Just Our Luck by Julia Walton (review)

Walton, Julia Just Our Luck. Random House, 2020 [272p] Trade ed. ISBN 9780399550928 $17.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9780399550942 $10.99 Reviewed from digital galleys Ad Gr. 8-12

High school junior Leo prefers knitting to spending time with classmates, since yarn crafts help his anxiety, while other people just invoke his family's long-standing bad luck. Worse yet, Leo's dad now thinks he need self-defense classes, and Leo's desperate attempt to avoid them only ends with him in hot yoga instead. Soon, though, hobbies old and new put him in the path of fellow Greek-American Evey Paros, who quickly ensnares him in an unexpected revenge plot. This string of events ultimately conspires to draw Leo out of his shell, where, rather predictably, he finds a happier self, a few true friends, and a potential romance. Despite its thoughtfully constructed portrait of generalized anxiety disorder, the novel offers little that readers haven't seen before in the storyline. The journal-entry format leads to a lot of front-loaded explication over plot, until the action eventually picks up and more dialogue is introduced, and it means the reader never escapes Leo's head. This works in its favor, though, when he shifts from whiny self-pity to other-focused confidence without sacrificing what makes him unique. It's a feel-good story, with shades of Holes and The Karate Kid, useful for readers who appreciate tales of an awkward outsider-turned-hero with acknowledged weaknesses and unexpected strengths.