Just Our Luck by Julia Walton
YA, Contemporary
Random House Books for Young Readers | December 29th, 2020
4/5 Stars
Bad luck follows lies. That was the first rule for life that Leo’s Greek grandmother, Yia Yia, gave him before she died. But Leo’s anxiety just caused a fight at school, and though he didn’t lie, he wasn’t exactly honest about how it all went down . . . how hewent down. Now Leo’s father thinks a self-defense class is exactly what his son needs to man up.
Leave the Paros family alone. That was Yia Yia’s second rule for life. But who does Leo see sitting at the front desk of the local gym? Evey Paros, whose family supposedly cursed Leo’s with bad luck. Seeing that Leo is desperate to enroll in anything but self-defense class, Evey cuts him a deal: she’ll secretly enroll him in hot yoga instead–for a price. But what could the brilliant, ruthless, forbidden Evey Paros want from Leo?
Leo knits when his anxiety becomes too much for him to handle. No matter where he is; school, home, the cemetery. On this specific day, Leo’s knitting got him in a fight and now his dad wants him to take self defense class that Leo has no desire to take. Lying to his dad, he ends up taking the yoga class that takes place at the same time as the self-defense class. To add to his punishment, Leo must spend a period of time every day in the consoler’s office with the Drake, the guy that punched him in the first place.
Leo is also a skilled photographer, but of course his father thinks photography isn’t a ‘manly’ profession so Leo keeps his work hidden in his portfolio. When his portfolio goes missing, and he gets a strange text from Every Paros, his life only begins to change.
I liked this book almost as much as I liked, Words on Bathroom Walls, which is by the same author. This book is also written kind of similar, in which both main characters tell their story by writing in some kind of journal. I happen to really like this writing style, so I really enjoyed it.
The story itself is really relatable. I mean I think everyone has some form of anxiety, whether it that happens often or it that happens very rarely. We all also have our own ways of dealing with said anxiety and I believe that as long as someone isn’t hurting anyone else or themselves, you should let them be or try to help.
I loved reading this book and seeing Leo’s character grow and gain confidence in himself and make friends. On top of being really relatable, Leo’s character is really funny and easy to care about. I really enjoyed his story.
Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Books for Young Readers for this arc in exchange for an honest review.
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