Rating: 
Summary: We Need More Stories About Getting Along
Review: This book is funny. The story works well. But I am most impressed at how it took a mostly white town and put an African-American in a position of authority, gave women their say, made a gay couple appear as responsible as the next set of neighbors and managed to deal with the sometimes good/sometimes bad Christianity bubbling under the surface of this country. I don't know how much of this was actually intended by the author, but I wish that everyone would read it as a reminder not to teach our children (or anyone else's) to look down on others because they're different -- whether it's the color of their skin, their gender, their religion or their sexual preference. Life is better and a lot more FUN when we include others.
Rating: 
Summary: Why bother?
Review: I bought this book because I very much enjoyed Laura Pedersen's show on the Oxygen channel. But I was dissapointed by this book. I had just finished Alice Sebold's "The Lovely Bones" -- a hard act to follow I know. Well, sorry to say, in comparison this book had all the depth of one of my son's comic books. The characters were two-dimensional caracatures. The word choice was not particularly original or interesting. The descriptions seemed like filler. If the book had been funny -- it's obvious raison d'etre -- it might almost have been worth it. But it wasn't. I knew where I was supposed to laugh. I could hear the canned laughter in the background. But it just wasn't doing it. I obviously disagree with others who have reviewed this book here, but I don't understand why people bother to write books like this. It just screams I have time on my hands and nothing of much importance to say, but let me keep saying it anyway. (As an aside, I'm glad the book is only available in paperback because I dropped it in the tub and missed the last three chapters). If it got better at the end please disregard this review.
Rating:
Summary: A Sure Bet!
Review: I read this book over the weekend and rooted for Hallie Palmer to win big from cover to cover. Beginner's Luck is like an exquisite cake. Cut into it and you will discover many tantalizing layers. Layers about diversity, education, friendship, families, generations, love, religion, activism, and even death. Ms. Pedersen seems to ask, just how wise is conventional wisdom, especially if the result is closed mindedness or prejudice? Hallie, and those who come to her rescue, are a breath of fresh air with big hearts. Don't be surprised if, once you glimpse their joy in walking to the beat of a different drummer, you find yourself marching right alongside. If you're looking for an enjoyable, thought-provoking read, Beginner's Luck is a sure bet!
Rating:
Summary: TIMELESS and AGELESS
Review: While the front page of every newspaper talks about war, it was a pleasure to escape for a few hours into this wonderful new book (that I'd never heard of until last Friday). Beginner's Luck is pure pleasure and a delightful combination of EVERYTHING I love in a book of fiction -- humor, charm, believability, and affirmation. This story is timeless and ageless. And I'd be very interested in another one just like it if anyone has a suggestions!
Rating:
Summary: Remember being 16?
Review: An entertaining read with fun characters and a fast-paced plot. Hallie Palmer is instantly likeable, whether you're 16 and experiencing similar growing pains, or if you're 40 and looking back semi-fondly at the headaches and heartaches of high school. Ms. Pedersen obviously took notes during her own high school days because her book is filled with dead-on references to the little odds and ends that make up life for a teenager, especially that overwhelming NEED for a car and all of the freedom it represents. But most of all, she has captured what it feels like to be just a little off-center in a very symmetrical institution--suburbia. I raced through this book cheering for Hallie all the way.
Rating:
Summary: A gem of a book!
Review: A friend called to say she'd just finished Laura Pedersen's novel, BEGINNER'S LUCK, and she urged me to buy it. She said that if I read just one book this winter it should be this one. Though I wondered how good a book narrated by a 16-year-old high school dropout who spends time at the track and works as a yard person for a zany family could be, I bought a copy. And I was hooked. I read it straight through on a Sunday afternoon. The characters' eccentric yet genuine behavior is unforgettable, and Hallie's story is one that anyone-at any age-will relate to. After I finished the book I missed Hallie in a very real way; I actually wished I could spend more time with her! I am now
totally envious of anyone who hasn't read this book yet because they have a wonderful, rare treat ahead of them.
Rating:
Summary: A funny, unique and meaningful story
Review: Apologies to all if this review gets posted twice. I submitted my review about two weeks ago and it never showed up, but this book was worth the effort to resubmit!!
I haven't laughed this much since the old "Saturday Night Live" skits. And I haven't read a book this charming since "To Kill A Mockingbird." That's saying a lot, since I worked as a librarian for thirty years, reading and reviewing hundreds of books. "Beginner's Luck" is a beautiful combination of humor and wisdom for all ages. I'd say it's a female version of "Catcher In The Rye," but that doesn't do justice to all the delightful nuances. It's about everything -- life, love, friendship, and death.
Rating:
Summary: "A Tree Grows In Brooklyn" for the new millennium
Review: This charming novel is sort of a throwback to the 1950s, even though it takes place in the present. Which just goes to show once again how everything changes and everything stays the same -- at least when it comes to important things like love, death, the necessity of friendship, and the difficulty of finding where we belong in the world. I'd recommend this book to any young person who ever felt as if they didn't fit in and to any older person who enjoys an old-fashioned good read that's witty, poignant, and filled with original characters and great dialogue. I had not heard of this author ever before but from the picture she appears young enough to serve up a few more stories and I look forward to that. And if you ever wondered what might have happened if Anne from Green Gables had become a gambler this novel may just hold the answer.
Rating: 
Summary: Loveable, memorable and quirky characters drive this story
Review: The expression "beginner's luck" may be the chosen title of Laura Pedersen's new novel but it certainly could not be used to describe the book. Author of GOING AWAY PARTY and PLAY MONEY: My Brief but Brilliant Career on Wall Street, Pedersen is still a relatively young writer. However, she exhibits the talent of not only a seasoned novelist but also a great storyteller.Hallie Palmer, the main character and narrator, is no ordinary sixteen year old. A skilled gambler and novice detective, Hallie spends her free time dealing cards, placing bets at the race track and trading stocks (much like Pedersen herself did as a youth) while her contemporaries are planning proms and attending football games. One of seven children, Hallie is often as equally lost in the home front crowd as she is on the high school scene. Wanting to fit in-like any teenager --- and yet struggling to maintain or assert her own identity --- Hallie decides to drop out of high school and take on a job as a "yard person" for an eccentric family in town. The eccentric family, the Stocktons, become Hallie's lifeline. She quickly moves in with them, realizing that their love of life and total acceptance of who and what they are is exactly what she has been personally searching for in her life. What a rich set of characters they are! (If you are a fan of Anne Tyler, you'll see that Pedersen's people are reminiscent of the population in Tyler's body of work). Olivia, the grandmotherly head of the clan, dispenses her own unique brand of wisdom and advise. For instance, when Hallie confides she's having boy trouble because her boyfriend claims to have physical needs she's not yet willing to satisfy, Olivia gives an unconventional recommendation for an adult to a child: a hand job. Bernard, the gay adult son and chef extraordinaire, fills the pages with warmth and mouthwatering passages, as he concocts meals to match moods and epicurean delights for every event. Oh, and I would be remiss if I did not mention Rocky, the live-in monkey, who is both a practicing Catholic and a gifted bartender. (Yes, that's right --- the monkey.) Good characters drive a story. Writing loveable, likable, memorable, believable quirky characters is either a gift at birth or a talent one develops with years of experience. For Laura Pedersen, the former is true. She is a natural and her characters ARE her story. I suspect she will be telling us great tales for years to come, if she plays her cards right. --- Reviewed by Roberta O'Hara
Rating:
Summary: Didn't Want To Put It Down
Review: I LOVED THIS BOOK. That said, you'll not find all that much that normally passes for entertainment these days - spy stories, terror attacks, and people with life-threatening diseases. Nope. This is an old-fashioned story where people live regular lives and yet still it is so charming and funny that I didn't want it to end. It's tremendously refreshing in its affirmation of life and hope and friendship (and I thought very well-written). Great characters who are not your stereotypical small town weirdos. But the kind of folks we all know or are related to. A great read for a long rainy weekend or a plane ride across an ocean. This is one of those stories with a lot of crossover that could easily appeal to teenagers or older people. It's like a Disney movie in that the young might not get all the references, but won't need them to follow along, and the older folk will enjoy the the literary and cultural references, especially when they're part of a joke. Speaking of movies, I can't imagine this book not being made into a movie if it already isn't one. Robert Downey Jr. would definitely make a terrific Bernard and I can easily see Blythe Danner as Olivia, or perhaps Meryl Streep. If there's a chimp out there who already knows how to tend bar then there's definitely a part for him. I'm looking forward to the sequel!
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