Lucky Cap (review)

In his new position as general manager of a high-end athletic-gear company, Enzo’s dad spent the summer hitting up sports arenas and hobnobbing with some of the greatest athletes of all time—and Enzo was right there with him. After spending six weeks with his dad on the “most amazingest trip in the history of time,” the eleven-year-old is not at all looking forward to the end of summer and the beginning of middle school. A funny thing happens on his first day of sixth grade, however: instead of being picked on or ignored, Enzo is suddenly attracting all the right kind of attention—the jocks invite him into their circle, the cheerleaders seem to be checking him out, and within the first week, he makes the basketball team and is nominated for class president. Enzo attributes all this newfound glory to his lucky cap, a one-of-a-kind prototype from his dad’s company and signed by LeBron James. When the hat is stolen from his locker, Enzo’s luck takes a drastic change for the worse, and soon his status as the school’s new superstar is in jeopardy. Predictable from beginning to end, this familiar story doesn’t cover any new ground, but its well-worn message of believing in oneself is still a valuable one. Enzo’s voice is categorically that of a preteen boy, and while he isn’t always totally likable, his hapless flounderings and often self-centered motivations instill the narration with a certain sense of authenticity. This lacks the breezy wackiness of Jennings’ recent Guinea Dog (BCCB 6/10), but aspiring sports heroes—and future politicians, for that matter—might want to try their luck with this tale of the perks and downfalls of middle-school fame.