Sixteen-year-old Lia, who lives in London, wins 8 million pounds in the lottery. Yes, you can win when you are 16 in the UK. If you are interested that's $11,600,000 in the United States. She, understandably goes off the deep end, and has difficulty with her new fame and fortune.
I really hated Lia throughout most of the book. Even before she won. She's only 16, but she's really nasty to her family, and her mother in particular. I know many 16-year-olds have a volatile relationship with their parents, but even though I didn't really like my parents much at that age, I didn't act like Lia.
When she wins the lottery, to me she only gets worse. Yes, there are a lot of funny parts, and you just cringe for some of the stupid stuff Lia pulls, and I did "get over" my thoughts about Lia. There are other characters that a worth mentioning. Lia's sister, Natasha who is cute (and younger, so not such a smart-ass.) Jack is the perfect best friend. Raf, who becomes the love interest adds a bit of mystery and some additional excitement.
Lia does begin to figure it out. She grows and matures, but it's a struggle. And her relationship with Raf is always interesting too. Let's just say he's from a very colorful family.
With a lot of humor, cute characters, and a dreamy plot (who wouldn't want to win the lottery?) Lia's Guide to Winning the Lottery will appeal to many teens, even if somewhat predictable. There are some Brittish slang words that I was unfamiliar with, but they weren't essential to the story. I do wish that when a book is published in the US there would be an explanation of these terms. I like to enhance my knowledge of different cultures. And, since I was reading an ARC, maybe that will be included in the final copy of Lia's Guide to Winning the Lottery. Give this book to Georgia Nicolson fans.
Published by Frances Lincoln, March 27, 2012
ARC obtained from LibraryThing Early Reviewers, and another ARC from Library Media Connection Magazine for review
352 pages
Rating: 3/5
Great review, Annette! Totally honest; Lia is not a likable character at all and that's the point of her growth as she figures out how to act as a lottery winner (and a young winner, to boot!).
ReplyDeleteFYI, Keren David has a page on her website called "Tossers and Trainers" that serves as a guide to British slang for American readers: http://wheniwasjoe.blogspot.com/p/tossers-and-trainers-glossary-for-non.html. It's fairly comprehensive, but I think the author is open to suggestions for more terms.
Thanks for the info. I'll check that out.
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