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    The Luck Uglies
    The Luck Uglies
    The Luck Uglies
    Audiobook8 hours

    The Luck Uglies

    Written by Paul Durham

    Narrated by Fiona Hardingham

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    The first in a series with the makings of a modern classic, The Luck Uglies is an irresistible cross between Chris Colfer's Land of Stories series and Kelly Barnhill's The Girl Who Drank the Moon, overflowing with adventure, secrets, friendship, and magic.

    Rye O'Chanter has seen a lot of strange things happen in Village Drowning: Children are chased through the streets. Families are fined for breaking laws that don't even exist. Girls aren't allowed to read anymore, and certain books—books that hold secrets about Drowning's past—have been outlawed altogether.

    Now a terrifying encounter has eleven-year-old Rye convinced that the monstrous, supposedly extinct Bog Noblins have returned. Before the monsters disappeared, there was only one way to defeat them—the Luck Uglies. But the Luck Uglies have long since been exiled, and there's nobody left who can protect the village.

    As Rye dives into Drowning's maze of secrets, rules, and lies, she begins to question everything she's been told about the village's legend of outlaws and beasts . . . and what she'll discover is that it may take a villain to save them from the monsters.

    This critically acclaimed debut middle grade novel was named an ALA Notable Book and a New York Public Library Title for Reading and Sharing and won the Cybil Award for Middle Grade Speculative Fiction and a Sunshine State Young Readers Award.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateApr 29, 2014
    ISBN9780062324986
    Author

    Paul Durham

    Paul works as a lawyer and lives in New Hampshire with his family and an enormous, bushy cat. He writes in an abandoned chicken coop at the edge of a swamp and keeps a tiny porcelain frog in his pocket for good luck.

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    Reviews for The Luck Uglies

    4.5/5

    15 ratings5 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I seriously love this book so insanely much. Rye is a young girl who lives in the Village Drowning, a ramshackle little sea town where women aren't allowed to read, and the power of the nobility is pretty much absolute. She lives with her mother and her little sister, and their cat, and early on we learn about the pendant charms each wear around their necks. The story follows Rye through a little of daily life in Drowning, edged with just enough mystery to not take away from the village life itself. But soon, weird things happen. Bog Noblins are coming back, and to protect the village and everyone in it, the Luck Uglies must be called. There's also the mysterious Harmless, who's identity is easily guessed, but still adorable. The story is well constructed, with well defined life and culture. It's fun. The little house rules that Rye often repeats turn out to actually mean something, and I enjoyed that. This is a story where looking closer reveals a little more that you thought was originally there - for example, near the end, when everything goes down, Rye never actually sees it. I like this, because instead of most kids books where a 12 year old is responsible for taking down the beast, or stopping the dictator, or completing the prophecy - Rye is more realistic. She doesn't do anything that I feel like a child her age actually could or would have. Very fun, very much looking forward to the next foray into the world of Drowning.
    • 4/5
      A very nice fantasy novel, The Luck Uglies is about a young girl learning the secrets of her family and her town as she tries to save them from the Nob Goblins.Riley and her friends Quinn and Folly play on the rooftops in the town of Drowning. They have stolen a banned book called Tam's Tom of Drowning Mouth Fibs, Volume II, wanting to learn the truth about their town. The Earl runs the town and doesn't allow girls to be educated, so Quinn is teaching Rye to read as they learn about the town. On the night of the Black Moon, Riley breaks the house rules and goes to the only side of town that the Earl can't control to see the Black Moon party at the Dead Fish Inn which is owned by Folly's family. Seeing her mother with a strange man and realizing that the doors will be locked for the night, Rye tries to beat her mother home through the dangerous streets as everyone is locked in. When Rye returns home, she finds Quinn hiding in the secret room. Shady, the cat, dashes through the door Riley left open, breaking another house rule that Shady is to never leave the house. Rye chases the cat and sees creatures that indicate the Nob Goblins are returning to Drowning. The Nob Goblins will kill everyone. As the novel progresses, the strange man with Rye's mother takes on a whole new meaning to the family as they and their friends are the only ones who can fight the creatures and hopefully save the town.This is a very enjoyable, fun novel. I liked the characters and the pace of the plot as well as the fantastical elements. It's worth your time to read as a solid middle school book!
    • 4/5
      This book was amazing! The Luck Uglies details the events in Village Drowning where it appears that the Bog Noblins, a creature thought to be extinct, has returned to wreak havoc on the lives of the villagers. Rye, the main character of the book, hopes that the secret society, the Luck Uglies will be able to save her village from the impending doom. This book is a solid first installment in a planned series and has plenty of action of adventure to hook even the most reluctant readers. Paul Durham does a great job with world building and drawing the reader in to the Village Drowning. The characters were well written and easy to connect with particularly Rye and Harmless who are loyal and brave. I highly recommend this book to fans of Peter and the Starcatchers and Harry Potter. 4 stars!
    • 2/5
      I feel like the first 2/3 of this could've been summarized in 2 chapters. It took that long to introduce the characters and setting and even after that I didn't find myself engaged with the plot or characters. The narrator did a great job.
    • 4/5
      In my mind, exploring new worlds is the best part of reading. Imagine my excitement when The Luck Uglies transported me to the Village Drowning and gave me enough rich backstory to fully immerse myself there. I was dropped into a world where magic and mischief rule the day. Where dark things lurk in the shadows. A story where a brave heart means everything. Needless to say, I adored my trip to Drowning. I honestly can't wait to go back.

      Rye O'Chanter is a wonderful main character. She's brave and resourceful. The type of young girl who readers of all ages will easily fall in love with. In fact, Durham writes a whole cast of characters who are fully formed. From the dastardly regent of the land, to the blind boy who becomes Rye's ally, each one of them were beautifully done. It's not hard to fall into step with them. I had a lot of fun getting to know these characters.

      The story is where this first book suffered a little bit. As I said, the world is large and the characters vivid. It takes a lot of descriptive writing to get them to that point. While there was definitely a fair amount of forward movement in this, and some moments of action-packed goodness, there were big portions of explanations. In my case, it didn't really phase me too much. I love getting to know more about the people and places in my books. Just giving a warning to those of you who might feel that things are a bit slow. Keep going! By the end I promise you'll be extremely eager for more.

      Last month was a tough reading month, and this book helped immensely with getting me out of that slump. It was just so much fun to read! I'm thrilled that The Luck Uglies was only the first installment, and that Rye O'Chanter will be back for more adventures. I can't wait to go back to the Village Drowning.