Status
Available
Series
Genres
Collection
Publication
Puffin Books (2013), Edition: Reprint, 336 pages
Description
Washed ashore as a baby in tiny Tupelo Landing, North Carolina, Mo LoBeau, now eleven, and her best friend Dale turn detective when the amnesiac Colonel, owner of a café and co-parent of Mo with his cook, Miss Lana, seems implicated in a murder.
User reviews
LibraryThing member Whisper1
Well deserving of the 2013 Newbery honor, I loved this laugh-out-loud creative book.
During a hurricane, baby Mo (Moses) LoBeau was found floating in Tupelo Landing, North Carolina by a quirky man named The Colonel. From henceforth she was raised and loved by The Colonel and Miss Lana.
Now at eleven
When a body is found, she and her friend, Dale Earnhardt Johnson III, decide to open a detective agency to find the murderer.
Mo believes she will marry Dale's older brother Lavender, and passages in the book regarding her reactions to him are side-splitting funny.
While surrounded by love, still, she writes notes to her "upstream mother" and places them in bottles to float along, with the hope they will be found by her biological parent.
Helping Miss Lana and The Colonel run a small cafe, we learn of the frequent visitors to the cafe and their personalities. As the local gossip twirls in the air, the cafe becomes a meeting place for discussion of who done it theories.
This is a story of love, of friendship, of mystery, of small town camaraderie, and the definition of family.
I encourage you to read this for the sheer joy of words that are twisted and turned creatively, leaving the reader marveling at the beauty.
Mo describes her thought process as akin to a Jack Russel Terrier who picks things apart for the spirit of it.
She states that while some people look like they were born on a clothes hanger, she looks as though she was born in a dryer. Her voice is "like a turkey gobble crammed in a corset."
When Mo and Dale find they are in over their heads and in the path of danger, as the murderer nears them, symbolically there is another hurricane.
This time, Miss Mo LoBeau is in control as she steers through the murky waters and advises her friend Dale to "never underestimate the power of stupidity."
Highly recommended!
During a hurricane, baby Mo (Moses) LoBeau was found floating in Tupelo Landing, North Carolina by a quirky man named The Colonel. From henceforth she was raised and loved by The Colonel and Miss Lana.
Now at eleven
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years of age, she renders all tempest tossed should they cross her path. She is witty, intelligent, snarky and down right loveable.When a body is found, she and her friend, Dale Earnhardt Johnson III, decide to open a detective agency to find the murderer.
Mo believes she will marry Dale's older brother Lavender, and passages in the book regarding her reactions to him are side-splitting funny.
While surrounded by love, still, she writes notes to her "upstream mother" and places them in bottles to float along, with the hope they will be found by her biological parent.
Helping Miss Lana and The Colonel run a small cafe, we learn of the frequent visitors to the cafe and their personalities. As the local gossip twirls in the air, the cafe becomes a meeting place for discussion of who done it theories.
This is a story of love, of friendship, of mystery, of small town camaraderie, and the definition of family.
I encourage you to read this for the sheer joy of words that are twisted and turned creatively, leaving the reader marveling at the beauty.
Mo describes her thought process as akin to a Jack Russel Terrier who picks things apart for the spirit of it.
She states that while some people look like they were born on a clothes hanger, she looks as though she was born in a dryer. Her voice is "like a turkey gobble crammed in a corset."
When Mo and Dale find they are in over their heads and in the path of danger, as the murderer nears them, symbolically there is another hurricane.
This time, Miss Mo LoBeau is in control as she steers through the murky waters and advises her friend Dale to "never underestimate the power of stupidity."
Highly recommended!
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LibraryThing member tapestry100
Mo LoBeau, 11 years old and rising sixth grader, is smart, sassy, spunky, and ready to take on the world. After washing into Tupelo Landing, NC, 11 years ago during a hurricane and raised by the Colonel and the eccentric Miss Lana and helping to run their café, Mo didn't think her summer was going
This is a laugh-out-loud funny books in some parts. Mo and Dale's friendship is hysterical, and their banter back and forth is some of the funniest bits in the book. Mo's no-nonsense sensibility is great.I really liked Turnage's message that sometimes family doesn't have to come from blood; the people around you and who care about you and take care of you can be just as strong a family as your biological one, sometimes more so. That may have been the best bit of the book for me, the care, understanding, and love that the Colonel and Miss Lana have for Mo.
I've heard that Sheila Turnage is working on a sequel to Three Times Lucky, and I'll be sure to be picking that up when it comes out to read more of Mo's adventures.
Highly recommended!
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to be any different than any other, spending time with her best friend Dale and continuing to search for her Upstream Mother. That was before the murder. And the kidnapping. And the bank robbery. And Detective Starr. And Dale becoming the prime suspect in the murder. And another hurricane.This is a laugh-out-loud funny books in some parts. Mo and Dale's friendship is hysterical, and their banter back and forth is some of the funniest bits in the book. Mo's no-nonsense sensibility is great.I really liked Turnage's message that sometimes family doesn't have to come from blood; the people around you and who care about you and take care of you can be just as strong a family as your biological one, sometimes more so. That may have been the best bit of the book for me, the care, understanding, and love that the Colonel and Miss Lana have for Mo.
I've heard that Sheila Turnage is working on a sequel to Three Times Lucky, and I'll be sure to be picking that up when it comes out to read more of Mo's adventures.
Highly recommended!
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LibraryThing member amandabock
It took me a while to get into this book. The voice bugged me, and I kept being reminded of other books I liked better. However, I got over most of that in the first third. The small-town, quirky characters won me over, and the mystery certainly held my attention. While I may have caught on to the
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solution faster than the average 9-year-old, it wasn't painfully obvious. In fact, I was harboring a different theory about the bank robbery altogether. Show Less
LibraryThing member SusieBookworm
I was so surprised by how much I enjoyed this! Southern-flavor novels are often hit-or-miss with me; either the author captures the Southern aspects very well or else they're overexaggerated and irritating. Fortunately, Ms. Turnage captures the unique aspects of backwoods North Carolina culture
I was also pleased at how excellent Turnage's writing is. Though Three Times Lucky is aimed at an older children's/middle grade audience, nothing is oversimplified, and the vocabulary used seems fairly sophisticated. Even as a young adult, I found the novel quite fun to read and at times even laugh-out-loud hilarious. The plot was perfectly paced and developed, with nary a dull spot or rushed sequence. I loved all the colorful characters, and all their actions and motives seemed perfectly cohesive, never inconsistent. I will be so disappointed if we do not later hear more about the escapades of the precocious Miss Moses LoBeau!
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perfectly - it's obvious she's a native of the state! She plays up the characteristics well, accenting the things that make the area stand out without at all degrading the people or seeming superficial.I was also pleased at how excellent Turnage's writing is. Though Three Times Lucky is aimed at an older children's/middle grade audience, nothing is oversimplified, and the vocabulary used seems fairly sophisticated. Even as a young adult, I found the novel quite fun to read and at times even laugh-out-loud hilarious. The plot was perfectly paced and developed, with nary a dull spot or rushed sequence. I loved all the colorful characters, and all their actions and motives seemed perfectly cohesive, never inconsistent. I will be so disappointed if we do not later hear more about the escapades of the precocious Miss Moses LoBeau!
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LibraryThing member alyson
Favorite line: "Boredom kills, I've had close brushes myself, during math."
LibraryThing member ChristianR
I actually did not finish this -- the storyline was interesting, but the protagonist's personality was just a little too much for me. Even though she's just sixth grade and lives in a really small town, she's full of spunk, wisdom, smarts and positive outlook. She definitely felt like a made up
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character to me rather than a real flesh and blood girl. Show Less
LibraryThing member foggidawn
Eleven-year-old Mo LoBeau doesn't have what you might call a normal family life -- when she was a baby, she was washed down the river in the aftermath of a hurricane, right into the arms of the Colonel, who was himself suffering from amnesia. Now Mo, the Colonel, and flamboyant Miss Lana run a cafe
This was a fairly enjoyable read. I have to admit, any story with amnesia as a major plot point makes me roll my eyes a little bit. The writing style felt like a cross between Polly Horvath and Kate DiCamillo -- authentic Southern charm with a hint of straight-up weirdness. Readers who like books by those authors will probably like this one. For me, it was just all right, not fantastic.
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in Tupelo Landing, and Mo regularly sends out messages in bottles to her "Upstream Mother," asking anyone who's traveling upriver to drop one in the current for her. Other than existential angst over her biological origins, however, Mo is fairly content and happy in her small-town world. Then, one day, a cafe regular is murdered, a couple of big-city detectives roll into town, and Mo's entire world seems about to be torn up by the roots. She and her family may even find themselves in danger. Can Mo, along with her sidekick Dale Earnhardt Johnson III, solve the mystery?This was a fairly enjoyable read. I have to admit, any story with amnesia as a major plot point makes me roll my eyes a little bit. The writing style felt like a cross between Polly Horvath and Kate DiCamillo -- authentic Southern charm with a hint of straight-up weirdness. Readers who like books by those authors will probably like this one. For me, it was just all right, not fantastic.
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LibraryThing member ethel55
I can't imagine how great this year's winner of the Newbery must be, as this Honor book was fantastic. Mo LoBeau, rescued during a hurricane eleven years ago, has grown up with the Colonel and Miss Lana, making for an unusual family unit. It hasn't stopped Mo from looking for her missing Upstream
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Mother, but now, it's the summer before sixth grade, and in small Tupelo Landing, a visit by a big city detective is cause for much gossip at the cafe. A murder leads the story into a great mystery. Mo has a Mortal Enemy, a best friend named after a Nascar hero and now, a mystery to solve. The townspeople (only 148 of them) are a quirky southern bunch, in the best way possible. This was written for kids, but with a nod to parents--like with a good Disney movie, there are many asides that adults will appreciate. Show Less
LibraryThing member alidevnz
This was wonderful. I hope I can do it justice in a booktalk to my students.
LibraryThing member Sullywriter
A lively, colorful debut novel with a charming protagonist and a cast of eccentric, memorable characters.
LibraryThing member mawls
Great story. Great characters. A fun mystery!
LibraryThing member delphica
I was amazed I liked this book as much as I did. At the beginning, I was suspicious it was going to be too Southern/quirky/cloying for my taste, the protagonist is a sixth grader who was orphaned in a hurricane, raised in a small town by an eccentric couple, and is one of those children's
But pretty soon into it, I was thinking this could be a three star book, because while it WAS quirky, it wasn't so much so that it got in the way of the story, and the sassiness didn't quite cross the line into mouthiness (usually my problem with this trend), and the cast of supporting characters was genuinely endearing. That said, it was a little slow going at first. I was liking it, but it wasn't one of those books that I had a hard time putting down.
By about 2/3 the way through, I was much more engaged. I liked that it's a story about a serious crime. The kids are playing detective, but it's clear that the adults in charge are, in fact, in charge. The bad people are realistically bad and scary, but it's handled in a very straightforward way that's appropriate for a middle reader. By the end, I was considering this a four and a half star book.
I especially loved Dale, the sidekick character, who is one of those literal kids who ends up being hilarious.
I would say this is an excellent book choice for a younger strong reader -- a kid who can appreciate a more complicated story, both in terms of plot and emotion, but it's not gory or obsessively morbid or dark in a way that sometimes takes over the tone in a YA book.
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literature kids who is always saying sassy things.But pretty soon into it, I was thinking this could be a three star book, because while it WAS quirky, it wasn't so much so that it got in the way of the story, and the sassiness didn't quite cross the line into mouthiness (usually my problem with this trend), and the cast of supporting characters was genuinely endearing. That said, it was a little slow going at first. I was liking it, but it wasn't one of those books that I had a hard time putting down.
By about 2/3 the way through, I was much more engaged. I liked that it's a story about a serious crime. The kids are playing detective, but it's clear that the adults in charge are, in fact, in charge. The bad people are realistically bad and scary, but it's handled in a very straightforward way that's appropriate for a middle reader. By the end, I was considering this a four and a half star book.
I especially loved Dale, the sidekick character, who is one of those literal kids who ends up being hilarious.
I would say this is an excellent book choice for a younger strong reader -- a kid who can appreciate a more complicated story, both in terms of plot and emotion, but it's not gory or obsessively morbid or dark in a way that sometimes takes over the tone in a YA book.
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LibraryThing member jackiewark
Orphan and rising-sixth-grader, Mo LoBeau says she is Three Times Lucky:
1. "Lucky once when my Upstream Mother tied me to a makeshift raft and send me swirling downstream to safety."
2. "Lucky twice when the Colonel crashed his car and stumbled to the creek just in time to snatch me from the
3. "Lucky three times when Miss Lana took me in like I was her own, and kept me."
That doesn't stop Mo from searching for her Upstream Mother by sending messages in bottles from upstream. And, even though she's found a family in Miss Lana and the Colonel, who have an odd relationship, she is certain her mother is out there.
Her best friend Dale has some family issues himself, what with a drunken father who beats his family and a brother who risks his life at drag-racing. Yet, this sleepy little town where everyone knows everyone's business is shocked when the murdered body of Mr. Jesse is found.
As with any good mystery, the clues and the murderer are right in front of you...but, you usually can't see through the useless facts. When big-city detective, Joe Starr and his deputy, Marla come along to investigate, the city breaths a sigh of relief. Yet, Mo and Dale, are warily suspicious of certain characters and form a detective agency all their own. Add into the mix, a hurricane barreling in on the town, a missing half-million dollars of stolen money, and town full of quirky and endearing characters to confuse the living daylights out of you.
After all is said and done, though, the mystery is solved, good triumphs evil, and most importantly, Mo finds what she has been searching for all along...and it, too, has been right under her nose all along.
1. "Lucky once when my Upstream Mother tied me to a makeshift raft and send me swirling downstream to safety."
2. "Lucky twice when the Colonel crashed his car and stumbled to the creek just in time to snatch me from the
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flood."3. "Lucky three times when Miss Lana took me in like I was her own, and kept me."
That doesn't stop Mo from searching for her Upstream Mother by sending messages in bottles from upstream. And, even though she's found a family in Miss Lana and the Colonel, who have an odd relationship, she is certain her mother is out there.
Her best friend Dale has some family issues himself, what with a drunken father who beats his family and a brother who risks his life at drag-racing. Yet, this sleepy little town where everyone knows everyone's business is shocked when the murdered body of Mr. Jesse is found.
As with any good mystery, the clues and the murderer are right in front of you...but, you usually can't see through the useless facts. When big-city detective, Joe Starr and his deputy, Marla come along to investigate, the city breaths a sigh of relief. Yet, Mo and Dale, are warily suspicious of certain characters and form a detective agency all their own. Add into the mix, a hurricane barreling in on the town, a missing half-million dollars of stolen money, and town full of quirky and endearing characters to confuse the living daylights out of you.
After all is said and done, though, the mystery is solved, good triumphs evil, and most importantly, Mo finds what she has been searching for all along...and it, too, has been right under her nose all along.
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LibraryThing member deslivres5
Juvenile fiction mystery novel is a quick and lovely read. The said mystery actually kept me guessing to the very end. Loved spending time with the characters in this small town in eastern North Carolina. I wish for a second novel with these characters! The place seems frozen in time - at first I
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thought the time frame was the late 1950s, but then there is mention of cell phone service, so I guess not:-) Show Less
LibraryThing member brangwinn
Terrific murder mystery with quirky believeable characters set in the south. I hope there'll be more mysteries in this series.
LibraryThing member 68papyrus
Alan Bradley has done it again! He has written another stand out installment in this wonderful series. Once again I chose the audio book which combines Alan Bradley's decadent writing with Jayne Entwistle's outstanding vocal performance. In this latest escapade Flavia is working to find out who
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assaulted a gypsy fortune teller who was predicting the future at the church carnival. This volume gives us more insight into who Flavia is and how she is misunderstood by others. Although Flavia is brilliant and wise beyond her years she is at her core a young girl you yearns for the love and affection of her father and sisters. While this book had all the wit and dark humor of the previous titles this book is also quite tender and has several touching moments. 3 titles in and I haven't been disappointed yet! 4 stars Show Less
LibraryThing member abbylibrarian
You'd be hard-pressed to find someone who can resist the spirited Mo LoBeau's charms. She's a spunky narrator, tough as nails and brave as they come. She always has to be the center of attention, whether it's running her adoptive parents' cafe (serving up PB& J with a bottle of Mountain Dew cooling
I also got caught up in the language of this book. It's smart and funny, each word carefully chosen to great effect. Sheila Turnage's descriptions of Tupelo Landing and the kooky characters who live there bring the setting to life.
I'm not a huge mystery fan and the plot dragged a little bit occasionally, but that could have more to do with my personal taste than any errors in pacing.
Readalikes:
For kids who like the writing style, I would try Savvy and Scumble by Ingrid Law.
For kids who like the writing style or the spunky orphan searching for her birth mother, I'd hand them Keeper by Kathi Appelt, another book set in a quirky town in the South.
For kids who like the high-stakes murder mystery, I might try The Case of the Deadly Desperadoes by Caroline Lawrence or the 39 Clues series.
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in the back) or investigating a murder.I also got caught up in the language of this book. It's smart and funny, each word carefully chosen to great effect. Sheila Turnage's descriptions of Tupelo Landing and the kooky characters who live there bring the setting to life.
I'm not a huge mystery fan and the plot dragged a little bit occasionally, but that could have more to do with my personal taste than any errors in pacing.
Readalikes:
For kids who like the writing style, I would try Savvy and Scumble by Ingrid Law.
For kids who like the writing style or the spunky orphan searching for her birth mother, I'd hand them Keeper by Kathi Appelt, another book set in a quirky town in the South.
For kids who like the high-stakes murder mystery, I might try The Case of the Deadly Desperadoes by Caroline Lawrence or the 39 Clues series.
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LibraryThing member Bettymz
I actually did not finish this -- the storyline was interesting, but the protagonist's personality was just a little too much for me. Even though she's just sixth grade and lives in a really small town, she's full of spunk, wisdom, smarts and positive outlook. She definitely felt like a made up
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character to me rather than a real flesh and blood girl Show Less
LibraryThing member SuPendleton
A lighthearted look about a small town coping with a mysterious murder. Our narrator, Mo, is a rising 6th grader who tries to solve the mystery with her best friend, Dale Earnhardt. Through Mo's eyes we get to know the people in the town and how their lives are intersected. This is also about Mo's
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unorthodox searching for her birth mother. It is a pretty fast read even though it is 312 pages. A good book to recommend to fifth grade readers. AR 3.9/ 9 points. Not really a third grade book. Show Less
LibraryThing member Brainannex
Although the main character's voice is distinctive, the story as a whole seems a little scary for the age group the book is aimed at, and a lot of the color is of the Southern variety, which, for me, a little can go a long way. It's different, but not great.
LibraryThing member dmiller70
Fun adventure and friendship book!
LibraryThing member bookwren
With a bang of an opening, Turnage drags us into the Southern world of Miss Moses LoBeau, an almost sixth grader with a flare for deadpan humor and detecting. Once started, I could not easily leave Tupelo Landing, its cast of eccentric characters, and the mystery haunting the small town. Turnage
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employs masterful similes and metaphors to set the scene, describe her characters, and keep the plot accelerating. "The stranger looked slow around the café, his eyes the color of a thin winter sky." (p. 13) "... the map bristles like a neon porcupine," I also loved the inclusion of Mo's letters to her biological "Upstream Mother." Any book that makes me laugh out loud as I'm reading is worth its weight in salt. Show Less
LibraryThing member dukefan86
What a charming book (and neat summer read)! I had to read this book in two parts because it was recalled by the public library before I had a chance to finish it (thanks to summer school), but it was an easy book to pick back up. I'm a sucker for books with North Carolina settings anyway, and I
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really enjoyed the characters as well. The fact that the story had a girl named Moses and a boy named Lavender (among characters), and that it totally worked, is just one example of this charming tale. I can see why this made the Newbery list (didn't win top prize, but a runner-up). Show Less
LibraryThing member BFF2
three times lucky is areally good book I really liked the story line behind the book the only part I did not like was with this girl named Alice because she was really boring.
LibraryThing member Megs_Scrambled
A combination of original character, unique voice, and engaging mystery propel this book from merely charming to highly recommend status. Mo LoBeau is an orphan who washed down the river after a hurricane and has lived in Tupelo Landing ever since. The Colonel and Miss Lana care for her and she of
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them, although she never stops thinking about her "upstream mother." When murder comes to town, Mo and her intrepid sidekick Dale Earnhardt Junior Junior take it upon themselves to investigate. Boys and girls alike with take to Mo, as she smooth talks outsider cops and deftly solves the case. Show Less
Awards
Nebraska Golden Sower Award (Nominee — 2015)
Edgar Award (Winner — Juvenile)
Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award (Nominee — 2016)
Georgia Children's Book Award (Finalist — Grades 4-8 — 2015)
Utah Beehive Book Award (Nominee — Children's Fiction — 2014)
Kentucky Bluegrass Award (Nominee — Grades 3-5 — 2014)
Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award (Nominee — 2014)
Sasquatch Book Award (Nominee — 2015)
Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award (Nominee — 2015)
Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Reader's Choice Award (Nominee — Junior — 2015)
Newbery Medal (Honor Book — 2013)
Vermont Golden Dome Book Award (Nominee)
Sunshine State Young Reader's Award (Nominee — Grades 3-5 — 2016)
Nēnē Award (Nominee — 2014)
Oregon Reader's Choice Award (Nominee — 2015)
Grand Canyon Reader Award (Nominee — 2015)
Blue Hen Book Award (Nominee — Middle Readers — 2016)
West Virginia Children's Choice Book Award (Nominee — 2013-2014)
Southern Book Prize (Winner — Young Adult — 2013)
North Carolina Children's Book Award (Nominee — 2014)
Rhode Island Children's Book Award (Nominee — 2014)
Colorado Children's Book Award (Nominee — 2015)
Keystone to Reading Book Award (Winner — 2014)
South Carolina Book Awards (Nominee — Children's Book Award — 2014)
E.B. White Read-Aloud Award (Honor Book — 2013)
Read Aloud Indiana Book Award (Middle Grades — 2013-2015)
The Best Children's Books of the Year (Nine to Twelve — 2013)
Books From All 50 States (and Washington, D.C.!) (North Carolina)
Notable Children's Book (2013)
Idaho Battle of the Books (Elementary — 2021)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2012-05
Physical description
336 p.; 5.06 inches
ISBN
0142426059 / 9780142426050