Lucky Broken Girl

Behar R. (2017). Lucky broken girl. New York, NY: Nancy Paulsen Books

Ruthie Mizrahi is a 10 year old Cuban immigrant in Queens, New York.  Set in the 1960’s, her lack of English in America causes Ruthie to be placed in the remedial (“dumb kids class”) 5^th grade class and she longs to be moved to the “regular 5^th grade class”.  Ruthie proves to be an independent character with her drive to study and learn English, and her willing to stand up for others while befriending another immigrant, like herself, from India.  Ruthie has good fortune and spells a word correctly, proving she understands English well enough to be moved out of the remedial classroom.  This luck changes very quickly when she is involved in a terrible accident leaving her with a serious broken femur and others dead.  She is a very “lucky broken girl”.  While bedridden for several months, Ruthie describes what life is like stuck in a bed, losing her independence like using the restroom on her own, how lonely it can be, and prays for healing.  Ruthie does eventually get her almost body cast removed.  She must continue this theme of perseverance when she must then learn how to walk all over again.  Ruthie overcomes fear and physical pain to be “welcomed back to the world”.  The descriptions of what life is like for a long term recovery pulls the reader in so that it is difficult to detach yourself from Ruthie.  Students will have an experience of empathy towards this character and make connections to people around them who have suffered a great deal.  I am always impressed by the impact of teachers in middle grade literature.  Ruthie connected to her teacher that came to her house during her time of recovery.  Readers are astonished to learn this story about Ruthie is actually based on real life experiences from the author which is described in the “Author’s Note”.  There are other novels that describe what life is like for young people to recovery from an illness/injury.  “Small Steps:  The Year I Got Polio” by Peg Kehret would be a great connection for students.  Students could compare what life was like to recover from an illness verses an injury.  Do these characters experience the same feelings and frustrations?