This is Billie Letts' darkest book by far, but it's still great!! ( )

This is a sad story of two children whose mother died, and their father left them with his girlfriend and took off for Las Vegas. When the girlfriend dies, rather than risk living in an institution, 15 year old Lutie takes her younger brother with her as she drives a car to Las Vegas to find their father.

Along the way, some nasty things occur to the down and out children. Traveling from Spearfish, South Dakota presents problems of running out of money along the way, foolish mistakes that land them in dangerous situations.

I've read other books by this author. She tackles difficult situations with a sense of realism and a smattering of real life characters that are struggling and trying to do the best they can.

Recommended ( )

I liked this book. It is about two kids, a fifteen year old girl names Lutie (a name that I'm not gonna lie, annoyed me a bit) and her eleven year old brother Fate (it was supposed to be Fale, the mother's maiden name, but the nurse accidentally put a t on the birth certificate). When you first meet the kids they are living with a 300lbs woman named Floy in North Dakota. Their mother died when Lutie was 6 and Fate, 3 and their father ran off and left them with his current girlfriend (Floy). Foly has a heart attack in the Walmart checking line and rather than get sent into foster care, the kids decide to take her car and go to Vegas to find their father. I don't want to give too much away, but they have a lot of problems, homelessness, creepy old men, etc. etc.

At first, I liked Lutie. She seemed brave, ready to take charge, determined and strong. But after a while I began to dislike her. I mean you find a laptop, go pawn it, get 200$ and rather than saving it, or finding food for your little brother, you go out and get a tattoo (of kissing lips on your neck, really fucking tacky) pierce your ears again, get a manicure, and highlights in your hair??? I wanted to pound her then. It goes on from there, and you find her actions becoming more and more selfish. She does have a lot of horrible shit happen to her, but in a way I was like seriously!! How could you NOT think that was going to happen??? However, when the conclusion of the book came about, and you find out this secret she has been keeping, I grew to understand her more, and she does in fact evolve into a better person.

I loved the little brother. Fate is a smart, optimistic, goofy kid. He is the little brother I wish I had. When Lutie was being mean to him, I just wanted to give the kid a hug.

This is a well written book, it holds your attention, the characters are well written and believable and its a good story about finding your place in the world and how families can sorta come together. ( )

Another great book by this author. An easy read about an orphaned sister and brother and how they get from South Dakota to Nevada. Lutie is 15 and has a definite attitude and the brother is 11 going on 60- he is a wise/smart beyond his years. They drive to Las Vegas to track down their father, who after finding the prison is is in, ends up being dead. A heart wrenching read.

I listened to this book on Audio CD. I absolutely loved the story of this sister and brother trying to make it on their own. I would highly recommend. ( )