I'm proud to announce Just My Luck is
now available as a paperback from Amazon.
Just My Luck is a book for confident readers of around 8 to13 years old. Dynamic and radical, Just My Luck deals with race issues in inner cities in the present day and in a historical context.
I first had the idea for this book when skimming through the Sunday supplements one afternoon and was suddenly absorbed by an article on genetic history….the story of people who’d discovered that they have ancestors that did not belong to the cultural, social, national or even racial group they always imagined they were part of. I cut it out, for no better reason than it was interesting. As a writer, I keep things that are interesting, putting them into my Commonplace Book...a shoe box full of little snippets of interest.
I started to write a story about a girl who discovered she had black African ancestry, despite being blonde with blue eyes. This girl became Helen, who, at the end of the story, is still a little discombobulated by the discovery... “I thought I knew who I was. I’ve always known who I was. And now, I’m not sure any more.”
Researching racial tension and prejudice closely, it became clear that, despite huge awareness of these problems, things were almost no better for black and minority people...and especially worrying for children, who are often taunted, bullied and even physically attacked because of the colour of their skin. My main character and narrator, Brandon, doesn't articulate this directly. Instead, after thirteen years of warding off what other people think of him, believes he's been handed all the bad luck in the world...I’m the one who gets ketchup down me when we all bite into burgers. I’m the one who gets the puncture when we all ride over broken glass. That’s my luck – non-existent. It doesn’t worry me too much. I’m a bit of a comedian, I usually turn things into a joke.
Bristol dock at the height of the slave trade
On a trip to the Bristol ice rink with Helen, a racist gang threatens the two friends. Brandon insists Helen gets her dad to take her home, while he stays to face the gang. Brandon knows this is just his luck...and his problem. But Helen and her Dad have not gone home. They arrive just in time to save Brandon from a beating. But this scare makes Brandon clam up; he refuses to acknowledge what has happened and refuses to go to the police, even though he could identify the gang.
While his own story is developing, Brandon tells us the story of Jake Silver. Helen has discovered a perplexing sepia photo among her late grandma's effects, and they find themselves uncovering the story of Jake Silver, an eighteenth century slave brought to Bristol from the West Indies to be a page boy to an evil mistress...We had to make him up, partly, fill in the spaces of his life by imagining it, like doing a jigsaw where a lot of the pieces are blank, tossing ideas between us, trying to work out what it would be like to be Jake. As Brandon learns of the courage Jake showed 200 years ago, he sees how his actions lead to the sort of luck he deserves. He puts his fears to one side – in life, you make your own good luck..
He’s standing on the dockside. People walk round him, eye him up, check if his teeth are sound. He doesn’t exist for them, except as something that might be of use...
Because Brandon likes to be thought of as a joker, the writing style is witty, upbeat and easy to read, even for children who are still struggling to read. The action begins quickly and builds into several thrilling peaks. The hard-hitting themes of the story effect children’s lives today, opening out issues and information that will widen the understanding eight to thirteen year olds of both genders.
Just My Luck is a modern adventure story, which allows its characters freedom to have exploits in the ‘real world’, to follow a ‘quest’, and to learn about the history of slavery, and
its aftermath, as Helen and Brandon grow through the discoveries they make within their story.
A treasure trove for ten-year-olds that deals with big issues without ever sermonising. Encompassing family history, slavery and modern-day racism this should be a gem for teachers looking for fiction that will bring the curriculum to life while providing a cracking read. Ali Bacon, author of In the Blink of an Eye
Embark on Nina Milton…and you won’t stop reading… Naomi Lewis, Book Review, Sunday Observer
Buy your copy by clicking here.
This edition of Just My Luck
is dedicated to every person
who has lost their life
in the fight for racial justice
