Just Our Luck

September 1, 2020

Gr 9 Up-Before she died, Leo's Greek grandmother Yia Yia gave him two rules. First, "Bad luck follows lies." Due to his anxiety, Leo causes a fight at school and isn't honest about what happened, requiring him to attend weekly school counseling with Drake, the student who hit him. In addition, his dad decides he should take self-defense classes even though Leo prefers knitting, crocheting, and taking photos. Rule number two: "Leave the Paros family alone" due to a supposed curse they put on Leo's family generations ago. When Leo arrives at the gym for self-defense class, Evey Paros, who he knows from years of attending the same Greek Orthodox church, is checking students in. Seeing that Leo would rather do anything than attend this course, she makes him a deal to take hot yoga instead if he will help her with a project to get back at her ex-boyfriend. Leo is a relatable character who deals with anxiety and panic attacks while feeling lonely after the death of his grandmother and as a result of his strained relationship with his dad. He refuses to conform to gender norms even though he is sometimes bullied, preferring to focus on his passions. Despite the serious themes of mental illness, grief, and bullying, there are plenty of moments of humor as well as a few instances of adult language. VERDICT Readers will root for Leo as he finds his place in the world.-Sarah Polace, Cuyahoga P.L. Syst., OH

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2020
Grades 8-11 When Greek American Leo is sent by his aloof father to self-defense class, his anxiety and gentle demeanor divert him instead into the neighboring hot-yoga class. There, he chronicles his junior year in a journal, through which he shares his struggles with anxiety and isolation--due in part to his mother's and grandmother's deaths. As Leo improves through yoga, he connects with also-Greek Evey, whose great-great-grandmother cursed his great-great-grandfather. Initially cold and calculating, she blackmails artistic Leo into helping her exact revenge on the ex-boyfriend who humiliated her, but as the stakes rise, the two teens are drawn into a love of their own. Despite the trappings of a teen romance and high-school drama, Walton's (Words on Bathroom Walls, 2017) personal story focuses on the internal life of Leo, whose voice and character prove to be completely endearing. The epistolary form demands some suspension of disbelief, but readers won't mind, as it offers a quick pace and easy access into this character-driven exploration of mental health through friendship, family, and art.

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After losing a fight, a Greek American high school junior confronts both anxiety and an old family curse. Angeleno Leonidas has never been a people person, especially not after the recent death of Yia Yia, his beloved paternal grandmother who came over from Greece to help raise him after his mother died when he was 4. Leo barely talks to his dad, who wants him to be more manly and quit pursuing artistic hobbies like knitting and photography. After his dad enrolls him in an intimidatingly macho self-defense class, Evey, who works at the gym, helps Leo secretly switch to hot yoga. She also pulls him into a plot of her own--and Leo breaks Yia Yia's cardinal rule that he should steer clear of Evey's Greek family due to a curse her family put on his. Actually, Evey's quest for vengeance using Leo's photography skills dovetails handily with Leo's wish to feel comfortable in his own skin. Leo's singular voice keeps pages turning and chuckles coming but also communicates a wealth of insight on topics from mental health stigma to toxic masculinity. Shared in the form of journal entries, the first-person narrative carefully manages readers' emotions while sharing Leo's own. The growth of Leo's unlikely connection with his erstwhile bully illuminates the vulnerable humanity that can bloom when the veil of knee-jerk stereotypes falls away. A masterpiece and a delight. (author's note) (Fiction. 13-18)

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