Lucky Fools Review

Lucky Fools
by Coert Voorhees
Expected Publication: 06.10.2012
From Goodreads:

David Ellison dreams of acting at Julliard, but he's expected to attend nearby Stanford University, just like all of his classmates at hard-driving Oak Fields Prep. As if wasting his private school education weren't enough, David is also on track to destroy his relationship with his girlfriend, Ellen, when he finds himself falling for his new co-star, Vanessa.

With David's Julliard audition approaching, and his relationship teetering on the brink of disaster, Oak Fields is thrown into chaos as a mysterious prankster begins attacking the school's highest achievers, determined to sabotage their college aspirations. Anyone who excels is a potential target, and David, the star of every play, could be next.

From the author of the highly praised The Brothers Torres comes a dangerously insightful book about enduring the pressures of high school, surviving the ins and outs of love, and fighting for your dreams, no matter what.

My Thoughts:  I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, although the title and cover gave me the impression that it was a comedy.  It even took me a few days to write this review because I wasn't sure how I felt about this book, and I'm still not.  The writing was good, and it held my interest.  My major problem was with David, the main character.  He was kind of self-centered and fairly uninteresting.  The whole love triangle aspect of the story was a bit of a dud, because David really isn't capable of being in love with anything unless it's right in front of him.  He's like a bird that gets easily distracted by bright and shiny things.  He's also a wannabe actor.

While I didn't like David, I really liked all the supporting characters.  Ellen, Vanessa, JJ, Colter, Jake, Iggy, Geoff, all of their stories and issues interested me.  Especially Vanessa and Colter. They had a complex brother/sister relationship, and I'd love to know more about their past.  And Ellen!  What is up with her?  I hope someone reads this book soon, just so I can discuss Ellen.

Okay, so while David is having his Outsiders moment ("Life is rough all over, Ponyboy"), The Artist is attacking students at David's prep school.  Not physically, but through a series of bulletin board posts that expose the true character of the victims.  The school is desperate to find the culprit, and everyone is suspicious of each other because they're all vying for the only spot Stanford University is allocating to a graduating student of their school.  Since Stanford is so close, they've suddenly decided to not award enrollment based on achievement alone, not when they have so many other talented students applying from all other.  Not sure if Ivy League schools do this, but it strikes me as a bit disingenuous, since lots of the kids at David's school have rich and influential parents, and also because it seems like Stanford wants some of the out of town tuition.  But if you want to see overachieving rich kids panic, then this books is for you. Everyone kind of goes into Blair Waldorf mode.

Yes, I just made a Gossip Girl reference. 

So the whole book I am waiting for the big reveal of who the Artist is.  Part of me is praying that it's David just so he'll prove me wrong about the boring part.  But we don't really find out, mostly because this is David's story and he doesn't really care and that whole plot line is dropped.  And yes, that really made me mad. 

And while I get the point of Colter's words to David, about how just because someone else has a broken arm doesn't mean that your broken nose doesn't matter to you, it's a bit hard to really feel sorry for all these extremely privileged kids.  There aren't any real consequences for most of them, not for Iggy, The Artist or even David.  It's difficult to root for a character when you're actually hoping they'll fail... and then they don't!

Lucky Fools might not be my favorite book of all time, but I do want to read The Brothers Torres , also by Coert Voorhees, and a book I've heard good things about.  And I liked the writing in Lucky Fools, no fault there, just didn't like the main character.  It is nice to read a book with a male main character, and I found several quotes to like, so here they are:

Wrinkles seemed terrified of both her skin and her clothes.

There was a deliberate nature to the way she moved, almost like a stop-motion photograph.

"Four minutes to determine my future"
"That sounds like the tagline from a bad action movie."
I made my voice all low. "One man. Four monologues. In the balance hangs... the rest of his life."

"What do you think we talk about in the faculty room? Lesson plans?"

Lucky Fools gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

The cover gets a Midnight Book Cover Rating of:

It's cute, it's different and it caught my eye. 

*Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book through Around the World ARC Tours in exchange for my honest opinion and review.