Some girls have all the luck.

So far, Carrie Fitzgerald's sixteen years have been pretty sweet. Straight A's, an adorable boyfriend, a starting position on the varsity basketball team...

But Carrie's luck is about to, well, change.

Suddenly, her boyfriend dumps her (to "hang out with his friends"!), she and her best friend have a massive blowout, and she gets a D on a biology test. Carrie knows what's wrong -- her mom accidentally donated her lucky T-shirt to Help India. That one adorable, perfect T-shirt was the source of all her good fortune.

So Carrie does what any girl would do: She's going to India. Cross your fingers and hope that Carries finds adventure, love, and maybe just a little good luck along the way....

Gr 8 Up-A fairy tale set in India, this sweet yet predictable book ends happily ever after. Carrie, a talented, beautiful, selfish, yet likable teenager, is in Calcutta trying to track down her lucky T-shirt that was accidentally sent to a shelter there. This shirt is one of the few connections she has with her often-absent, divorced father. She makes the trip on the premise that she wants to build housing for the less fortunate, but definitely puts her search for her shirt first. She meets Dee, a gorgeous volunteer at an orphanage, and goes to work there, again for the wrong reasons. Dee and Carrie find themselves in an up-and-down relationship as she struggles with her materialism and his self-righteousness. Carrie grows to love the children and realizes how fortunate she is to have family, friends, and material things. Although the message is strong, the character development is somewhat lacking. Still, this is an enjoyable read in which the girl gets the guy, reconciles with her best friend, and learns what really matters most in her life. Fans of Meg Cabot's "The Princess Diaries" series will enjoy it.-Julie Webb, Shelby County High School, Shelbyville, KY Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.