The Lucky One: Theme & Summary

The central message or theme that is present in The Lucky One is that everything happens for a reason. This theme develops throughout the course of the book because in the beginning of the book, Logan Thibault is in the marines. After he turned twenty-three, he deployed to Kuwait as a part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Logan decided to join the military, since his dad had served with the marines for twenty-five years. His dad went into the marines as a private, then worked his way up to being a sergeant. Two years after leaving the marines, Logan's dad died of a heart attack, when Logan was fifteen.

There were many rumors spreading around the camp where Logan was stationed, about the next move. The only way that Logan could calm his nerves was to go for long runs. He preferred to run in the morning, when it was still cool outside. On the way back to his tent from one of his morning runs, he spotted a photograph, half buried in the dirt. "He brushed off the dust, clearing the image, and that was the first time he saw her. The blonde with the smile and the jade-colored mischievous eyes, wearing jeans and a T-shirt emblazoned with the words LUCKY LADY across the front. Behind her was a banner showing the words HAMPTON FAIRGROUNDS. A German shepherd, gray in the muzzle, stood by her side. In the crowd behind her were two young men, clustered near the ticket stand and a bit out of focus, wearing T-shirts with logos. Three evergreen trees rose in the distance, pointy ones that could grow almost anywhere. On the back of the photo were the handwritten words, 'Keep Safe! E.'" (Sparks 25). At first, Logan almost put the picture back down, but then he realized that someone must be missing this picture. When he returned to camp, he hung the photo on a message board near the entrance to the computer center, thinking that someone would see it and claim it. A few days later, he saw the photo still tacked to the board. He took it down and put it in his pocket.

It was that night, when Logan had his first win while playing poker. While Logan, and his friend Victor, were on their way back to their tent, Victor said he thought the picture was bringing him good luck. " 'You found that picture for a reason. No one claimed it for a reason. You took it today for a reason. Only you were meant to have it.' " (Sparks 27).Even from the beginning of the book, things are happening for a reason. This is all tying back to the central theme of this book.

Logan's luck continued after the night he won poker. He carried his lucky picture in his pocket, with him, everywhere he went. He survived many deadly battles, and beat the record for the number of bombs survived. "It was just that kind of place, and nearly everyone had heard the story of Tony Stevens, a marine from the Twenty-fourth MEU- Marine Expeditionary Unit- who'd survived nine bombs. One of the major newspapers had written an article about him entitled 'The Luckiest Marine.' His was a record no one wanted to break. [Logan] Thibault broke it. By the time he left Ramadi, he'd survived eleven explosions" (Sparks 97).When Logan left the marines, he went back to his home state, Colorado. It wasn't until Victor told Logan, that he owed something to the woman in the picture who saved his life, did Logan set off to find her. He walked all the way from Colorado to the small town Hampton, with his German shepherd, Zeus, in search of the woman in the picture. Logan's hard work eventually paid off, when he found her.

Elizabeth is a single mother of an eight-year-old son, Ben. Elizabeth and Ben live with her grandmother, on her farm. "Nana", as they call her owns a dog training business. She has a "Help Wanted" sign in the window, and Logan applies for the job. Elizabeth and Logan eventually fall in love, and face many challenging times. With every challenge they face, their relationship becomes stronger than ever.
 
Had Logan not gone for a run and found his lucky picture, he might not still be alive, or with the love of his life. Everything happens for a reason.