How Lucky, published in 2021, is a fascinating novel that’s part thriller, part slice of life fiction. Daniel, our extremely likable protagonist, is a young man living in Athens, Georgia, a sunny college town where nothing especially exciting happens. By day he works as a social media correspondent for a budget airline (i.e. he let’s people yell at him on Twitter), and by night he browses Reddit, goes to football games, and hangs out with his best friend Travis. Daniel has SMA, spinal muscular atrophy, which means he needs assistance with a lot of daily activities — he uses a wheelchair to move around and a computer to converse with people, and his nurse Marjani helps him with eating, cleaning, and other such humanly housekeeping — but his mind and sense of humor are razor-sharp. One morning while sitting on his porch, Daniel happens to see a Camaro come to a stop and pick up a young woman walking by, nothing too out of the ordinary. But when news starts circulating of a missing person, a female student by the name of Ai-Chin, Daniel realizes he may have witnessed a kidnapping. With the help of Travis and Marjani, Daniel embarks on a mission to find and save Ai-Chin, proving to himself and to the reader that a hero is anyone brave enough to accept a call to action.

I don’t usually reach for thrillers, but the cover of How Lucky caught my eye — it has a friendly look to it, and there’s a glowing endorsement from Stephen King stamped right on top — so I decided to give it a try. As luck would have it, How Lucky is the perfect thriller for people who don’t usually read thrillers. Along with lots of juicy suspense and shocking moments (you’ll never want to chat with someone online ever again), there are layers of compassion, insight, and humor that make it easy to connect with the characters and invest in the story. Daniel’s narration is boyish and funny, and he often breaks the fourth wall which gives the novel an inviting atmosphere. Even when the plot reaches its terrifying apex, his conversational voice kept things from feeling too scary. In the acknowledgements Leitch mentions how much time he spent creating Daniel’s character, drawing on his friends’ experiences as parents of a child with SMA (and reaching out to many others who live with SMA and disability), and I think that care really shines through in the writing. Looking at the world through Daniel’s perspective felt transformative; his unsentimental gratitude for life is infectious. How Lucky is a short, entertaining read that’s both a thrilling mystery and an escape into the mind of an extremely decent human being. Highly recommend.

I’d recommend this book to…

• Anyone looking for a novel that’s smart and charming and unflinchingly honest… it’s similar in tone to Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
• Anyone who enjoys a mystery with an unlikely hero at its center… it’s similar in theme to Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano
• Anyone who loves when the narrator addresses you directly, inviting you into the action… it’s similar in style to the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off