Born Under a Lucky Moon

Right off the bat, I want you all to know I loved this book. I loved the setting, the characters, the story. I love that Ms. Precious kicked it old school and set half the story in 1986. I love that it centered around a family, specifically sisters. I loved that I laughed out loud so many times, in public, on the train crowded with people giving me odd looks. I loved the title of the novel. I loved that it was about love. From the beginning, Ms. Precious lets us know where were going. I have to admit she had me at this: Like every relationship in every family, this story doesnt reside in the black and white of right and wrong. It resides in the gray area called love. Yeah, I was hooked. I dived into the story of Jeannie and her sisters head first. I loved the wacky Thompson family adventures. From unintentional fires to a grandmother with devious intentions to the exasperated police officer, Marv who puts up with them, this story had everything. It bounces seamlessly from 2006 to 1986 without missing a step. I enjoyed how Ms. Precious revealed the past to explain the future. Truth be told, it was done so well the stories could have been told separately, one without the other would have made a great novel. There was so many nuggets of goodness in this novel. I loved Evans Milwaukee metaphor. Youll have to read that one for yourself. However I will leave you this from Rose Thompson, Jeannies mom, about family and love... One thing I do know for certain is that no matter how much you kids complain about each other, you all drop everything to be there when someone in the family is in trouble. I think a family is measured by how it shows its love. Some people think that love is like a pie, that the more people you have to serve, the smaller everyones piece is. But thats not the way it is. The more love you give, the more you create. My parents and your fathers parents poured their love into us. We poured that love into you. Elizabeth will pour that love into her baby and so on. Everyone has human weaknesses, and problems, but those will come and go during life. Love goes on nonstop forever. Born Under a Lucky Moon is the kind of novel I will go back to: to read again, to laugh with the Thomspons, to fall in love, to appreciate family in all their crazy looniness, even mine.

Written in chapters from past to present, back and forth, Jeannie Thompson tells her story...and quite a story it is. Her large family in Michigan is a close, albeit wild, bunch of characters. However, they always pull together for Jeannie and each other in all of lifes craziness. With a good career, Jeannie also finds a good man. Afraid to introduce him to her quirky family, out of fear they may overwhelm him, she tries to avoid it. She really need not worry, though. Their zest for life, easy way of dealing with things, and their ability to be true to themselves make them, and Jeannie, what and who a family should be. And that is what matters.

Dana Precious book: Born Under a Lucky Moon is the perfect summer read. As a person that comes from a family that lived in Muskegon, County, Michigan, her book brought me back to memories of time spent in this small town. Hilarious, sad, amusing and insightful are all adjectives that I have used to describe this book to friends. Its definately a Girlie book and I dont suggest it for men but it does have aspects of murder, explosions, watersports and some bad personal habits that may intrigue them. Definately a great way to spend a few hours of quiet time broken up by laughing out loud. I dare you not to.

Loved it.... If you want to laugh and perhaps compare your family to the Thompson family, I would highly recommend this book. It is a really fun read and also about love. My family made him nervous. Being a highly disciplined sort, he did not view my family as a vibrant force but as a disorganized mess that needed cleaning up. Page 99 The entire town is buzzing about us. If this family ever moves out of town, no one will have anything to talk about. Page 148 The Thompson family made everyone nervous...they had four daughters, one son, many dramatic events, hilarious things happening to them all the time, and they were the talk of the town.....ALWAYS. One sister was the organizer and one was the never-finish anything you started, but they all had a fun childhood and shared one bathroom and one mirror....this mirror was the scene for much of the fun that went on. The sisters were in predicaments over the years, but their mother and father took everything in stride. The current predicament was that Evan and Anna were getting married on Saturday...it was a planned one...and Lucy and Chuck were getting married on Sunday.....this was a wedding put together in a week. Lucy and Chuck didnt know about the wedding, and you can just imagine how that went. No wedding dress, no veil, no tuxedos, no caterer, and no flowers until the last minute. Last minute organizing seemed to be order of the day for the Thompsons, and most of the situations they got themselves in were funny. Things just seemed to happen to them. I laughed out loud at some parts of the book. The book is a perfect summer read....it gets you thinking about your relationship with your siblings and your entire family. The characters were a very loving, caring, but crazy family. They were always there supporting each other. The more love you give, the more you create. Page 393 Funny things happened most of the time, but as in all families some bad situations occur as well. If this is the authors actual lifes story, she is a lucky gal. It is a wonderful, fun read. I truly enjoyed it. You will also find out how to shake things out when you have a worry. 5/5 ENJOY!!! I hope you love it too.

Fun to read about my home town!

Having grown up in this wonderful town, I was excited to read and reminisce. Dana is such a fabulous writer that I quickly got hooked into her story and could not put the book down! Thank God we have a snow day today so that I can sit by the fire and finish the book. I really cant wait to find out what is in store for us next. I anxiously await her next novel (better get going Dana, Ive been looking for a long time for this good read...dont make me wait that long again please!)

This novel is a true hidden gem, one of the best first efforts by an author Ive had the chance to enjoy. Ms. Precious easy use of first person narrative drew me immediately into the story and I never wanted to leave. A delightful book that touches upon many of lifes defining moments and turbulent issues that we all face, woven around shocking events that few of us have ever experienced. A delightful journey, I highly recommend it.

Growing up in the same home town as Dana, I just had to read the book. I just loved the characters, some heavily veiled with a subtle hint to their identity, others with merely a letter change in the spelling of their names. It brought back delightful memories of my little peninsula home town. I could also share her perspective on familial relations, being the youngest in a large family of strong personalities. I couldnt put it down and would find myself up too late until I finished the book. The books advertising is geared towards women, but I think its a good read for anyone from a large family, a small mid-western town, or those who want to know what either of them is like. Good job Dana, youve done the Norsemen proud.

Jeannie Thompson, a marketing executive for Oxford Pictures in Hollywood, has a problem. Her wonderful boyfriend Aidan has asked her to marry him, but shes hiding something. She has a family. A crazy family in Muskegon, Michigan that just might preclude her from being wife material. She wasnt the first time around. Despite loving him like crazy, she refuses to give him an answer. She explains to him by beginning to tell him the story about her familys crazy double wedding. Along the way, she comes to terms with the family and the hometown in Michigan that makes her who she is. I make no secret about loving my home state of Michigan. There was no way I was turning down this book. In Born Under a Lucky Moon, I found a book almost as familiar as a trip back home. Toss in a healthy dose of crazy family antics and I was set for several afternoons of reading pleasure. Dana Precious made Jeannies family come alive. They had so much personality. I could relate so easy to the nuances of living in a larger family. With each chapter set in Michigan, I felt closer to her. It wasnt just her growing up years in Michigan, though. I could relate to living so far away from home. Roanoke is by no means Los Angeles, but its still an entirely different culture. I really enjoyed my time spent with Jeannie and her family. Reading Born Under a Lucky Moon made me feel at home without being homesick. Reading it was like a celebration of my roots as I enjoyed the antics of the Thompson clan. Dana Precious has such a wonderful sense of humor that flows so well into writing. I really enjoyed this book. If youre looking for a fun beach read for this year, pick up Born Under a Lucky Moon. Even better, plan your vacation along Lake Michigan while youre at it. You may never want to leave.

Born Under a Lucky Moon by Dana Precious - a Goodreads First Read free giveaway book won on February 2nd, received on February 15th and previously made-aware-of through promotions on sheknows.com and womansday.com Born Under a Lucky Moon is a novel told in the first-person in a back and forth, then-and-now prose of the teenage and middle-age life of Jeannie Thompson. The main theme of the book is her boyfriend, Aidans, attempt to marry Jeannie and be introduced to her Midwestern, dysfunctional but very loving family (a bit like the Hepburns or the Marchs from Little Women, but somewhat more off-kilter) and is told in the style of Jeannie telling Aidan stories of her family to keep him at bay from the onslaught that is Them. The action and plot moves much in the style of the Thompson family - quickly and crisply. It had ended a little over the top, but given the context, it was to be expected and fairly apt. What I loved best were the aside/long-story-short stories about a family incident or a persons background, such as Jeannies great-grandparents. I also really connected with the familiar quips about Midwest life: regional product brands, the Michigan map as being the palm of your hand, radio stations, squirrels, wedding traditions, and outdoor recreation. As Tom, a Thompson family friend, quips, family is like a warm and comforting curse. And, in looking at this book, its a real and unabashed account of how careerwomen regard their families through memories both bitter and dear - no matter how you excuse or cope it away, your family is both the maker and cruelest judge of character.