Download high-resolution image Look inside
Listen to a clip from the audiobook
audio pause button
0:00
0:00

The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had

Look inside
Listen to a clip from the audiobook
audio pause button
0:00
0:00
A powerful story about race and an unlikely friendship from award-winning author of The Lions of Little Rock.

An ALA Best Book for Young Adults


The last thing Harry "Dit" Sims expects when Emma Walker comes to town is to become friends. Proper-talking, brainy Emma doesn't play baseball or fish too well, but she sure makes Dit think, especially about the differences between black and white in the 1910s.

But soon Dit is thinking about a whole lot more when the town barber, who is black, is put on trial for a terrible crime. Together Dit and Emma come up with a daring plan to save him from the unthinkable.


★ “Tension builds just below the surface of this energetic, seamlessly narrated first novel set in small-town Alabama in 1917.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

★ “This classic story of how unlikely persons can change things for the better should appeal to all readers.”VOYA, starred review
© Jennifer Brooks
Kristin Levine received her BA in German from Swarthmore College and an MFA in film from American University. She spent a year in Vienna, Austria, working as an au pair, and has taught screenwriting at American University. Currently, she lives in Alexandria, Virginia, with her two daughters. She is the author of the critically acclaimed The Best Luck I Ever HadThe Lions of Little Rock, and The Paper Cowboy. View titles by Kristin Levine
Praise for THE BEST BAD LUCK I EVER HAD:

★ “[An] energetic, seamlessly narrated first novel… Levine handles the setting with grace and nuance.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

★ “This classic story of how unlikely persons can change things for the better should appeal to all readers.”—VOYA, starred review 

"A fine debut novel by an author to watch."—Kirkus Reviews

"Readers will find humor in his candid account, universality in his dilemmas and blunders, and inspiration in his friendship with Emma and their mutual desire for social justice."—School Library Journal

"Levine’s story treats racism frankly and with no mincing of words. The highlight of this coming-of-age journey comes from watching the two kids learn about the world and come to care about each other in the way of 13-year-olds."—Booklist

About

A powerful story about race and an unlikely friendship from award-winning author of The Lions of Little Rock.

An ALA Best Book for Young Adults


The last thing Harry "Dit" Sims expects when Emma Walker comes to town is to become friends. Proper-talking, brainy Emma doesn't play baseball or fish too well, but she sure makes Dit think, especially about the differences between black and white in the 1910s.

But soon Dit is thinking about a whole lot more when the town barber, who is black, is put on trial for a terrible crime. Together Dit and Emma come up with a daring plan to save him from the unthinkable.


★ “Tension builds just below the surface of this energetic, seamlessly narrated first novel set in small-town Alabama in 1917.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

★ “This classic story of how unlikely persons can change things for the better should appeal to all readers.”VOYA, starred review

Author

© Jennifer Brooks
Kristin Levine received her BA in German from Swarthmore College and an MFA in film from American University. She spent a year in Vienna, Austria, working as an au pair, and has taught screenwriting at American University. Currently, she lives in Alexandria, Virginia, with her two daughters. She is the author of the critically acclaimed The Best Luck I Ever HadThe Lions of Little Rock, and The Paper Cowboy. View titles by Kristin Levine

Praise

Praise for THE BEST BAD LUCK I EVER HAD:

★ “[An] energetic, seamlessly narrated first novel… Levine handles the setting with grace and nuance.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

★ “This classic story of how unlikely persons can change things for the better should appeal to all readers.”—VOYA, starred review 

"A fine debut novel by an author to watch."—Kirkus Reviews

"Readers will find humor in his candid account, universality in his dilemmas and blunders, and inspiration in his friendship with Emma and their mutual desire for social justice."—School Library Journal

"Levine’s story treats racism frankly and with no mincing of words. The highlight of this coming-of-age journey comes from watching the two kids learn about the world and come to care about each other in the way of 13-year-olds."—Booklist

PRH Education Translanguaging Collections

Translanguaging is a communicative practice of bilinguals and multilinguals, that is, it is a practice whereby bilinguals and multilinguals use their entire linguistic repertoire to communicate and make meaning (García, 2009; García, Ibarra Johnson, & Seltzer, 2017)   It is through that lens that we have partnered with teacher educators and bilingual education experts, Drs.

Read more

PRH Education Classroom Libraries

“Books are a students’ passport to entering and actively participating in a global society with the empathy, compassion, and knowledge it takes to become the problem solvers the world needs.” –Laura Robb   Research shows that reading and literacy directly impacts students’ academic success and personal growth. To help promote the importance of daily independent

Read more