Lia's Guide to Winning the Lottery [Paperback]

The author has really done an amazing amount of research into what happens when you win the lottery; the book is full of sage advice about investing and not overspending.

Lia is only 16 years old and wins £8 million, when she starts getting into bother and overspending, the author adds a debate as to whether or not the UK should change the lottery to the American version, where money is only paid out periodically and not all at once and whether the age should be raised to 18 or 21. (It would appear from the author's information that winning the lottery might not be all it's cracked up to be).

Lia finds out the hard way just who her true friends are as she faces a barrage of abuse from face book, jealousy from school mates and abuse from her friend Jack's mum who insists that Jack is due to half the winnings because he bought her the lottery ticket as a birthday gift.

The book is very funny in places and really captures the imagination; you can picture Lia going from a broke adolescent accustomed to comparing the price of everything between the market and charity shops to one who gasps and still checks the price tags in the designer shops she now uses.

The story covers a lot of ground; the family squabbles and interaction between Lia and her friends provides an insight into the minds of teenagers as well as the exploration of new found feelings of love and lust that she finds with an enigmatic boy named Raf. All of which are quite believable and engrossing.

I think this is a book for any teenager (boy or girl), it is a pleasant, sometimes thought provoking read and I found it highly enjoyable.

I have to admit I really thought I was going to hate this book after reading the first few chapters. I can hear you all screaming WHY? Well it is because Lia is just so gosh darn awful. She spews acid from her mouth instead of words, she is toxic and toally selfish and self-absorbed. I even had to ask Keren if she did improve or I was going to stamp on the book. She told me to stick with her, and yes she had intentionally made her like this. I am so glad she convinced me to stick with it.

Lia's Guide to Winning the Lottery provides great insight into what it would be like to suddenly come into a LOT of money. I am sure we all imagine what we would do with a large lottery win, the houses we would buy, the holidays we would take but have you ever really thought about what you would do to ensure that your financial future was secure. This point was brilliantly crafted into the storyline.

Unfortunately, I hate to say it but Lia is very realistic portrayed, I have been noticing a lot more the type of things girls her age say and OMG they are like that, it must be the hormonal imbalance that makes them evil, lol. It was nice to see Lia's character developemnt through the story via numerous incidents not least the pie throwing. The way in which the media scrutiny was partrayed was quite scary, although I did think that Lia's mother was a bit shallow I liked the way she used her PR training to manipulate the situation to her advantage.I really liked how Lia was quick to crave normalicy after the worldwind of activity.

The peripheral characters really added balance to the story and WOW was Lia lucky to have friends like that. Lia's father is a lovely calming presence putting no pressure on her at all although you can tell he is stuggling financially with his Bakery in the current econmic crisis. Which I have to say was brutally depicted in the narrative with the closure of shops in the High Street and business on the edge of bankrupcy.

I adored the sarcastic use of the paranormal craze woven into the narrative, it was so so so funny. Raf's character added another element to the story making you realise just how deceiving first impressions can be. To say I adored him would be putting it mildly.

At first I thought the bold italic writing at the start of each chapter heading was just there to provide ironic humour but the way in which it all came together in the end and tied into the title was amazing.

I am so glad I took Keren's advice and stuck with Lia the character progression from the start of the book to the end was a wonder to behold. I KNOW you will enjoy this as much as I did when you get into it. So don't be afraid of the toxic 16 year old go read it.

Lia's Guide to Winning the Lottery looked and felt, initially, very different from David's staggeringly successful thrillers, When I Was Joe and Almost True. On the surface, one seems to be reading something slighter, with Lia's voice and situation dramatically lighter than Ty's. One of David's many strengths, however, is to deal with very meaty, up-to-moment concerns without ever seeming to flag up 'issues'. It wasn't long until I realised that this sassy, bouncy novel was once again highlighting some serious issues -- celebrity culture, cyber-bullying, fundamentalism, sex, alcohol, to name just a few -- without ever suggesting easy answers. My very favourite aspect of the novel was the way the character of Raf is presented, the mysterious, possibly even paranormal, love interest -- David has great fun playing with the tropes of urban fantasy within a very contemporary, very realistic novel. I've loved all David's novels and this one certainly shows off her versatility. What it shares with the Ty books, apart from its unerring grasp of the contemporary scene, is its addictive quality. I loved it and can't wait to see what this exciting writer does next.