The Titanic maiden voyage story that you have been waiting for
—Amanda Khong, Bookish Brews
Bookish Brews Snapshot
Luck of the Titanic by Stacey Lee
Valora Luck has big dreams of running away to America and starting a new life. She sneaks onto the Titanic maiden voyage to reunite with her brother and figure out a plan to be allowed entry during the Chinese Exclusion Act. But we’ve all heard stories of the Titanic…
😭 Emotional 🌳 Family Focused 🧭 Immigrant Experience 📘 Standalone
- Genre: Historical Fiction
Book Review
Fun, real, heartwarming, thought provoking, witty, charming
Luck of the Titanic is the Titanic story I wish we all knew. Move over Rose and Jack, make way for Val and Jamie. Never once did I ever imagine to be able to see someone who looked like me in a historical fiction about the Titanic. I didn’t even realize that people who looked like me were aboard in the first place! It was a whole new experience to see people like me exist at all before modern day. Historical fiction so often, especially about events we hear about often like the Titanic, has never felt relatable in the least to me. Until this. This book brought me that. It told me that even in historical fiction, we can see diversity. People who look like me.
Luck of the Titanic is a historical fiction that works to tell the story of the six Titanic survivors of Chinese descent. It follows twin siblings, Valora and Jamie Luck, two twin British-Chinese acrobats traveling aboard the Titanic’s maiden voyage, which was the same time of the Chinese Exclusion Act. Determined to make it to America, Valora brews a plan that will allow them to get into America before the ship makes it across the Atlantic.
I can absolutely say right off the bat that my favorite part was that this book kept me guessing. I read this with Saima, and we both kept guessing what would happen wrong. I say that this is my favorite part because it was very impressive that a book about a major historical event, one that is so famous we all know the story, ends up being surprising at all. I was very impressed with that alone that made my experience of the book go up a ton!
I also loved Valora. It’s not often that one of my favorite things about a book is one specific character, and not “the growth of all the characters” or “the friendships between so and so” but this one was really nice. I loved how Val never let the obvious racism get her down. I loved how she was spunky and positive. I loved how much she loves her brother, and cares for others. She has outrageous ideas, but it’s because she will do anything for the people she loves. I definitely loved her!
Luck of the Titanic was the story of the Titanic I’ve always dreamed up, but never knew I’d be able to know. It was a fun read that kept me guessing even though it was about an event that we all know how it ends. A wonderful read!
Background Knowledge:
The Chinese Exclusion Act
Okay, I lied about my favorite part being that we were kept on our toes. The best part was seeing myself in a story I never imagined people who look like me would be in. Ever. Absolutely incredible.
Before reading this book, I highly recommend reading up on the history of anti-Asian racism in America and probably in England as well. The Chinese Exclusion Act is the only United States law to prohibit immigration and naturalization based on race. It restricted Chinese people from entering the US for 60 years, and through snowballing events, nearly all Asian people were denied entry and naturalization into the US until 1952. Only 71 years ago. My white grandpa was born into a country where people who look like me were not allowed entry or to be citizens. The Titanic made it’s maiden voyage to America during these 60 years, so it is even more incredible to read about the six survivors of Chinese descent. This is a really short overview, but I highly recommend reading up on it. Here are some articles to get your research started:
But don’t stop here. Keep reading. Learn and grow.
