!
It's a really wonderful story that manages to be high-spirited and fearless, but also heartfelt and sincere. You kind of have to go with the immense luck the characters seem to have, but the title makes that expected, and the plot isn't so out-there that it's hard to believe. This book will leave you feeling happy, content, and excited to wake up to another day to face the hardship and adventure that is life. I wasn't sure where the book was going at points, so it was fun to keep reading to find out.
Another interesting thing I liked about this story was that the writing was intriguing. Not just for the dialogue and inner thoughts of the characters, but also for the descriptions of Ireland. The characters felt relatable, and I had fun imagining what they would look like in real life. In fact, I'd love to see a movie made from this book!
Overall, I definitely enjoyed it, and am looking forward to the other books in the series such as Love and Gelato, but there was one thing I didn't like. The book tackled a relatively big and important issue, I won't spoil what it is, but never really went into detail about it. The focus was on the fallback from the issue, and how to get back up on your feet after something really bad happens, but I thought it was problematic to not talk about what caused the issue and how to not have it happen again. But, any teenager or young adult, girl or guy, should read this book! There's a huge emphasis on family and friendship along with getting back up from the challenges we face. I think this book was an interesting window to see into other perspectives and was a delight to read. Love and Luck was an enchanting, heartfelt, adventurous story that is most definitely worth picking up.
Click here to check out Love & Luck by Jenna Evans Welch.