Book Review: Lia's Guide to Winning the Lottery by Keren David

Lia's Guide to Winning the Lottery 

By Keren David

Release Date: March 27, 2012

Summary: Think winning the jackpot will solve all your problems?
Life's hard for Lia. Her mum is a nag, her sister a pain and the gorgeous but mysterious Raf seems immune to her charms. When Lia wins £8 million on the lottery, though, suddenly everything is different.
But will Lia's millions create more problems than they solve?

Firstly, a resentful gang of girls at school set up a 'We Hate Lia Latimer' Facebook group . . . that soon has fans in the thousands. Her friend Shazia can't have anything to do with Lia's new-found fortune, believing gambling to be immoral. The mum of her other best friend, Jack, is threatening to sue Lia for what she believes to be his share of the winnings. Raf's behaviour is getting stranger and stranger, and Lia can't help but wonder whether there's something to the school rumours that he's not . . . well, human.

And when her sister Natalie goes missing, Lia begins to wonder if a millionaire lifestyle is all it's cracked up to be. . .

Review: I was really intrigued when I won this book from Librarything because it just sounded like such a fun read. I'm happy to say it ended up being just that! 

Lia is a 16-year-old girl from Britain and the book starts off when her mom kicks her out of the house (after another one of their fights) and she finds out she won the lottery. As you can imagine, her entire world turns upside down. Lia has to deal with people taking advantage of her, her family's continuous communication issues, and the mysterious Raf who everyone thinks is a vampire. Oh, and did I mention the ticket was her best guy friend's sweet sixteen birthday present to her? Talk about complicated. 

I loved how Lia was far from being a perfect person. She has fights with her parents, has a ton of issues with her friends, and ends up being a bit (okay, quite a lot) selfish. Her imperfections, though, make the story that much more fun to read. Yes, there were times when I wanted to jump into the story and just shake her until she could think straight, but I enjoyed watching her world completely unravel while she tried to piece it back together. 

I really like how the author kept the reader in the dark about Raf's past and Lia and Jack's relationship until the end because it made the story more interesting. Raf was so mysterious yet yummy at the same time that I couldn't get enough of him! Him being British wasn't too shabby either ;) 

So overall this book was a cute, quirky read about a teen winning the lottery. Yeah, Lia got annoying at times by how immature/self-centered she acted, but the story was still fun. If you're looking for a fast, fun British read, check this one out. It's bound to make you smile :)