Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of The Other Side of Luck!

The Other Side of Luck is a really sweet middle-grade fantasy novel that centers on two characters from completely different walks of life: Una, a princess, and Julien, the son of a poor herbalist. Una is lonely after her mother dies, since she feels that her father prefers her baby brother and her new stepmother. Julien's father is sick and Julien would do anything to help him. When Julien's father is arrested on false charges, Julien works out a plan to save him, and he ends up meeting Una in the process. The two become friends and work together to save those they love and find their place in the world. The world-building is beautiful, and the story just swept me away. I loved getting to know these two sweet young people, and I loved watching their friendship develop. The story is full of hope and is extremely heartwarming. The book deals with some heavy themes in a gentle and loving way, and it is honestly one of the most delightful middle-grade fantasy books I've read in a while.

Highly recommend!

This book was such a delightful book, emphasizing friendship and family bonds with not a hint of romance. A book on self-discovery, it was equally heartbreaking and heartwarming.
Una is a princess, but her life is far from comfortable. After her mother's death, she becomes starved for love, as her father hides himself away in his rooms and her baby brother is hidden from her. She has the special ability of smelling various things and one day, as she's looking out her window, she smells something which she thought she lost with her mother but she doesn't know where it comes from or even what it is. And so begins her journey to find the ever-elusive smell.
Julian is merely a pauper boy, but he loves his ailing father with all his heart. So much that he's willing to put his life at stake as long as he can save him. He and his father are vegetational gatherers, but he also has a secret: he can't smell. He finds plants purely by sound because everything has a distinct tone to it. On the day Julian's father is unjustly arrested, he decides to pursue the highly valuable silva flower to free him.
Together, Una's and Julian's stories interwine to create a compelling narrative filled with kidnapping, criminals, the Soup of Life, hope, and above all else, what love really is. The Other Side of Luck is perfect for readers who seek magic in everyday life.

This story was beautiful, with language evocative of a lyrical fairytale. The characters were earnest and tender, and impossible not to support, and the synesthesia conceit of everything possessing a smell and sound was so creative. I was disappointed by the ending, though, which seemed rushed, as characters process deep grief and forgive a lifetime of rejection in the space of a few pages, wrapping everything up into a bow that didn't quite ring true. It's still a beautiful book, but it would have benefited from more space at the end for characters explore the complex emotions that are otherwise dealt with so well.

Thank you to #NetGalley and Bloomsbury Children's Books for allowing me the opportunity to read a digital ARC of The Other Side of Luck by Ginger Johnson. This book will be published in July 2021. All opinions are my own.

Una is the daughter of the Magister Populi and lives a life of luxury at the Official Residence. Though it seems like her life is a dream, she's misses her mother, who died giving birth to her younger brother, horribly. Since her mother's death, her father has locked himself away and rarely sees or talks to her, so when a long-lost uncle presents himself, Una jumps at the opportunity to have a family and connect with her mother. Julien is the son of a gatherer. His mother died giving birth to him, but his father has devoted his life to him. Now, his father is ill and Julien will do whatever it takes to help him get better. These two will learn that everything isn't what it seems and all face challenges. It is how you handle these challenges that determines your happiness.

This is a beautifully written and lyrical middle grade novel. I would categorize it as magical realism as it has some fantasy-esque and fairytale like elements, but it doesn't necessarily have magic. The story is well paced and includes action and adventure. It's told from alternating and intertwined perspectives. Una and Julien are strong protagonists who form an instant and strong friendship. The book includes themes related to friendship, family, and loss. One of the major themes is about challenges and how everyone faces something. We often covet what others have and have a tendency to think that the lives of others are better than our own. The Other Side of Luck reminds us that everyone is facing something even if we can't see it from our perspective.

Una leads a privileged life, but feels no love from her family. Julien has love in abundance from his father, but is quite lacking in material goods. When the paths of the two twelve-year olds cross, they are both escaping a dangerous situation, so form an instant bond of friendship. In this introspective middle-grade novel, both Julien and Una are seeking something they don’t have. Somewhere along the way they each realize they actually have more than they thought, and that makes all the difference in this story of family, friendship, and gratitude.

The Other Side of Luck by Ginger Johnson is a fairytale-like story with just enough magical realism to make the story enchanting without actually including magic. The plot is interesting and perfectly placed and I could not put it down.

This is a book that any reader of fairytales will love.

I love how well this story deals with loss and love. I think this story gives middle-grade readers something to relate to if they are dealing with the loss of a loved one. And the struggle of step-parents. The characters have hardship and trouble and the ending is perfectly bittersweet where

Ginger Johnson has crafted a story that perfectly balances the telling common in fairy tales with the action needed to draw a story foreword. A style that reminds me of Neil Gaiman.

Read it. You will not be disappointed.

A bittersweet story that shares a place in my heart alongside A Little Princess and The Secret Horses of Briar Hill. The Other Side of Luck is a middle grade novel, filled with lovely characters, heartfelt lessons, and a few fairytale elements. Thoroughly enjoyable, and I look forward to sharing this story with my girls when they are old enough.

#TheOtherSideofLuck #NetGalley

The Other Side of Luck is a bitter-sweet, middle grade tale told in a lyrical style that would lend itself well to a read-aloud. The style really was quite lovely and soothing to read. The publisher's note compared this book to An Inquisitor's Tale, but that is not a comparison I would have made. True, it has intertwining stories, but after that the similarities are not strong.

The books is a quick read with realistic action; a middle grade reader could picture themselves doing the things that Una and Julien do. There is a wisp of fantastical in that Una and Julien each possess a singular talent that is exactly what the other does not have. The pacing was good, but not non-stop. There were some great themes in this book, but sometimes delivered by direct character monologue rather than by gently leading the reader.

With strong male and female protagonists, this is a book that should appeal to both girls and boys. The Other Side of Luck is a charming addition to middle grade literature.

Review of a Digital Advance Reading Copy

A lovely fantasy tale for the middle-grades reader. The author has crafted a beautiful story full of rich language and powerful messages.

Julien has been raised surrounded by love but always on the edge of poverty by his father, Baba. Together they collect ingredients from the forest to sell to merchants in the market. His mother died when he was very little and he's training to become a collector like his father. His biggest problem is that he has no idea what his father means hen he says to smell the plants. Julien doesn't think he can smell, but he isn't sure exactly what smelling is. He learns to tell the plants apart by how they sound. He hears the water under the ground, the sap running through the trees, and how gently the leaves rustle in the wind. He becomes just as adept at gathering as his father is. But, when soldiers come to arrest Baba, Julien's only chance to save him is to find the rare and precious Silva flower for which the king has offered a reward.

Princess Una has been raised in the palace in luxury, but also loneliness. Her mother, whom she adored, died in childbirth with her little brother and no one has let her anywhere near him since. Her father barely acknowledges her existence and now, 5 years later, he's getting remarried to a woman who smells like paste. Una desperately wants to smell the happiness and love again that she always smelled around her mother. She misses her so much and worries she's losing all her memories of her mom - she can't smell her distinctive scent anywhere in the palace anymore. All Una wants is to find her mother's smell so she won't lose her memory's of her mother completely. Feeling abandoned by her family and desperate for a place to belong, Una escapes the palace. Julien and Una's paths intertwine, but will they be able to help each other?

The writing is gorgeous and the plot is perfectly paced. The world Johnson has created is intriguing and I would love to see more stories set there! This is a fantastic adventure story for the middle grade crowd. There's tension and excitement and danger, but nothing too scary for this age. There's just enough consequences and real-life sadness to be believable, but not so much that it's soul-crushing for the reader. Johnson has found the perfect blend of telling and showing in her writing and you'll love the characters and root for them the entire way through the story. Brilliant! Highly recommended!! 5 enthusiastic stars

Disclaimer: I received a free electronic copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.