The Handbook for Lightning Strike Survivors

The Handbook for Lightning Strike Survivors: A Novel
by Michele Young-Stone

I just finished reading this book and really enjoyed it. The chapters alternate between two protagonists (Becca and Buckley) and excerpts from a handbook for lightning strike survivors (hence the title). Both protagonists have been touched by lightning in different ways, but the book is about them surviving the tragedies and abuses of normal life. I don't want to go into plot because how the story unfolds is important, but this isn't a plot driven book. It's character driven, and they feel a little like neighbors. It's obvious before you even start reading that Becca and Buckley will meet, and many of the situations and characters in their lives are ones you've seen or lived before. But how their lives intertwine--how Young-Stone weaves their lives together--is the joy of the story. It's quirky and tinged with Southern charm in all the right places and in none of the wrong ones. I think you'll like it.

And full disclosure, I know the author. We crossed paths at Master's U.