Lucky Girl -- Allie Tagle-Dokus, Paperback

Lucy Gardiner felt like she was put on earth to dance.

Amid the chaos of her Massachusetts upbringing--her loving, erratic brothers; her overburdened mother--twelve-year-old Lucy is discovered and cast on a new dance reality show. When its popstar judge, Bruise, takes an obsessive interest in Lucy's raw talent, Lucy's life suddenly becomes what she's always wanted--or has it? In the whirlwind of talk shows, movie sets, and extravagant Hollywood parties of her teenage years, Lucy slowly grows more alienated from her family. And when a series of youthful mistakes comes back to haunt her, she finds she must free herself from Bruise's world of fame and all its trappings, and decide where her home truly is.

With lively prose and a rich cast of supporting characters--including a retired parrot actor traumatized by his former career--Lucky Girl is an unparalleled coming-of-age story that explores the sparkling highs and heartbreaking lows of ambition, infamy, and the determination to follow a dream, wherever it might lead.


Author: Allie Tagle-Dokus
Publisher: Tin House
Published: 10/28/2025
Pages: 368
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.66lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.50w x 1.10d
ISBN: 9781963108620

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 09/15/2025
Kirkus Reviews 10/01/2025
Booklist 10/01/2025

About the Author
Allie Tagle-Dokus is a writer and high school teacher. She received her BFA in writing, literature and publishing from Emerson College and her MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. She currently lives in Gardner, Massachusetts, with her husband and dog.