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Three Times Lucky is a 2012 New York Times Best Seller adolescent novel by author Sheila Turnage. Three Times Lucky was a Newbery Medal Honor book in 2013.

Three Times Lucky is the story of Miss Moses “Mo” LoBeau, a sixth grader living in a small North Carolina town. But that is just about all we know about Mo, as that her birth and infancy are mystery on their own. Eleven years ago she was washed ashore during a hurricane and saved by the Colonel. He and Miss Lana have been raising Mo together and all operate a cafe, along with Mo’s best friend Dale Earnhardt Johnson III. Since then, Mo has been writing her autobiography and sending numerous letters down the river, hoping her “Upstream Mother” would get a hold of them and tell her why she let her go. When Mo isn’t working at the cafe or trying to find her Upstream Mother, she and Dale are helping Dale’s older brother fix up racecars and “borrowing” their cranky neighbor’s boat for fishing.

The Colonel is also one of the town’s other mysteries. Nobody knows where he came from or who he really is. He lost his memory in a car accident during the night of the hurricane in which he found Mo. Dale’s father found the two after the hurricane. When he was found, the Colonel was wearing a uniform with the name “Lobo” on it, which was then changed to “LoBeau” by Miss Lana. Although the Colonel and Miss Lana are not married, they do share deep love and trust for each other. They also have a “three-day rule”- either of them are allowed to get away for a while when they may be stressed or have other things that have to be taken care of. But they must call each other after the third day they are away to ensure they’re OK.

Detective Starr is the newest stranger to Tupelo Landing. He comes into town asking about a murder in Winston-Salem. He isn’t welcomed and many of the townspeople are very skeptical about him, especially the Colonel. But Tupelo Landing’s biggest mystery shocks the town when Mr. Jesse, the cranky neighbor and frequent cafe patron is found murdered- in the same boat that Dale returned. Dale and the Colonel quickly become subjects. Mo believes that Dale is innocent because he all he really did was return Mr. Jesse’s boat, although he did steal it. Detective Starr starts connecting this murder to the one he was originally investigating when he got to Tupelo Landing. He also mentions a bank robbery that happened eleven years ago, just around the time Mo and the Colonel came into town.

Dale and Mo decide to solve the murder themselves. They go to the crime scene and spy on two of Detective Starr’s deputies, Marla and Ben. Starr is in the area already because he's been working on a case involving stolen money. Mo trips and falls in the water, which announces her presence to the detective, and at the same time discovers the murder weapon-a wooden oar belonging to Mr. Jesse's boat. Starr doesn't think that Dale murdered Mr. Jesse, but decides to take him into protective custody as a setup to lure the real murderer out of hiding. Mo and Dale notice someone spying on them. They call him “Plainclothes Phil” and think he is acting as a bodyguard for Starr. During this time, the Colonel leaves leaves town and Mo and Miss Lana begin to worry when he breaks the three-day rule.

A few days after Mr. Jesse’s funeral, Mo comes home to find her house destroyed and Miss Lana missing. A note is found on the table addressed to Detective Starr and suggests that Mr. Jesse’s murderer has kidnapped Miss Lana too. Starr learns that Plainclothes Phil is Robert Slate, a bank robber who recently escaped prison, has both Miss Lana and the Colonel and asks for the $500,000 that was never recovered from the bank robbery eleven years ago. They also learn that some of the money Mr. Jesse donated to the church weekly came from that same robbery, concluding that Mr. Jesse was involved along with Slate.

Since Miss Lana’s and the Colonel’s kidnapping, Mo has been staying with Dale and his mother, Miss Rose. Mo gets a call from the Colonel. He tells Mo that he escaped from Slate. Dale and Mo go to the Colonel's house to find a packet. Mo takes a quick peek and sees that it contains old newspaper clippings. Before they have a chance to leave, Slate enters the house and the two hide under Miss Lana's bed. They head toward the living room and run into Marla, the deputy, who points a gun at them. Marla isn't so friendly now. She puts away her gun and interrogates the kids, wanting to know what they're up to. Mo throws a boot at Marla, and she falls, striking her head. The kids tie her up, flatten her tires and take off on Dale's bicycle. Mo figures out that Slate is hiding Miss Lana in an abandoned house nearby. When they go to check, the house is empty.

Dale's dad, drunk and angry, is in the room, even though Miss Rose has a restraining order against him. Mr. Macon physically assaults her and Dale gets a rifle and aims it at him. Suddenly, the Colonel appears from a hallway, takes the rifle from Dale and iterates the threat. They tie up Mr. Macon. Mr. Macon tells them that Miss Lana is being held at Mr. Jesse's house. The Colonel looks through the newspaper clippings in the packet that Miss Lana had saved for him. He remembers that he is connected to the robbery, but he isn't sure how.

Dale and Mo observe Slate through a window as he pries up floorboards in Mr. Jesse's house to reveal large spaces where things could be hidden, but haven't. Mo and Dale break into the house, kick Slate into the space under the floorboards and secure him by pulling a heavy oak table over the opening. When the Colonel returns, he uses a cord to tie up Slate, while Mo keeps the empty pistol trained on him. Detective Starr appears at the door, and safely has Miss Lana. She had escaped from Slate by hitting him with a lamp.

Once the investigation is complete, Starr presents a newspaper clipping that upsets and also brings some comfort to the Colonel about who he was before the car accident. It shows that he was a defense lawyer at Slate's trial, and he hates lawyers. They find a metal box under the floor that contains the remainder of the bank robbery money. Slate and Marla are arrested and the town gets back to its normal routine.

°BOOK REVIEWS° Many critics say Three Times Lucky is a one of a kind, Southern-style novel. A writer for Kirkus Reviews claims that Sheila Turnage's first adolescent novel is "an engaging, spirit-lifting and unforgettable debut for young readers". With a complex and multi-layered plot, Sherrie Williams says it "will appeal to both skilled and reluctant readers of either gender" with its many "elements of mystery, romance, secret identities." But some critics say that constantly introducing new characters, plots and subplots can cause the reader to be confused about what the story is actually about and it may even spoil the ending. Jonathan Hunt of School Library Journal says "the beginning is awfully slow." But Carolyn Phelan of Booklist claims "the pace quickens considerably as the mystery gains momentum, climaxing in an epic scene."

http://blogs.slj.com/heavymedal/2012/10/21/three-times-lucky/

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