Historical

Luck of the Titanic

Luck of the Titanic

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-07-27 08:51:08
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Stacey Lee
  • ISBN：1524740985
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

Valora Luck has two things: a ticket for the biggest and most luxurious ocean liner in the world， and a dream of leaving England behind and making a life for herself as a circus performer in New York。 Much to her surprise， though， she's turned away at the gangway; apparently， Chinese people aren't allowed into America。

But Val has to get on that ship。 Her twin brother， Jamie， who has spent two long years at sea， is on board， as is an influential circus owner。 Thankfully， there's not much a trained acrobat like Val can't overcome when she puts her mind to it。

As a stowaway， Val should keep her head down and stay out of sight。 But the clock is ticking and she has just seven days as the ship makes its way across the Atlantic to find Jamie， audition for the circus owner， and convince him to help get them both into America。

Then one night， the unthinkable happens， and suddenly Val's dreams of a new life are crushed under the weight of the only thing that matters: survival。

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Reviews

Alicia Schulz ，

A wonderful tribute to the Chinese people that were on The Titanic。

Tessa ，

Stacy Lee just does really good historical fiction。 She really gets you to care about the characters on the ship and show how they all had lives and plans and dreams that got interrupted or cut off forever by the disaster。 She gets you invested in Valora's and the other characters' goals even though in the back of your mind you're always waiting for the other shoe to drop and see if these characters you're invested in even make it off the ship alive。 The sinking sequence sent me on a whole rabbi Stacy Lee just does really good historical fiction。 She really gets you to care about the characters on the ship and show how they all had lives and plans and dreams that got interrupted or cut off forever by the disaster。 She gets you invested in Valora's and the other characters' goals even though in the back of your mind you're always waiting for the other shoe to drop and see if these characters you're invested in even make it off the ship alive。 The sinking sequence sent me on a whole rabbit hole research session trying to map out the boat and plot out the timeline of events。 There was so much negligence and so many poor decisions as well as just bad coincidences that doomed the ship。 I enjoyed Valora as a character and her journey to let Jamie be his own person。 I think the ending fit well。I didn't love it as much as Lee's other works， but still very good。 。。。more

Libby ，

I usually love Stacey Lee's books， but I struggled to get through this。 Lee writes well， and as always， she has done her historical research。 I think the problem is I just wasn't interested in reading another book about the Titanic。 For YA readers who do want to read more about the ship's ill-fated voyage， this is recommended。 I usually love Stacey Lee's books， but I struggled to get through this。 Lee writes well， and as always， she has done her historical research。 I think the problem is I just wasn't interested in reading another book about the Titanic。 For YA readers who do want to read more about the ship's ill-fated voyage， this is recommended。 。。。more

ND ，

I wanted to like this book。 It has a great premise and I have a long-time love of Titanic stories that I blame entirely on Leonardo Dicaprio。 I just could not get into it。 I tried。 I pushed through the first quarter of the book and。。。nothing。 The pacing is slow， Valora isn't nearly compelling enough of a character to succeed with a first person narrative， and I had a hard time caring enough to be bothered。I might have still pushed through after that。 It was a Once Upon a Book Club pick and usual I wanted to like this book。 It has a great premise and I have a long-time love of Titanic stories that I blame entirely on Leonardo Dicaprio。 I just could not get into it。 I tried。 I pushed through the first quarter of the book and。。。nothing。 The pacing is slow， Valora isn't nearly compelling enough of a character to succeed with a first person narrative， and I had a hard time caring enough to be bothered。I might have still pushed through after that。 It was a Once Upon a Book Club pick and usually surprises are a good enough incentive for me to keep going。 I made a mistake though。 I skipped to the end because I didn't want to be burned the way I was with another book recently。（view spoiler）[Valora dies。 This character who we spend the entire book following just。。。dies。 Now look， it's a story set on the Titanic。 I expected someone to die。 The perspective character though？ Even after skimming through the last few chapters， I saw no way that ending could possibly be fitting/earned。 She died because apparently that's what we're doing in YA these days。 （hide spoiler）] So I gave in to my first ever DNF and now the book will sit on my shelf until I decide what to do with it。 。。。more

Aubrey Vejvoda ，

I love Stacey Lee's fictional interpretation of how the handful of Chinese passengers aboard the Titanic beat all odds to be among the survivors。 The last two pages of the last chapter bumped this from 4 to 5 stars for me and made me rethink everything that happened in from the beginning of the book。 I also bawled like a baby。。。 It broke me。 Anyway， yay for character diversity， poetic metaphors， and an author who did her homework。 I love Stacey Lee's fictional interpretation of how the handful of Chinese passengers aboard the Titanic beat all odds to be among the survivors。 The last two pages of the last chapter bumped this from 4 to 5 stars for me and made me rethink everything that happened in from the beginning of the book。 I also bawled like a baby。。。 It broke me。 Anyway， yay for character diversity， poetic metaphors， and an author who did her homework。 。。。more

Campbell ，

4/5 starsTHE WAY I’VE WANTED TO READ A BOOK SET ON THE TITANIC FOR SO LONG！！！ This was a must read for me and didn’t disappoint！ Valora Luck finds her way onto the Titanic to reunite with her twin brother。 She wants to convince him to get back into the family business （various circus acts with focus in acrobatics） after their parents’ recent deaths， but Jamie has a different idea。 Over the short voyage， she meets Jamie’s friends and becomes particularly fond of one。 But as we know， the Titanic d 4/5 starsTHE WAY I’VE WANTED TO READ A BOOK SET ON THE TITANIC FOR SO LONG！！！ This was a must read for me and didn’t disappoint！ Valora Luck finds her way onto the Titanic to reunite with her twin brother。 She wants to convince him to get back into the family business （various circus acts with focus in acrobatics） after their parents’ recent deaths， but Jamie has a different idea。 Over the short voyage， she meets Jamie’s friends and becomes particularly fond of one。 But as we know， the Titanic did not make it to New York。 I knew the outcome of this book， but I still was devastated。 The story was so fast paced and written beautifully， and I devoured this book in a day。Normally I’m not one to enjoy a subplot romance， but it worked really well in this book。 I was so invested in the romance as well as all the characters。 I love how the author wrote this book to give stories to the Chinese passengers aboard the Titanic （who we hardly know anything about）。 Highly recommend！！ 。。。more

Beth ，

Struggled through this one because any story about this titanic has this foreboding and known ending。 The last two or three chapters and the authors note were so interesting。 A lot of the plot just wasn’t believable。 Not as witty and funny as the downstairs girl。 Wanted to love it and really tried！

Kyra ，

The Titanic sinking is an interesting historical event， and getting to read about this well known event from a Chinese passenger's perspective was quite revealing。 The story moved along well， and I liked the characters that were presented。 The love for a sibling was also a relatable portion of the book。 I am glad that I decided to read this novel。 The Titanic sinking is an interesting historical event， and getting to read about this well known event from a Chinese passenger's perspective was quite revealing。 The story moved along well， and I liked the characters that were presented。 The love for a sibling was also a relatable portion of the book。 I am glad that I decided to read this novel。 。。。more

Sara Strand ，

It is really going to pain me to write this review， but you guys know I'm totally honest with reviews， so I can't lie to you- this one was terrible。 I almost DNF'ed it， and I wish I would have。 Luck of the Titanic was the book chosen for Once Upon a Book Club's "The Unsinkable Ship" box and I obviously figured out the book and the theme of the box right away。 I mean， there is only one unsinkable ship， the Titanic。 I was already torn about this because we already know what happens to the Titanic， It is really going to pain me to write this review， but you guys know I'm totally honest with reviews， so I can't lie to you- this one was terrible。 I almost DNF'ed it， and I wish I would have。 Luck of the Titanic was the book chosen for Once Upon a Book Club's "The Unsinkable Ship" box and I obviously figured out the book and the theme of the box right away。 I mean， there is only one unsinkable ship， the Titanic。 I was already torn about this because we already know what happens to the Titanic， it isn't like someone could re-write history and have it not sink， and frankly， your characters are either going to die or make it to New York to basically assume a new identity。 We already know all of this。 （I'm going to add that I have loved every book/box I have ever gotten from Once Upon a Book Club， this is the first one I did not like。）Of course， this book followed that outline， some characters die and some make it， and considering our main characters are twins Val and Jamie， you can already start making some guesses。 Let's talk about those characters though， because they were part of the reason I didn't like this book。 Val is really。。。。 selfish。 She's incredibly selfish and she believes her dream is automatically shared by Jamie because they are twins。 She fails to recognize it's very much not Jamie's dream and she ignores all of the strife Jamie has gone through， mostly for her， and she literally only thinks about herself。 She makes all of these plans and just assumes Jamie will agree and go along with it， never once considering that maybe， just maybe he likes his life now。 It's like that can't even be a faint possibility to her。 Jamie is no saint either， he's the king of avoiding confrontation and instead of setting Val in her place quickly and once and for all， he does what he can to appease her and putting off conversations until it's too late。 Never mind the fact that he should have written home， at least， to tell her how he really felt so she's not making all of these crazy plans。 Easily the most interesting part of this book is the timeliness of the story with current events involving Asian Americans and blatant racism making an outrageous comeback。 We don't hear about the "lower class" travelers on the Titanic， mainly only the upper class and how luxurious their cruise was supposed to be。 Reading about the other end of that spectrum was interesting， but also having the Chinese Exclusion Act highlighted was what made me not DNF this book。 That is literally the only positive about this book， and I'm being generous because it was sloppily included in this book， maybe to solely make it relevant or get it on a list of books highlighting racism to increase sales， I don't know。 I just know that if it wasn't in here I wouldn't have picked this up otherwise， and while it was interesting， is it done well enough for me to suggest you read it？ Nope。 I also don't know what the actual point to the insane amount of back story， completely unnecessary to the story。 The idea that they would somehow convince an American circus owner they are good enough to be a circus act？ Nuts at best。 Val helping a fashion designer out of nowhere on the ship？ WHY？！ Why add this？ It felt like the author was really grasping at straws to pull this one together and it just really fell flat。 。。。more

Lauren Webster ，

Among the 706 survivors of the 1，959 people on board the Titanic， there were 8 Chinese men， and 6 of them survived， but upon arrival in America they were not aided like the rest of the survivors， instead detained， then sent away because of the Chinese Exclusion Act。 Maybe one of the reasons they have been forgotten is because the lifeboat most of them escaped on also saved the owner of the White Star Line and he seems to have lied that they snuck onto the boat in order to direct criticism away f Among the 706 survivors of the 1，959 people on board the Titanic， there were 8 Chinese men， and 6 of them survived， but upon arrival in America they were not aided like the rest of the survivors， instead detained， then sent away because of the Chinese Exclusion Act。 Maybe one of the reasons they have been forgotten is because the lifeboat most of them escaped on also saved the owner of the White Star Line and he seems to have lied that they snuck onto the boat in order to direct criticism away from his actions， leaving his ship when there were still many women and children left behind。 There is more to look into here， I have been doing so since I finished the book and definitely advise you to as well。Lee uses this hidden history in her story of a half-Chinese， half-British girl Valora who sneaks onto the Titanic to join her brother and convince him to join her as an acrobat in America。 However Jamie is happy with his new life and has acquired a found family- a group of Chinese boys and men of different ages。 The children Olly and Willy especially are really cute。 Three quarters of this story is a fun romp as Valora tries to get a place in the circus， whilst maintaining the persona of her dead first class ex-employer。 It's heart-warming and exciting， but there is also a constant focus on the sharply different way Valora is treated when she shows her face， compared to when she disguises herself with a veil to pass for a white woman。 Then， there is inevitably the building fear in readers， who will know what happens to the Titanic but might not be able to pinpoint exactly when it is coming。 When the characters get the news things don't change immediately， but soon they realise there is something really wrong， and the optimistic book quickly devolves into a sense of terror that had me clutching at it。 。。。more

Fallyn Nichole （WitchinglyBookish） ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 ！*@&$;#？#！ This book was set to be a 5 STAR book for me！ All of the characters stood out to me， none just slipping into the background like side characters often do， I was so fully invested in their outcome， obviously I knew it wasn't going to end in sunshine and rainbows for all， it's the Titanic after all， I knew it would be heartbreaking！ But that last 5% when the scene was setting up， I thought no way is this author going to pull the movie scene， and she did， she f*cking did！🤦‍♀️ That ending ！*@&$;#？#！ This book was set to be a 5 STAR book for me！ All of the characters stood out to me， none just slipping into the background like side characters often do， I was so fully invested in their outcome， obviously I knew it wasn't going to end in sunshine and rainbows for all， it's the Titanic after all， I knew it would be heartbreaking！ But that last 5% when the scene was setting up， I thought no way is this author going to pull the movie scene， and she did， she f*cking did！🤦‍♀️ That ending just completely ruined it for me because what was the point？ I get the real life tragedy of the event， but this ending just made no sense， hell it was worse than the movie（and I never thought I'd say that）！ Honestly it just felt like lazy writing to me🤷‍♀️。 So 2 Stars for the writing because it was good up til the end， I was even ready to go buy all the books from this author， though now I'm not so sure I want to do that。 。。。more

Gia Widhi Astrini ，

"Of all the eight Chinese passengers of Titanic， only six survives" ada quote begini di halaman pertama buku， sebelum masuk ke bab pertama。 Jadi semacam foreshadow nasib karakter di buku - buku ini 😖Tokoh utamanya adalah Valora Luck， gadis Inggris-Cina yang sejak kecil hidupnya keras， karena penampilannya berbeda。 Dengan kemampuan akrobatisnya， Valora menyelundup ke kapal Titanic untuk menemui kakak kembarnya， James， yang bekerja sebagai pekerja batu bara di kapal itu。 Ia ingin membujuk kakaknya "Of all the eight Chinese passengers of Titanic， only six survives" ada quote begini di halaman pertama buku， sebelum masuk ke bab pertama。 Jadi semacam foreshadow nasib karakter di buku - buku ini 😖Tokoh utamanya adalah Valora Luck， gadis Inggris-Cina yang sejak kecil hidupnya keras， karena penampilannya berbeda。 Dengan kemampuan akrobatisnya， Valora menyelundup ke kapal Titanic untuk menemui kakak kembarnya， James， yang bekerja sebagai pekerja batu bara di kapal itu。 Ia ingin membujuk kakaknya untuk memulai hidup baru di Amerika sebagai anggota sirkus。 Namun， yah， tragedi tenggelamnya kapal Titanic menjadi ujian bagi Valora & James untuk menggapai impian mereka。 Aku suka buku ini。 Gaya penulisannya enak， ngalir banget。 Yang agak bingung cuman karena banyak banget istilah bangunan kapal。 Ya， namanya juga setting di atas kapal kan。 Ada denah + glossariumnya sih， tapi karena aku bacanya via kindle jadi kurang jelas gambarnya。 Buku ini banyak mengangkat hubungan antara Valora & James， kakak beradik kembar yang sifatnya sangat berbeda tapi saling melengkapi （di buku ini diibaratkan seperti naga & burung phoenix， sesuai kepercayaan orang Cina）。 Tokoh - tokohnya juga beragam。 Selain para penumpang Cina， ada juga penumpang satu keluarga Rusia yang kemunculannya sedikit tapi berkesan。 Ada juga tokoh yang memang benar - benar sosok nyata yang saat itu jadi penumpang Titanic。Adegan pas kapal mulai tenggelam sungguh bikin deg - degan dan emosional sekali 😭😭😭 aduh， bener - bener kebayang saat itu suasana kapal yang awalnya penumpang - penumpang kelas 1 masih santai mikirnya "alah， paling gangguan kapal sedikit doang，" sampai jadi panik dan egois。 Lalu penumpang - penumpang kelas 3 yang dibiarin menyelamatkan diri sendiri。 Ada yang berusaha memohon - mohon biar bisa naik sekoci， ada yang sengaja terjun dari kapal， ada yang udah pasrah aja。。。 Termasuk adegan iconic saat musisi kapal tetap main musik di saat kapal mulai tenggelam untuk menenangkan para penumpang （ini emang beneran terjadi ternyata gaes 😰😭😭）。 Pokoknya berasa banget deh ngeri - ngerinya pas kapal mulai tenggelam tuh。 Dapet banget！ Dan endingnya bikin nyesek sih。。。 *What do you expect， udah tau ini temanya tragedi kapal tenggelam* Pokoknya ini buku yang cocok kalau kalian suka fiksi sejarah， family relationship， dan lagi nyari bacaan yang konfliknya nggak terlalu berat tapi bisa bikin perasaan terhanyut。 。。。more

Jenna ，

Finally got around to reading one of my most anticipated reads of 2021， and it did not disappoint。 I love it when authors take an event in history， do research about it， and interpret it into their own story with some fictional elements。 Stacey Lee did a wonderful job with just that。 By incorporating a story about family， friends， and love， while also using the tragic story of the titanic （even used some of the names of the people aboard the Titanic）， she made this story both fun， tear-jerking， Finally got around to reading one of my most anticipated reads of 2021， and it did not disappoint。 I love it when authors take an event in history， do research about it， and interpret it into their own story with some fictional elements。 Stacey Lee did a wonderful job with just that。 By incorporating a story about family， friends， and love， while also using the tragic story of the titanic （even used some of the names of the people aboard the Titanic）， she made this story both fun， tear-jerking， and educational all at the same time。 。。。more

Katrina ，

3。5 stars

Smita ，

DNF @ 25%There is nothing wrong with this book， I just got bored and to be honest I've never been super fascinated with the Titanic though it was certainly a tragic event in history。I did find it interesting learning about Valora's cultural background and the discussions about the Chinese Exclusion Act but as for the actual story and Valora as a character， I just can't find the motivation to continue。 I would definitely encourage others to give it a try bc I got bored， but I didn't feel like the DNF @ 25%There is nothing wrong with this book， I just got bored and to be honest I've never been super fascinated with the Titanic though it was certainly a tragic event in history。I did find it interesting learning about Valora's cultural background and the discussions about the Chinese Exclusion Act but as for the actual story and Valora as a character， I just can't find the motivation to continue。 I would definitely encourage others to give it a try bc I got bored， but I didn't feel like the book was harmful 。。。more

Caroline ，

Thought provoking。 I’m here crying， it’s all I can say for now。

Anna ，

Another win for Stacey Lee！ She makes the best characters and I loved all of Valora's schemes and the side details about the up and coming designer and the view of the different classes on the ship。 Another win for Stacey Lee！ She makes the best characters and I loved all of Valora's schemes and the side details about the up and coming designer and the view of the different classes on the ship。 。。。more

Kristen ，

This is well written， with a compelling protagonist， and a really interesting point of view that I was unaware of （Lee was inspired by the fact that there were 8 Chinese passengers on the Titanic， 6 of whom survived， but whose stories have never been told）。 It also took me forever to read。 I just really don't enjoy nautical books， even when they are about famous historical events， apparently。 Once people start talking in nautical terms， my eyes glaze over and I lose interest。 I really enjoyed T This is well written， with a compelling protagonist， and a really interesting point of view that I was unaware of （Lee was inspired by the fact that there were 8 Chinese passengers on the Titanic， 6 of whom survived， but whose stories have never been told）。 It also took me forever to read。 I just really don't enjoy nautical books， even when they are about famous historical events， apparently。 Once people start talking in nautical terms， my eyes glaze over and I lose interest。 I really enjoyed The Downstairs Girl and I think Lee is a great writer who tells great stories。 I will absolutely recommend this to Titanic and historical fiction-loving teens！ My failure to love it is all about my failings as a reader and has nothing to do with this book。 。。。more

Becky ，

First sentence: When my twin， Jamie， left， he vowed it wouldn't be forever。Premise/plot: Valora Luck， our heroine， is looking to reunite with her brother， Jamie， and she's looking to do so aboard the ship Titanic。 Jamie left home and the （acrobat） act several years before。 She dreams of reuniting the act and becoming a circus performer in America。 （They perform as VALOR AND VIRTUE。 What she doesn't quite realize--at first--is that a） America has a Chinese Exclusion Act and b） Jamie didn't love， First sentence: When my twin， Jamie， left， he vowed it wouldn't be forever。Premise/plot: Valora Luck， our heroine， is looking to reunite with her brother， Jamie， and she's looking to do so aboard the ship Titanic。 Jamie left home and the （acrobat） act several years before。 She dreams of reuniting the act and becoming a circus performer in America。 （They perform as VALOR AND VIRTUE。 What she doesn't quite realize--at first--is that a） America has a Chinese Exclusion Act and b） Jamie didn't love， love， love performing as much as she did and his dreams do not include show business。 Being denied entry onto the Titanic （though she has tickets--one for herself and one for her employer， Mrs。 Sloane）， she decides her only chance of finding her brother is to be a stowaway。 She makes it on board okay--though a few "catch" her soon after and suspect she may be a stowaway。 But will she make it to America？Life on board is full of thrills and dangers--and that's before the ship hits an iceberg。My thoughts: What you see is what you get。 The Luck of the Titanic is a young adult historical novel。 （It is not a romance。） The perspective is unique。 Valora is biracial。 Her father was Chinese; her mother was English。 She splits her time masquerading as her employer， Mrs。 Sloane， and mingling with the upper classes。 And the rest of her time is spent below decks with the third class passengers--her brother and his friends （all Chinese）。 She sees how both sides live on board。 Much of her time is spent trying to convince her brother to give up his dreams to share her own。The setting is the Titanic。 EXPECT A VERY DRAMATIC ENDING。 The characterization is great。 We get to know so many--ten？ twelve？--characters。 I really felt caught up in this world， this setting。 I was very invested in their lives and stories。 The closer we got to the ice berg， the more nervous I became （with VERY GOOD REASON TO BE NERVOUS。）Those who are HAUNTED by the movie （1997） and vowed to never， ever， ever watch it again may want to skip this one。 Not because the book is derivative of the movie。 The story is unique。 This isn't a cheesy romance out to manipulate you to shedding three months worth of tears。I mentioned this isn't a romance （not really）。 The relationships are about FAMILY and FOUND FAMILIES。 The family you choose for yourself。 Though not connected by blood， these ties are strong and significant。It was a compelling read， but trust me HEARTBREAKING。 。。。more

Kimberly King ，

I enjoyed the book till the ending， which reminded me of elements in a certain movie and I'm not talking about the sinking。 I enjoyed the book till the ending， which reminded me of elements in a certain movie and I'm not talking about the sinking。 。。。more

Nickkie ，

This book is a 4 star for me — but — the escalation at the end while the ship was sinking， Valor’s unwavering courage & the purpose of tribute in this boom made it 5 stars。 Let me tell you， I have never in my life cried reading a book & there was a part in this book that brought me to tears。 It saddens me the cruelty the characters experienced & I will forever be a Lee fan by how eloquently she depicted this。

Maddie ，

TW: confinement， death， death of a parent， grief， racism， racial slurs， sexual assault， xenophobia。

Bethany ，

Diverse reads: biracial protagonist （dad is Chinese and mom is British） with various Chinese characters This book has zero romance。

LeeAnn ，

Definitely a good read and unique voice from Titanic。 I enjoy the variety of stories that have emerged recently。

faith :） ，

let’s just say i did not see that ending coming

Erin ，

I've always loved the titanic and found it fascinating for different reasons。 One of those reasons being in the multiple different types of people （rich， poor， etc） and the multiple different cultures that were traveling to America for a new life on the ship。 Valora is one of those people who is not only hoping to find her brother and be reunited with him on the ship， but she also wants to get him back into the family business。 Getting on the ship is the first problem that Valora must deal with I've always loved the titanic and found it fascinating for different reasons。 One of those reasons being in the multiple different types of people （rich， poor， etc） and the multiple different cultures that were traveling to America for a new life on the ship。 Valora is one of those people who is not only hoping to find her brother and be reunited with him on the ship， but she also wants to get him back into the family business。 Getting on the ship is the first problem that Valora must deal with because of her being half Chinese， but she finds a way and is able to make it aboard the ship just in time。 After that， we see Valora not only outsmart a lot of people by being able to pretend to be her old boss， but also by attempting to get her and her brother jobs working for the circus。 Overall I loved this book。 Valora is a character that is crafty and knows how to get out of some tight situations。 She's also one that is all about family and will do anything for her brother and to try to get them back to being together again。 All of this combined means that their adventures on the Titanic were interesting， to say the least。 Throughout her time on the ship Valora meets a whole cast of characters from different social classes and balances being in those different classes wonderfully。 The new friendships she creates were so nice to read about and I loved how she was able to get people to help her reach her dream。 The end of the books about the Titanic is always bittersweet because you know that some people you have grown to care about will most likely die。 Having said that I do love how Ms。 Lee was able to bring to light a part of history that was intentionally at the time forgotten。 I hope to see her and others continue to tell these forgotten stories and give the people a voice that was taken from them。Two thing I really loved and appreciated in this book in the beginning were。 One that a character list and what the status on board for them was depending on first， second， or third class。 The second thing I appreciated was the map of all the different parts of the ship。 This is always helpful when it comes to visualizing how difficult it can be to get to different parts of the ship as it was sinking。 。。。more

Katherine ，

What a really great book。 It is amazing that a singular event which has had extensive coverage for over 100 years， can still have new stories to uncover。 Loved learning about these unique people who have almost been completely erased/whitewashed from the history of the Titanic。 The writing was beautiful and the author did a wonderful job bringing both the new and more familiar characters to life in this story。 You may think you know how this story ends， but there are still more surprises in stor What a really great book。 It is amazing that a singular event which has had extensive coverage for over 100 years， can still have new stories to uncover。 Loved learning about these unique people who have almost been completely erased/whitewashed from the history of the Titanic。 The writing was beautiful and the author did a wonderful job bringing both the new and more familiar characters to life in this story。 You may think you know how this story ends， but there are still more surprises in store。 。。。more

Barbara ，

Author Stacey Lee writes impeccable historical fiction with multidimensional characters and especially strong women。 In this particular story she fills her narrative with rich description and slang and colloquialisms from the time period of the Titanic。 Readers will surely feel as though they are on board the massive ship as passengers settle in and then a few days later， on April 15， find themselves scrambling for life jackets and life rafts as the ship begins to sink after being struck by an i Author Stacey Lee writes impeccable historical fiction with multidimensional characters and especially strong women。 In this particular story she fills her narrative with rich description and slang and colloquialisms from the time period of the Titanic。 Readers will surely feel as though they are on board the massive ship as passengers settle in and then a few days later， on April 15， find themselves scrambling for life jackets and life rafts as the ship begins to sink after being struck by an iceberg。 Naysayers may wonder there would be a need for yet another book about the Titanic， given that all this took place in 1912， more than a century ago。 But in this story， Lee focuses on the Chinese passengers aboard the ship。 （There were actually eight Chinese passengers on that ship， six of whom survived。） Their stories have never been told; in fact， in the afterword， Lee discusses how the surviving Chinese passengers were shipped off upon arrival in the country and they were demonized and accused of pretending to be women in order to board the lifeboats。 It's clear that some lives seemed more important and worthy of saving than others and that the language barrier added to the confusion when the tragedy occurred。 The plot concerns seventeen-year-old Valora Luck's plans to start a new life in the United States as part of an acrobatic act with her twin brother Jamie。 The two have been separated for two years while he pursued a living as a seaman and she tended to their father and then worked for a wealthy dowager。 Their father was Chinese， and their mother was British， and they've lived with some form of prejudice all their lives。 The Chinese Exclusion Act will make it impossible for the siblings to enter the United States unless some strings are pulled， something that Valora hopes will happen when they are hired by a circus。 But Jamie is not interested in her plans， and she expends a great deal of energy trying to change his mind。 Even though the two of them disagree， it's clear that they love each other and that both have budding romances that herald bright futures。 Alas， that is not to be as the shipwreck forces impossible choices about survival。 I raced through this book， mesmerized by the description of Valora's juggling talents and how well she balanced on the ship's railings as well as her clothing and use of a net veil to hide her features， but also because I hoped desperately for a happy ending to the story。 Reading it was an immersive， intense， and deeply satisfying experience， one that left me wondering yet again about whose stories are told and whose are omitted from history。 This is one book that should go to the top of just about everyone's reading pile。 There's even a heroic dog named Strudel。 。。。more

Jill Ramig ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Valora stows-away on the Titanic because she knows her brother is working on the ship and wants to reunite with him and move to America。 She ends up impersonating as her former employer （first class） and modeling the latest fashions of an unknown designer as she tries to convince her brother to perform their acrobatic act for the circus owner on board。 Historically 6 of 8 Chinese on board the Titanic survived。 With the Chinese Exclusion Act this was amazing。 This is their fictional story。

Brittany ，

Will the Titanic ever not be fascinating？！ I was not fascinated by the acrobatics storyline that took up too much focus， but once the iceberg made its debut， I was enthralled。 This is a stay-up-too-late-reading type of story！

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Luck of the Titanic

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Luck of the Titanic&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Luck of the Titanic&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0