Dumb Luck Page 17
One of Brandon’s disadvantages is that he seems to have no enthusiasms, no areas where he feels he can excel in life. Do you think there are a lot of teenagers who suffer from this lack of focus?
I think a lot of us are “lost” at various points in our lives—young or old. I feel sad for anyone who hasn’t found some strong set of passions to live by. At the beginning of the story, Brandon is floating through life. I’ve heard people speak about winning the lottery as solving all their problems and that it would be a dream come true. But most of us will never win big in a lottery so it’s just a silly notion not worthy of pursuit.
Poor Brandon now has a number of things to cope with that he is not prepared for:
1. He has “friends”—including girls—who mostly only want to be with him for his money and his notoriety.
2. He can drop out of school and forget about even tentative plans for more education and job training. Why bother?
3. He can now almost fully be an adult—buy a car, rent his own apartment, buy whatever he wants—without having been prepared for these responsibilities.
4. And much more.
The young man is in real trouble.
Brandon wants to be part of a group, likes the idea of having acceptable friends, going with “hot girls.” Is this a major cause of his downfall?
We all want to be accepted. We all want friends and we want to be attractive to others. The best we can hope for is that people are attracted to us for who we really are. Brandon has found himself in a very false, shallow, and delusional world. He’s on a downward spiral although, like many, he’s having some fun along the way. The big question posed in the book is, how can he find his way out of the downward spiral? It isn’t going to be easy. What skills can he learn along the way to save himself? The book hints at answers but doesn’t give any easy solutions.
I’m interested in how you select names for characters in your novels. Can you tell me how you came to the names of the major characters in this story?
I’ve written so many novels and have used so many character names that this is not easy. This will sound like cheating but here’s what I do to ensure my names are contemporary.
I figure out the year the book will likely be published and subtract the age of the character to determine the year that most teen characters were born. Then I Google the popular baby names for that year. I rarely choose the most popular ones but look at those in the 10 to 20 range and select the ones that resonate the most for the characters I am creating.
What is the significance of the fact that the two characters who really sympathize with Brandon––Kayla and the vice-principal––are both outsiders, in a sense?
I really like Kayla—she is sincere, smart, and a good real friend to Brandon. Even as older teens, they still like to climb trees. She helps ground Brandon but is losing out to the temptations of his new life. And she is definitely not part of the in crowd at school or anywhere else. But they are good together and Brandon can’t truly see how important she is. So now she is even more of an outsider but she has strengths that Brandon does not have.
I have a strong affinity to outsiders and have been one myself for much of my life. We sometimes create the very reasons that make us outsiders. Truth is we don’t necessarily want to fit in. We want to be fiercely independent. And we pay a price for it.
The vice principal, Mr. Carver, is a unique example of a smart, compassionate man in a position of authority who knows how to use his job in the school to help guide young people. He knows what it feels like to be an outsider as he is black and he is gay. He is a good ally for Brandon but Brandon is too caught up in his new whirlwind to be able to recognize him as a good friend and mentor.
Could there have been an alternative story where the windfall of cash is truly a blessing for a eighteen-year-old and sets off a chain of very positive life experiences?
Perhaps there is an alternate tale to be told about how instant wealth was a truly good thing for a teenager. Maybe the winner would recognize the power of money to do good deeds and create a means of channeling it towards just that. But it would take an extraordinary person of great strength and wisdom beyond his years. Most of us don’t really figure out how insignificant money is in our lives and in the big scheme of things until we are much older. The sad truth is that too much success, too much fame, or too much money at too young of an age is a very dangerous thing. Nonetheless, I do believe there are some out there who had great fortune early on and handled it wisely. And for them it would have been the result of far more than just good luck.
Praise for Lesley Choyce
Random
“The story has plenty of dramatic activity. . . What many teens may enjoy even more than the plot specifics, though, is Joseph’s unpretentious search for meaning that emerges from his “random thoughts,” which range from Malthus to Buddhism to Aristotle to his namesake, Joseph Campbell, who, in describing the mythic hero’s perilous journey, articulates what may feel like coming-of-age concerns for many teens.”
—Booklist
“With Joseph Campbell, Lesley Choyce offers readers a young male character who is complex, intelligent, and (dare I say it,) sensitive. Random is a “must-buy” book for high school libraries, and an absolute “must-read”… make it a deliberate acquisition!”
—CM Magazine
Living Outside the Lines
“Choyce has written a beautiful story that will draw readers in to its possibilities.”
—School Library Journal
“Lesley Choyce offers teen readers a tantalizing vision of the future that raises many challenging and thought-provoking questions in this book that is both highly engaging and easily accessible. . .”
—Atlantic Books Today
The End of the World As We Know It
“Carson’s story of subtle growth and quiet transformation will resonate with a wide range off readers. It is a beautifully honest book tinged with sadness, but ultimately filled with optimism and hope.”
—Atlantic Books Today
“Each character in Lesley Choyce’s novel is clearly profiled and dons a prevalent issue facing today’s teens…this paperback will be a favorite among young adults and earns itself a 5 rating.”
—Lane Education Service District (5 out of 5 Stars)
The Book of Michael
“Without descending into stock problem-solving or rote moralizing, Michael’s mentors provide commentary regarding acceptance and change.”
—Kirkus
“Examining redemption and re-assimilation, Choyce’s sober style rewards readers.”
—School Library Journal
Copyright © 2011 Lesley Choyce
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of Red Deer Press or, in case of photocopying or other reprographic copying, a licence from Access Copyright (Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency) 1 Yonge Street, Suite 1900, Toronto, ON M5E 1E5, Fax (416) 868-1621.
Published by Red Deer Press, A Fitzhenry & Whiteside Company
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www.reddeerpress.com
Published in the United States by Red Deer Press, A Fitzhenry & Whiteside Company
311 Washington Street, Brighton, Massachusetts, 02135
Edited for the Press by Peter Carver
Cover and text design by Daniel Choi
Cover image courtesy of iStockphoto
eBook development: WildElement.ca
5 4 3 2 1
We acknowledge with thanks the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Ontario Arts Council for their support of our publishing program. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund for our publishing activities.
&nbs
p; Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Choyce, Lesley, 1951-
Dumb luck / Lesley Choyce.
ISBN 978-0-88995-465-6 (print), 978-1-55244-311-8 (epub)
I. Title.
PS8555.H668D84 2011 jC813’.54 C2011-905854-5
Publisher Cataloging-in-Publication Data (U.S)
Choyce, Lesley.
Dumb luck / Lesley Choyce.
[ 240 ] p. : cm.
Summary: Brandon DeWolfe, an 18-year-old lonely misfit just barely getting through school, does what almost everyone else just dreams of: he wins the lottery. Plunged into a world that is completely new to him, and without any real moral compass to follow, Brandon realizes it’s a good idea to be careful what you wish for.
1. Self-esteem -- Fiction. 2. Adolescence -- Fiction. I. Title.
[Fic] dc22 PZ7.C5693Du 2011