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The Thing About Luck Audiobook, by Cynthia Kadohata Play Audiobook Sample

The Thing About Luck Audiobook

The Thing About Luck Audiobook, by Cynthia Kadohata Play Audiobook Sample
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Read By: Joy Osmanski Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio Listen Time: at 1.0x Speed 3.50 hours at 1.5x Speed 2.63 hours at 2.0x Speed Release Date: October 2014 Format: Unabridged Audiobook ISBN: 9781442382527

Quick Stats About this Audiobook

Total Audiobook Chapters:

18

Longest Chapter Length:

30:54 minutes

Shortest Chapter Length:

39 seconds

Average Chapter Length:

17:28 minutes

Audiobooks by this Author:

10

Other Audiobooks Written by Cynthia Kadohata: > View All...

Publisher Description

The winner of the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, from Newbery Medalist Cynthia Kadohata. There is bad luck, good luck, and making your own luck—which is exactly what Summer must do to save her family.

Summer knows that kouun means “good luck” in Japanese, and this year her family has none of it. Just when she thinks nothing else can possibly go wrong, an emergency whisks her parents away to Japan—right before harvest season. Summer and her little brother, Jaz, are left in the care of their grandparents, who come out of retirement in order to harvest wheat and help pay the bills.

The thing about Obaachan and Jiichan is that they are old-fashioned and demanding, and between helping Obaachan cook for the workers, covering for her when her back pain worsens, and worrying about her lonely little brother, Summer just barely has time to notice the attentions of their boss’s cute son. But notice she does, and what begins as a welcome distraction from the hard work soon turns into a mess of its own.

Having thoroughly disappointed her grandmother, Summer figures the bad luck must be finished—but then it gets worse. And when that happens, Summer has to figure out how to change it herself, even if it means further displeasing Obaachan. Because it might be the only way to save her family.

Cynthia Kadohata’s ode to the breadbasket of America has received six starred reviews and was selected as a National Book Award Finalist.

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“Kadohata has written a gentle family story that is unusual in its focus on the mechanics of wheat harvesting. Readers may skim the more arcane aspects of the labor-intensive work, focusing instead on the emotionally rich and often humorous dynamics of Summer’s relationship with her old-fashioned but endearing grandparents and her troubled younger brother. Another engaging novel from the Newbery Medal–winning Kadohata.”

— Booklist (starred review)

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About Cynthia Kadohata

Cynthia Kadohata is the author of the National Book Award winner The Thing About Luck; several Newbery Medal winners, including Kira-Kira and Weedflower; and several critically acclaimed adult novels. She has published numerous short stories in such journals as the New Yorker, Ploughshares, and Grand Street. She lives with her son and dog in West Covina, California.

About Joy Osmanski

Joy Osmanski, theater, television, and film actress, is an award-winning audiobook narrator who has won three AudioFile Earphones Awards. She graduated from Principia College with a degree in creative writing and received her MFA from UC San Diego.