25 October 2017

Review #644: Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith



My rating: 3 of 5 stars


“Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck.”

----Dalai Lama XIV


Jennifer E. Smith, am American author, has penned an entertaining and light hearted young adult contemporary story called, Windfall that centers around an orphan teenage girl randomly buying a lottery ticket, but later giving it to the guy, on whom she has a huge crush on, as a gift, who also surprisingly wins the ticket, followed by the winning money drama between the two. But what they together discover is that, money's power is beyond friendships and love, and that it certainly can change things.




Synopsis:

Alice doesn’t believe in luck—at least, not the good kind. But she does believe in love, and for some time now, she’s been pining for her best friend, Teddy. On his eighteenth birthday—just when it seems they might be on the brink of something—she buys him a lottery ticket on a lark. To their astonishment, he wins $140 million, and in an instant, everything changes.

At first, it seems like a dream come true, especially since the two of them are no strangers to misfortune. As a kid, Alice won the worst kind of lottery possible when her parents died just over a year apart from each other. And Teddy’s father abandoned his family not long after that, leaving them to grapple with his gambling debts. Through it all, Teddy and Alice have leaned on each other. But now, as they negotiate the ripple effects of Teddy’s newfound wealth, a gulf opens between them. And soon, the money starts to feel like more of a curse than a windfall.

As they try to find their way back to each other, Alice learns more about herself than she ever could have imagined . . . and about the unexpected ways in which luck and love sometimes intersect.



Alice, the high school teenager, finds herself blessed with a lottery ticket. But when she gives away that lottery ticket to Teddy, the guy whom she has forever loved secretly, and surprisingly he wins the lottery, she never once regrets it. Instead, she feels glad and happy for him. Orphaned at a tender age, she has been brought up by her deceased father's brother and his wife at their home, where they only gave her ample of love and bounty of opportunity for her better future. Leo, her gay brother, feels that Teddy's win as a remittance to his father's gambling habits that left Teddy and his mother destitute. On the other hand, even though Teddy wanted to share his winning sum with Alice, yet Teddy begins leading a lavish lifestyle on his own. But can Alice live with her random decision? Will she find herself as well as the love in Teddy? Or can Teddy live with such good fortune generously?

This is the first time that I read any books by this author, even though the synopsis sounds but unique, yet it wasn't that compelling enough to draw attention. Still I managed to grab this book and read it cover-to-cover, as I found the story line to be very realistic and entertaining enough to keep me glued to the story. The central story line revolves around how teenagers handle good and sudden fortune in their lives, mainly not to feel overwhelmed, instead to feel humble towards Windfall.

The writing style of the author is okayish but layered well enough and tightly with light emotions, that will hit the readers aptly. The narrative is often engaging but at times, dragged a lot. The pacing of the book is really fast, but then again, the climax will disappoint a bit to the readers. As it felt like the author tried enough to not to paint the story line with any cliched moments, but failed to keep the climax free of a forced-dramatic-happy-ending.

The characters are well developed, but laced depth thoroughly and I felt it difficult to connect with them. Even their demeanor lacked basic emotions to make the readers feel for the story or for their plight. The main character, Alice, is a sympathetic young lady, whose good upbringing makes her a kind and benevolent human being. I bet some teenager might find it hard to relate to her situation, yet Alice can be a good role model. The rest of the characters aren't that interesting enough to strike a chord with the readers. The story itself is fun enough to read and stick to it till the very end.

In a nutshell, this is quite a delight book with a teenage girl giving away her lottery ticket to her crush and later, her crush winning that lottery, and the drama follows after.


Verdict: Subtly captivating and a perfect light read for a lazy afternoon.
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Author Info:
Jennifer E. Smith is the author of eight books for young adults, including WINDFALL and THE STATISTICAL PROBABILITY OF LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT. She earned her master's degree in creative writing from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, and her writing has been translated into 33 languages.
Visit her here



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