Rating: 
Summary: Terribly sad & very intriguing...
Review: Lucky is a courageous tale of overcoming a brutal rape. It was *terribly* sad, disturbing and COURAGEOUS. I commend Sebold for her bravery and complete honesty. I could not put this book down; it was an intriguing page turner. This book is very graphic & not a read for everyone.
Rating:
Summary: raw, disturbing and compelling
Review: One would think, that following the sheer violent impact of the rape that the author experienced, anything else would be less-than-compelling. Quite the contrary. The disturbing effects of the rape don't stop with the night in question, but continue with the assortment of family, friends and strangers Alice deals with following the rape. Those who are supportive are not always loved ones, and those who add to the trauma of the initial experience are not always strangers. All in all, this book is a masterpiece for anyone who might want to know what sort of range of emotion a victim of violent crime might experience. I found myself angry at various people as the events unfolded in the book, and amazed at Alice's fortitude. Her intelligence, insight and wit, throughout the experiences of the rape, the investigation and the trial of her rapist, are impressive. Alice is able to look at her case impassively enough to see that she had many things going for her in achieving a conviction; Things that were a matter of chance, as it happens, but which allowed her to see it through in a way that someone of different circumstances might not have. She amazingly, is able to portray herself, subtly, as "lucky" - lucky to be bright, well-spoken;
lucky to have been wearing concealing rather than revealing clothes on the night of the rape;
lucky to have had no sexual history to hold against her;
lucky to be alive. Any woman (hopefully any person) reading the book, should be simulaneously convinced of her "lucky" status, and of the irony of the situation and the use of the word "lucky". She is a hero, not a survivor. My use of her first name is in no way intended as disrespect, but as an indication that it is difficult to read so much of the inside of another person's head, without feeling that we're on a first-name basis. Within a year or so after the initial crime, a close friend of Alice's is subjected to a similar violent act, and deals with it very differently. This, too, is disturbing, in its avoidance of what happened... interesting. I hope that many people read this book and feel LUCKY after reading it. I did.
Rating:
Summary: couragous
Review: It's difficult for a man to read books like Ms. Sebold's "Lucky". Throughout the entire experience I wanted to hold the author and reassure her that 'we all aren't like this'. At least we aren't with eachother, nor with ourselves, but in our most private moments I wonder what alot of us, both male and female are capeable of. If Ms. Sebold should ever happen to stumble across this review, please accept it as a 'hug' from one man who prays that he is decent.
Rating: 
Summary: Powerful...meaningful book!
Review: I read Sebold's The Lovely Bones before I read this. I was very anxious to hear the real life story of the author's real life rape and how it affected her life. I was not surprised to find that, like The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold knows how to write...and she does it well! The rape description and courtroom drama are extremely gripping. I had a hard time putting this book down. I also found her life after the rape was described so well and deeply touched me. I had never thought much about how rape may affect someone in their later years, and Sebold beautifully describes every detail.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful story
Review: This book is an incredibly vivid account of rape.... She also shows the way in which loved ones and other "helpers" can sometimes say hurtful things because they are unaware of what it is like to be overpowered (emotionally or physically) by a rapist. I think young women in similar circumstances would really relate to her experience, and there are few books that capture this so well. This is an important book for young women, given how common rape is on college campuses. It was also amazing to read about the circumstances that led up to the arrest of the rapist, and the entire court proceedings. If you are going through the legal system yourself, this book may be helpful. ... This book provides an example in which sexual violence is not only a one-time occurrence, but can often re-enter a person's life in many different ways.
Rating:
Summary: LOOK FOR THIS TO BE A BIG BOOKCLUB SELECTION SOON!
Review: I'm giving this book five stars as it really is a fantastic book. The best non fiction always reads like fiction and Lucky does that and does it well. Alice's description of the rape and aftermath are so well done you feel as though you were there in Syracuse at the time. However, the book does have a MAJOR fault. The ending. I couldn't believe when I got to the ending and there was a short chapter on her heroin use following college with no real warning this was coming. You are reading along and in the entire book I don't think any substance beyond alcohol is mentioned (as least as far as Alice's intake is concerned). Suddenly, there in the last chapter she's discussing smoking heroin and living the life of a vagabond. She just doesn't segue into this very well. There's no real description of how she began, how she stopped, etc. I felt like I was reading a different book by a different author. Considering how much of her family she exposed, her mother's "flaps" (anxiety attacks-the poor woman was clearly under-medicated or improperly medicated), her parent's indifferent style of loving not only each other but their children; she seems to clam up about this side of herself. It seems impossible to think that she's intentionally clamming up after vividly and explicitly describing everything else that's happened to her. It's as though she doesn't think her substance abuse problem was connected to the fallout from the rape. This being stated, Alice Seebold is one author that I eagerly anticipate reading any and everything she writes.
Rating:
Summary: A fabulous story of survival!
Review: Loved the author's second book, " The Lovely Bones" so much that I felt compelled to read her first one. I knew a little of her background from various interviews but had no idea the full extent of her horror. Her memoir is both sad and inspiring-such a young girl to be facing so much so soon. The maturity forced on her from growing up with a dysfunctional family obviously prepared her to deal more successfully with the rape. Still, the crime was horrific and her resiliance is amazing.
Rating:
Summary: Important reading
Review: I finished this book last night, but I'll be thinking about it for quite some time. When she was 18 years old, Alice Sebold was raped. Obviously, the event changed her life. "Lucky" is the story of the rape, the trial and how both affected her life. It's disturbing and graphic, but I think that was necessary. After reading the book, I was amazed by Ms. Sebold's strength and intelligence. Although I can't understand what she's been through, I think I can imagine it a litttle bit. Maybe that was her goal; to have me see her as a person rather than a victim. I also think I can see some of the origins of "The Lovely Bones" in this experience. That book has become even more meaningful to me after reading this one. "Lucky" is not an easy book to read, but I think it is worthwhile - in the telling for Ms. Sebold, and in the reading for me.
Rating: 
Summary: Incomplete at best....
Review: I read this book with the same veracity as most other reviewers but when I turned to the last page, I felt like I had been dropped out of a ten story building. And now that I think about it, the dialogue and story had a 'blunted' feel to it. Anyone can describe the brutality of a rape, but to communicate to women everywhere that to be strong and of good humor and maybe use a few drugs to numb the pain along the way is the method for mentally, emotionally and physically handle being raped is not being honest. To be ravaged in that way...first by a rapist and secondly, by a painfully biased court system...and not write in depth about the years of many different types of therapy required to overcome the indignity, anger, self doubt and all the symptoms of PTSD is incomplete at best. When I finished the book, I was really angry. I was angry at the horror of rape, at the insensitivity of the criminal justice system and at the author for not addressing more seriously the unavoidable damage caused not only by the rape, but by an uncaring, dysfunctional family and support system. I was even more surprised when at the end of the book, the author thanks her father, sister and mother for everything they did. What??? While a precious daughter is going through a horrible trial for something entirely not her fault and then resorting to heroin, alcohol and anything else to numb the pain, her father sits outside the courtroom and her mother communicates with her via phone while her sister moans about her college major not quite being as satisfactory as it should be!?!
Maybe Ms. Sebold could write another book about recovery.
Rating:
Summary: Triumph Over Tragedy
Review: This is the story of a women who was beaten down by life. It is also a story of a women who got up, brushed herself off, and kicked some major butt. Not in the physical action movie sense, but in the true to life sense of facing evil and overcoming. I believe true empathic writing springs from pain. And this women knows pain. [...].
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