Book Review - Tall Tales and Short Stories

Money can't buy you love. But it can buy many other very nice things.

Lia's mum is a nag, her sister's a pain and she's getting nowhere in pursuit of the potentially paranormal Raf. Then she wins ?8 million in the lottery, and suddenly everything is different.?

But will Lia's fortune create more problems than it solves??

Everyone dreams of winning the lottery - but what's it really like?

Lia's Guide to Winning the Lottery ~ a tall tales & short stories review

Go on, admit it. We all do it. We all dream about what we'd buy if we were to win the lottery, especially when we hear stories like the recent Euromillions win of a ridiculously huge amount of money. And in Lia's Guide to Winning the Lottery, Lia doesn't have to imagine, she does win. She wins ?8 million!

Keren David's new novel is a humorous tale of sixteen year old Lia's lottery win and the ups and downs that entails.? I'm a huge fan of Keren's first novel, a teen thriller called, When I was Joe, which was written in a page-turning, first person narrative and I think that's where Keren's storytelling skill is exemplary.? Lia's Guide to Winning the Lottery takes place in a modern, urban setting, and with knowing nods to facebook, shopping, image obsession, and the recent spate of Twilight inspired paranormal obsessions of many a teenage girl, I think Keren David really 'gets' her teenage protagonists and readers.? Her characters are believable, three-dimensional individuals, with all their positive aspects and, perhaps more importantly, their faults, on show.? Because let's face it, none of us are perfect, and for fictional characters to come across as more than simply cardboard cut-out stereotypes they should reflect real people.? So Lia becomes someone to like in her kind, thoughtful moments but also to dislike when she's being her horrible, self-centred worst and the people around her are far from perfect either - rather like real life!

Told with humour and a light touch, there are some mysteries to explore and hints of danger, but essentially, this is a coming-of-age story.? A teenage girl's experience of growing up and having newly found wealth and responsibility suddenly thrust upon her.? It's about the decisions she makes and it makes the reader question what we would do if we were to find ourselves in a similar position.? And the explanation of the lottery ticket purchase was a revelation in itself but you need to read the book to find out what that's all about!

Many thanks to Frances Lincoln for sending a copy of Lia's Guide to Winning the Lottery.

You can read a tall tales & short stories interview with author, Keren David - here

tall tales & short stories book reviews of When I Was Joe and its sequel, Almost True

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Source: http://talltalesandshortstories.blogspot.com/2011/07/book-review-lias-guide-to-winning.html

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