Newbery honor winner, New York Times bestseller, Edgar Award Finalist, and E.B. White Read-Aloud Honor book.
A hilarious Southern debut with the kind of characters you meet once in a lifetime
Rising sixth grader Miss Moses LoBeau lives in the small town of Tupelo Landing, NC, where everyone's business is fair game and no secret is sacred. She washed ashore in a hurricane eleven years ago, and she's been making waves ever since. Although Mo hopes someday to find her "upstream mother," she's found a home with the Colonel--a café owner with a forgotten past of his own--and Miss Lana, the fabulous café hostess. She will protect those she loves with every bit of her strong will and tough attitude. So when a lawman comes to town asking about a murder, Mo and her best friend, Dale Earnhardt Johnson III, set out to uncover the truth in hopes of saving the only family Mo has ever known.
Full of wisdom, humor, and grit, this timeless yarn will melt the heart of even the sternest Yankee.
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
361 of 371 people found the following review helpful.
Exciting read but not for 10 year olds
By JK
As the 5 star reviews state, this is a well-written and exciting story. For the sake of other parents who might give this book to their kids without reading it first, here is a warning. I found the description of the drunken Dad beating up his wife way too terrifying for the Nancy Drew crowd. She had gotten a restraining order forbidding him to come to their house but he showed up anyway. Here are some excerpts of that incident."Shut up, Mo," he growled, keeping his eyes on Miss Rose. "You talk too much. If you were my kid I'd knock some sense into you, wouldn't I, Dale? Go ahead, Rose, call for help." When she didn't move, he sneered, "What's the matter? Phone out?""His hand snaked out. He grabbed the front of her blouse and yanked her forward, onto her toes. "You'll what?" he growled. "Get me thrown out of my own house?""Daddy!" Dale cried. "Let her go!"Time shifted into slow motion. Mr. Macon's hand swooped down in a clean, vicious arc, slamming Miss Rose's face, snapping her head back. She staggered sideways, her knees buckling as she crashed to the floor.I darted forward to elbow his chin, but she grabbed my arm. "Stop," she gasped. "He'll kill you. Macon, please. She's a child. Just ... just sit down. I'm sorry, I'll get you something to eat."His laugh came jagged as broken glass, and he stepped closer, fist raised.So parents, read the book yourselves (I think you will enjoy it) and decide which of your kids are old enough to read it too.
25 of 26 people found the following review helpful.
SOUTHERN CHARM
By Padgett Gerler, author of LESSONS I LEARNED FROM NICK NACK
by Padgett Gerler, author of GETTING THE IMPORTANT THINGS RIGHTEleven years ago a raging hurricane deposited a newborn girl on the riverbank at Tupelo Landing, North Carolina. Colonel LoBeau rescued her, named her Moses (after the Biblical character discovered in the bulrushes), and, along with his girlfriend, Miss Lana, is raising Mo as his own.Welcome to the South, where we name our youngins first and think about it later.Mo LoBeau, sassy, charming, and wise beyond her years, careens through life and Tupelo Landing in her plaid sneakers, accompanied by her best friend, Dale Earnhardt Johnson III. Now, Dale isn't really a third of anything; his daddy just tacked III to the end of his name because his hero, race car driver Dale Earnhardt, drove car #3. So I guess you'd say Dale was named after a race car driver and his car.Mo is working the counter in the Colonel's cafe, perched atop her Pepsi crate, Dale pestering her to skip work and go fishing with him, when the two of them learn that cantankerous Jesse Tatum has been murdered. Mo and Dale jump right into the middle of the investigation, creating an impromptu detective agency, Desperado Detectives, and set out to solve the mystery of Jesse's murder.Sheila Turnage, in her debut novel, THREE TIMES LUCKY, has created a world of eccentric characters, humidity-dripping scenes, and quaint intrigue as only a southern writer can. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD came to mind as I read about Mo, a charming, motherless little girl who is being raised by a wise (surrogate) father and a town of colorful friends and neighbors who love her, abide her sassiness, and are amused by her antics. And just as the world loves Scout Finch, I can't imagine the world not adoring Mo LoBeau.Though THREE TIMES LUCKY was created for tweens, it is suitable for adults with its spot-on southern dialogue and crisp, clever prose. Sheila Turnage has written a coming-of-age novel so charming, touching, and humorous that I predict we'll soon see Miss Mo LoBeau on the big screen.As for my copy of THREE TIMES LUCKY, it lives on my bookshelf alongside TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. And just as I read TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD each summer, I'll read THREE TIMES LUCKY, 'cause summer just wouldn't be summer without it.
28 of 30 people found the following review helpful.Two Middle Schoolers' Opinions
By Amazon Customer
Three Times Lucky is a mystery written for MG readers. The narrator, Mo, is an 11-year-old girl, and a rising sixth grader. She was lost 11 years ago by her Upstream Mother during a hurricane. This creates a giant mystery for Mo, because she doesn't know who her real mother is. She lives with her adoptive mother, Miss Lana, and her adoptive father, the Colonel, who found her in the middle of the hurricane she was lost in. In the summer, a detective, Joe Starr, comes to her town, investigating a murder. The murderer must have taken some cars, and the Colonel has a new "Underbird," so Starr wants to investigate the Colonel. Suddenly, Mo and her best friend Dale find out that Mr. Jesse, a stingy customer at the Colonel's cafe, was killed, and his body left in his rowboat, which Dale had "strongly borrowed" and returned. The two launch the Desperado Detectives to solve the murder, and the story unfolds.This is a pretty good book, because it has so many good mysteries and characters. There are three main mysteries interwoven in the story. They are: The case of the Upstream Mother, who the Colonel really is, and who murdered Mr. Jesse. We agree that the mystery of the Colonel is the most exciting mystery. We both like the Colonel, because he is strict and sweet at the same time. He also has a funny touch on the story, with his military antics.The reason we gave it only three stars is that at times the story is not very believable. For example, the way that Mo runs a cafe by herself, and people actually pay when she offers cold peanut butter and cucumber sandwiches is strange. Also, Mo sometimes says things very abruptly and without thinking, which is immature for her age. Believe us, we know. For instance, Mo has to pick someone to compliment Mr. Jesse at his funeral. She picks someone, and referring to a rumor she's heard, she calls the person "the double chinned lady with the jealous husband." She says this in front of a packed church, which we find despicable. We also think that Mr. Macon should not be drunk all the time. It's a little disturbing. It's not really appropriate for 10-year-olds. This book actually has a lot of mysteries, a few left unsolved at the end, which disappointed us a bit.All in all, we think that for a first novel, this is pretty good. Mystery lovers will probably enjoy this book. :)(:WRITTEN BY SAM AND BRITTAPUBLISHED BY AMAZON :D
