The funny thing is, you will probably be able to guess the general story arc when you read the blurb. Alice buys a lottery ticket for her best friend, Teddy, on his birthday. She's secretly head-over-heels in love with him and has chosen this day to tell him. Instead of that happening, he wins millions of dollars in the lottery.
There is much more to these characters. Alice lost her parents when she was nine years old and lives with her aunt and uncle and her cousin, Leo, who makes up the third person of the best-friend trio. Teddy's father left when he was young, and he and his mother struggle to make ends meet. Leo's boyfriend is a year older than Leo and is away at college. They are all trying to figure out what they will do after high school.
Smith is a wonderful storyteller. There's just no way that this mostly predictable story should be this good. But it is. It isn't sappy, but it should be. The characters are genuine and tug at your heartstrings. They have life struggles to get through, and they do it without going over the top. Smith just has a way of sucking you in so that you can't wait to find out what happens, even though you pretty much know.
I thoroughly enjoyed Windfall, and I can't wait to hand it to some of my teens.
Published by Delacorte, May 2. 2017
eARC obtained from NetGalley
432 pages
Rating: 4.5
I saw this book the other day and thought it looked good. Now I'll read it for sure
ReplyDeleteI just finished and reviewed this one as well. I also enjoyed it. Glad you did too!
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