44 pages • 1 hour read
Sheila TurnageThree Times Lucky
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2012A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Found Family and Discovering the Past
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death and physical abuse.
Mo is shaped by her elusive past and biological mother. Though her mother is absent, Mo feels her impact. She writes messages in bottles that she sends downstream in the hope that her mother will discover them and find her. Mo also writes letters to her mother that she never sends, which detail her experiences and her thoughts and feelings. Her mother is a sounding board and diary, even though she isn’t present.
The Colonel offers a contrasting example of relating to the past. Unlike Mo, the Colonel never strives to discover who he was before arriving in Tupelo Landing. Instead, he accepts and is grateful for his new life with Miss Lana and Mo. His life began on the night of the storm, and what came before it is no longer relevant. The town itself is also like one big family, as everyone is always there to support one another; it’s a place defined by its stability and sense of community.
In contrast, Mo hangs onto the possibility of discovering where she came from. At times, she struggles to see her found family as her own: “I studied her parents’ faces: strong faces, with eyes that peered straight into my heart. I wondered if my own people would look into my heart too” (124). Even with a scrapbook of family memories laying in front of her, Mo still thinks about her “Upstream Mother” and the rest of the family she never got to know.
As time passes and Miss Lana and the Colonel are kidnapped, Mo’s priorities shift. She stops thinking about her Upstream Mother and just wants Miss Lana and the Colonel to come home. The letters that she writes reflect this change. She begins to realize who her true family is and that they are enough: “As I watched them together, my earth founds its axis and my stars found their sky” (312). In the story’s conclusion, Mo finds a message in a bottle and wonders for a moment if it is from her mother. It turns out to be one of her own, but the realization is not disappointing: Mo already has the family she needs.
Being One’s Own Authority
The Colonel is in charge of himself, a trait he passes on to Mo. The Colonel believes that authority outside oneself can never be trusted and that official authorities shouldn’t get involved in people’s affairs. For example, he is defensive when Detective Starr first comes into town. He lies to the detective about when he got his new car because he doesn’t want the detective to be involved in his business. The novel portrays confidence and self-authority as positive traits but also shows how distrust can get one into trouble. For example, the Colonel’s strong dislike of authority makes him an early suspect of the murder or at least an accomplice to Robert Slate’s crimes.
Suspicion of authority also turns out to be a useful tool. However, Mo applies it to the wrong authority figure, suspecting Starr when she should suspect Deputy Marla. The townspeople are equally suspicious of Starr and withhold information from him. They are used to always seeing the same people and predicting everything that goes on around them. The townspeople unintentionally associate Starr with instability and danger. They prefer a quiet, ordinary life, free of interference or threats of any kind. In this way, Turnage illustrates how unfounded suspicion can be dangerous.
Through Mo, the book shows the positive impact of having command over oneself. Mo acts as her own authority figure most of the time, although she is still willing to listen and gets along with her family. She says whatever is on her mind, goes for what she wants, and takes it upon herself to solve Mr. Jesse’s murder even as Starr continuously tries to discourage her. Mo is told not to go out alone or to visit the investigation scene, but she does so anyway. The fact that she ends up finding important evidence shows that rebellion can be acceptable when one has good judgment. Mo, being self-possessed and confident, manages to successfully defend herself and Dale against Marla, Macon, and Slate. She demonstrates that she is not too young to look out for herself or take matters into her own hands. Through her actions, Mo shows that a person can be their own boss while still getting along and acting as part of a team.
The Power of Unconditional Friendship
Through Mo and Dale’s strong bond, the book demonstrates the importance of connection. Mo and Dale are extremely loyal to one another, and neither of them has any other close friends. Mo and Dale do everything together.
Through them, the book shows how good friends are always there to support one another, even if a task is less than desirable. For example, Dale helps Mo at the café when he would rather go fishing, and Mo helps Dale with his chores when she would rather investigate the murder. Both do what is necessary to uphold the other and the values of friendship.
Through them, the book shows how friendship is about accepting a friend’s flaws and eccentricities. Dale and Mo have an underlying understanding of one another. Mo knows that Dale is impulsive, and Dale accepts that Mo is fiery and outspoken. Mo and Dale’s friendship also becomes important to the rest of the town; it is their friendship that inspires the townspeople to work as a team and solve Mr. Jesse’s murder. In this way, the book shows how friendship has an impact beyond the individual friends.
The book also shows how true friends encourage one another to have other connections. Dale reminds Mo that she has other friends, like the rest of the town, who are always there to support her when she needs it: “You got a town full of nobodies, in case you haven’t noticed” (233-34). He keeps Mo grounded in reality and helps her gain perspective on her situation and her life. The friendship is especially important to Mo because it is a source of stability, humor, and comfort in a world where she often feels lost and uncertain. The friendship also grounds Dale, who comes from an abusive household and has an unpredictable life. He is always around Mo, whom he can count on to be there with him unconditionally, without judgment or fear.
Other examples of unconditional friendship in the story include the bond between the Colonel and Miss Lana, who love one another despite their extraordinary differences, as well as the friendship between Miss Rose and Miss Lana. Miss Rose steps in to care for Mo when Miss Lana goes missing and does so without hesitation. In the town itself, there is an overarching feeling of friendship and comradery between the townspeople, even when they don’t get along with one another. Everyone will miss Mr. Jesse despite his disgruntled attitude, and Anna-Celeste and Mo find ways to help one another despite their antagonism.
