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A review by missprint_
Lucky Girl by Jamie Pacton
3.0
Fortuna Jane Belleweather has always been good with numbers. As the only winner of the most recent lottery jackpot, Jane know there are 58,642,129 to claim the ticket. And every one of them includes a dollar sign.
Unfortunately, Jane can also see four big problems that stand between her and the big prize:
Jane is still seventeen for two weeks. This isn't terrible since she has 180 days to claim the ticket. Except if anyone finds out she bought the ticket as a minor it's a criminal offense. So aside from being in big trouble, she wouldn't be able to claim the winnings.
The most obvious solution is to give her mom the ticket to cash. But after her father's death, Jane's mother has started hoarding other peoples' possessions (and their memories, whatever that means) so Jane isn't sure she can trust her mother with that much cash. Or really any cash.
Jamie's best friend Brandon Kim is determined to reveal the big winner on his website, Bran’s Lakesboro Daily, to better prove his chops as an aspiring journalist and land a coveted internship at CNN.
Then there's the biggest problem: Jane's ex-boyfriend Holden is back on the scene with a lot of ideas about spending Jane's winnings. And trying to claim them for himself.
Winning the lottery should be the luckiest thing to ever happen to Jane, but as she struggles with keeping her big secret and figuring out how to claim her winning's she wonders if this is a case where a strike of luck is more bad than good in Lucky Girl (2021) by Jamie Pacton.
Jane narrates this standalone contemporary. Jane, like most of the small Wisconsin town residents, is white. Her best friend Brandon is Korean. Jane is bisexual.
Pacton packs a lot into a short novel as Jane comes to terms with her life-changing win and figures out how to claim her winnings (or if she even should). While this decision understandably drives most of the plot, Jane and her mother are also still grieving the death of Jane's father and dealing with the aftermath (isolation for both of them and hoarding for Jane's mom).
While some of the plot--particularly everything to do with Holden--can feel heavy-handed, Pacton delivers a very sweet slice-of-life story focused very squarely on Jane and her support system. Jane's friendship with Brandon (and Brandon's long-distance girlfriend who is in Australia) nicely centers this story and, once Jane comes clean, proves that she has more people in her corner than she realizes.
Lucky Girl is a fun bit of escapism that also thoughtfully tackles heavier themes of grief and loss. Recommended for readers seeking a change of pace in their next read.
Possible Pairings: Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith, Jackpot by Nic Stone, Lucky in Love by Kasie West
*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*
Unfortunately, Jane can also see four big problems that stand between her and the big prize:
Jane is still seventeen for two weeks. This isn't terrible since she has 180 days to claim the ticket. Except if anyone finds out she bought the ticket as a minor it's a criminal offense. So aside from being in big trouble, she wouldn't be able to claim the winnings.
The most obvious solution is to give her mom the ticket to cash. But after her father's death, Jane's mother has started hoarding other peoples' possessions (and their memories, whatever that means) so Jane isn't sure she can trust her mother with that much cash. Or really any cash.
Jamie's best friend Brandon Kim is determined to reveal the big winner on his website, Bran’s Lakesboro Daily, to better prove his chops as an aspiring journalist and land a coveted internship at CNN.
Then there's the biggest problem: Jane's ex-boyfriend Holden is back on the scene with a lot of ideas about spending Jane's winnings. And trying to claim them for himself.
Winning the lottery should be the luckiest thing to ever happen to Jane, but as she struggles with keeping her big secret and figuring out how to claim her winning's she wonders if this is a case where a strike of luck is more bad than good in Lucky Girl (2021) by Jamie Pacton.
Jane narrates this standalone contemporary. Jane, like most of the small Wisconsin town residents, is white. Her best friend Brandon is Korean. Jane is bisexual.
Pacton packs a lot into a short novel as Jane comes to terms with her life-changing win and figures out how to claim her winnings (or if she even should). While this decision understandably drives most of the plot, Jane and her mother are also still grieving the death of Jane's father and dealing with the aftermath (isolation for both of them and hoarding for Jane's mom).
While some of the plot--particularly everything to do with Holden--can feel heavy-handed, Pacton delivers a very sweet slice-of-life story focused very squarely on Jane and her support system. Jane's friendship with Brandon (and Brandon's long-distance girlfriend who is in Australia) nicely centers this story and, once Jane comes clean, proves that she has more people in her corner than she realizes.
Lucky Girl is a fun bit of escapism that also thoughtfully tackles heavier themes of grief and loss. Recommended for readers seeking a change of pace in their next read.
Possible Pairings: Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith, Jackpot by Nic Stone, Lucky in Love by Kasie West
*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*