Luck of the Titanic: A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

Of the eight Chinese passengers aboard the Titanic, six survived.

Valora Luck almost misses her chance to be one of those passengers when her entry is blocked thanks to the Chinese Exclusion Act which restricts the admission of Chinese immigrants into the United States. Valora is used to obstacles, though, and isn’t about to let a silly policy stop her from getting on board and seeing her twin brother Jamie for the first time in years.

Jamie is traveling on the Titanic as a seaman on his way to Cuba with the rest of his crew but Val has bigger plans for both of them. Reunited for the first time since their father’s death, this is the perfect opportunity for the twins to revive their acrobatics act–an act that Val knows will be good enough to attract the attention of the Albert Ankeny Stewart. One look at their performance and Mr. Stewart will have to recruit them for the Ringling Circus. Then Val and Jamie can finally get back to being family again instead of near strangers.

Val’s plan is perfect. Until disaster strikes and, as the Titanic begins its last night as an ocean liner, Val and her brother will have to worry about surviving the present before they can plan for the future in Luck of the Titanic (2021) by Stacey Lee.

Find it on Bookshop.

Luck of the Titanic is narrated by Val as she struggles to board the luxury liner and secure passage into America for herself and her brother. The story is inspired by the real Chinese passengers on the Titanic. You can read more about Lee’s real-life inspiration to write this story in an essay she wrote for Oprah Daily.

Lee once again delivers a masterful work of historical fiction. Luck of the Titanic is carefully researched with front matter that includes a cast of characters and diagrams of the famous ship. The balances portraying the very real racism and intolerance Val and her fellow Chinese passengers would have encountered on the ship (or in attempting to travel to the United States) while also highlighting small joys as Val reconnects with her brother, befriends his crewmates, and as all of them discover the magic of this larger-than-life ship before it strikes an iceberg and begins to sink.

Val is an accomplished acrobat which adds a fun dimension to the story. Because of the novel’s setting, this aspect of Val’s life can never be the main point of the story but it still adds so much to her character as readers see her talent and joy in her work–and the contrast in how Jamie feel’s about the same performance skills.

Readers familiar with the history of the Titanic will recognize many key points including the iconic state rooms and grand stairway while the story also shows more of third class (steerage) where Jamie and his crew are located. The novel does include an attempted sexual assault which moves the plot forward (necessitating the separation of Val and some of her friends as the iceberg hits) but also feels excessive in a story that already has plenty of tension and strife for the characters.

Lee also includes nods to common theories about contributing factors to the disaster including the lack of binoculars for crew working in the crow’s nest, the pressure on Captain Smith to drive at speed, and of course the lifeboats (of which there were too few) being launched without reaching full capacity. Other details (the lack of proper warnings from the Marconi operators, the confusion as Titanic tried to signal for help from nearby ships) are left off-page in favor of a focus on the characters. While Lee shows more behind-the-scenes areas of the ship, this novel is largely populated by fictional characters whenever possible leaving notable survivors like Molly Brown and crew member Violet Jessop out of the narrative entirely.

Luck of the Titanic is both gripping and melancholy as the novel builds to its inevitable conclusion. This story of survival and family is completely engrossing while also asking readers to consider whose stories are deemed worth telling in history–and how we can work to widen that scope. Recommended for fans of adventure and historical fiction novels.

Possible Pairings: Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo, Airborn by Kenneth Oppel, Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys, The Watch That Ends the Night by Allan Wolf

Under a Painted Sky: A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

“Maybe what matters is not so much the path as who walks beside you.”

Missouri, 1849: Samantha is desperate to move back to New York to pursue her dream of becoming a professional musician. Achieving that will be hard, especially for a Chinese girl like Samantha.

Tragedy dashes those plans and forces Samantha into hiding. With help from a runaway slave named Annamae, Samantha gets out of town and starts heading west where–hopefully–she can outrun her past and claim a new life for herself.

Knowing that life on the trail won’t be easy–or safe–for two girls, they disguise themselves as boys drawn to California’s gold rush.

Sammy and Andy both hope to find ways to move forward as they head farther west. When they take up with a band of cowboys, Sammy and Andy find some much-needed protection and friendship on their travels. But with setbacks dogging them and the law much too-close behind, Sammy and Andy will have to work even harder to hide if they want to complete their journeys in Under a Painted Sky (2015) by Stacey Lee.

Find it on Bookshop.

Under a Painted Sky is Lee’s debut novel.

Sammy is a thoughtful and frank narrator. She has made mistakes and has a lot to learn throughout the novel–two things she freely admits to herself and readers. Sammy is fifteen but this book reads younger making it appropriate and appealing for readers of all ages. Sammy and Andy have a great friendship throughout the novel and meet a variety of wonderfully written characters along the way.

Andy is a thoughtful and more experienced counterpart to Sammy who brings some healthy pragmatism to the duo’s travels. Andy is also devoutly Christian–much to Sammy’s dismay early on–which leads to a significant thread of faith and belief imbuing the novel.

Under a Painted Sky is a great piece of historical fiction and a fine western that carefully sidesteps the problematic elements traditionally found in that genre. Recommended for fans of historical fiction and westerns alike as well as readers looking for a book with a sweet but subtle romance and lots of action.

Possible Pairings: Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman, Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson, Speak Easy, Speak Love by McKelle George; My Calamity Jane by Jodi Meadows, Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton; Every Hidden Thing by Kenneth Oppel, For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund, Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White, Thirteenth Child by Patricia C. Wrede