Lucky (Julee Beck) (Rachel Leary)

Title: Lucky
Author: Alice Sebold
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Pages: 272

Where: I actually found this book for my research project. I originally was just going to do the research paper on The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold but I then found this one to do too.

Summary: Lucky is a memoir of how Alice Sebold was raped at Syracuse University. Sebold then leaves Syracuse and goes home with her family so she can recover with them. Then she saw her rapist while she was out one day. When the police caught him she had to identify him from a line up. By accident she picked the wrong guy because he looked exactly like her rapist. They then convicted the right guy and he was then arrested. The book mostly talks about how she deals with the rape and the conviction.

Audience: I believe the audience for this book is girls because she wrote Lucky so she could reach out to them and even someone who actually went through the same thing.

Writing Style: The writing style for this memoir is actually very descriptive, especially in the beginning. It is very right out there and you learn every detail of what happened.
“He stood up and began dragging me over the grass by my hair. I twisted and half crawled, trying to keep up with him. Dimly, I had seen the dark entrance of the amphitheater tunnel from the path. As we neared it, and I realized it was our destination, a rush of fear ran through me. I knew I would die.”(Pg 6) This shows how descriptive she is because you can picture it so well.

Three Passages: 1.”I knew I was staring up into the eyes of the man who would kill me.” (Pg 6) I chose this because she thought she was going to be killed but luckily she was “lucky” enough to get away. This has a lot to do with the book, not only the title but because she got through the mental abuse from the rape and was not killed.
2. “The word shock, in this context in meant to mean I was no longer there.” (Pg 23)
I chose this quote because it shows how mentally abused she was from this experience. It shows how Alice was lost and didn’t even know where she was. She felt like she was lost.
3. “’ Did you ever call security to give you a ride home?’
I began to cry. Was everything my fault?” (Pg 194) I chose this quote because this is after she is being interrogated about picking the wrong guy. There were two guys who looked exactly alike. I chose this because it shows how scary and how much responsibility is on your hands for the conviction.

Interaction: I personally could not relate to the actual experience that she went through but what I could do was learn from this. This memoir really made me see how awful it really is what these girls go through. In the world today I think it is more likely for girls to go through this awful experience. It made me really see how bad this scars a person and how it almost mentally abuses them. I really enjoyed this book because I learned a lot of what these people have to go through and I always wanted to keep reading.

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Title: LuckyAuthor: Alice SeboldPublisher: Back Bay BooksPages: 272

Where: I found it in the library while I was trying to do my research paper on Alice Sebold.

Summary: Lucky is a true story of the brutal assault and rape of Alice Sebold, also the author of Lovely Bones. This book isn’t for everyone because it gives major detail of a quite disturbing rape in the first several pages. Alice was raped and assaulted on her last night at Syracuse University. What fallows is a look at what would a victim may have experienced as they go through their recovery. Sebold has to deal with the fact that it’s her last night and she must go home to her family, tell them, and eventually make a recovery. One day while Sebold was out, she noticed her rapist and when police had caught him it was an exact identification. At first they accuse the wrong man but as the story goes on, they catch the right man. The book mostly talks about how she deals with the rape and the aftermath. Although this book can be really shocking at times, it gives a really good insight to what a victim of this sort of crime would go through as they would have to recover. Audience: The audience for this book is girls, she intentionally wrote Lucky so that she would be able to reach out to all of the girls that experienced a similar situation.

Writing Style: The writing style for this memoir is very descriptive, especially in the beginning on the first few pages where she talks about her detailed rape.
“There was an old iron fence a few feet out from the tunnel entrance. It was three feet high and provided a narrow space through which you had to walk in order to enter the tunnel. As he dragged me, as I scrambled against the grass, I caught sight of that fence and became utterly convinced that if he brought me beyond this point, I would not survive.”(Pg 1) This shows how descriptive the book really is, you can almost picture it perfectly.

Three Passages:
1. "I'm cold," I said. "Lay down." "On the ground?" I asked, stupidly, hopelessly. I saw, among the leaves and glass, the grave. My body stretched out, disassembled, gagged, dead.”(pg 2) I chose this because she states how she was “dead” but in reality she ended up surviving. Surviving actually has a lot to do with the book.
2. “Tears came out of the corners of my eyes and rolled down either cheek. I was leaving now, but then I heard sounds. Out on the path. People, a group of laughing boys and girls, passing by. I had passed a party on my way to the park, a party to celebrate the last day of school. I looked at him; he did not hear them. This was it. I made an abrupt scream and, as soon as I did, he shoved his hand in my mouth. Simultaneously I heard the laughter again. This time it was directed toward the tunnel, toward us. Yells and taunts. Good-time noises.” (pg 6)I chose this quote because it shows how much she had to fight just to get her way. It also shows no matter how long it may take never give up on something.
3. “Alice,” he said, “A lot of things are going to happen and this may not make much sense to you right now, but listen. Try if you can, to remember everything.” (Pg 114) I chose this quote because this is where she was trying to distinguish between the two guys when they were trying to figure out what one really assaulted her.

Interaction: I couldn’t personally relate to this story, because something so traumatic has never happened to me. What I do was learn from his book a lot. The novel made me realize some of the horrific experiences that some girls go trough everyday. For some reason feel as though girls experience these situations a lot more then guys do. I did though really enjoy this book.