There is bad luck, good luck, and making your own luck--which is exactly what Summer must do to save her family in this winner of the National Book Award by Newbery Medalist Cynthia Kadohata. Summer knows that kouun means "good luck" in Japanese, and this year her family has none of it. Just when she thinks nothing else can possibly go wrong, an emergency whisks her parents away to Japan--right before harvest season. Summer and her little brother are left in the care of their grandparents -- Obaachan and Jiichan --  who come out of retirement in order to harvest wheat and help pay the bills.

The thing about Obaachan and Jiichan is that they are old-fashioned and demanding, and between helping Obaachan cook for the workers, covering for her when her back pain worsens, and worrying about her lonely little brother,

Summer just barely has time to notice the attentions of their boss's cute son. But notice she does, and what begins as a welcome distraction from the hard work soon turns into a mess of its own.
Having thoroughly disappointed her grandmother, Summer figures the bad luck must be finished--but then it gets worse. And when that happens, Summer has to figure out how to change it herself, even if it means further displeasing Obaachan. Because it might be the only way to save her family.

Cynthia Kadohata's ode to the breadbasket of America has received six starred reviews and was named on numerous "best of" lists for 2013.

運氣，有好有壞，有時還得靠自己創造。這正是夏天目前的寫照，她必須想辦法「開運」，才能幫家人度過種種考驗。本書為美國紐伯瑞獎得主辛西亞．角畑 (Cynthia Kadohata) 榮獲美國國家圖書獎殊榮之作品，主角為 12 歲的日裔美籍小女孩夏天。夏天知道「kouun」這個字在日文中代表「好運」，但顯然今年她家並沒有受到幸運之神的眷顧。她以為一切都會平安無事，但就在小麥收成前夕，爸媽卻有急事得趕回日本，留下她和弟弟讓阿公阿嬤來照顧。兩位老人家都退休了，但為了幫忙工作養家，只好再次出馬。　　

問題是，阿公和阿嬤既古板又嚴格，夏天每天忙得團團轉：阿嬤為工人煮飯時，她是小助手；阿嬤背痛無法工作時，她得自己上陣，還得分心照顧孤僻的弟弟……夏天根本無暇注意到農田主人兒子對自己的好感。當她發現之後，愛情的喜悅讓她得以忘卻工作的勞累，但短暫的美好時光很快就演變成一場鬧劇。　　

夏天徹底傷透了阿嬤的心，她以為一切都會否極泰來，但結果卻變本加厲。夏天必須想辦法改變現況，即使惹怒阿嬤也在所不惜，因為這是拯救一家人的唯一方法。　　

這本以美國中西部穀倉為舞台的青少年作品迄今已榮獲六項星級評論肯定，並名列2013年各大暢銷書籍排行榜。