I was super excited to read a book of Smith's early and it didn't disappoint! I will say though that the start was kind of slow and the ARC took a while and I wasn't a huge fan of a certain male character. But, I still enjoyed the quick read.

Windfall is a cute story about three friends, Leo, Alice and Teddy. Alice is in love with Teddy but Teddy is kind of oblivious. For his 18th birthday Alice buys him a lottery ticket as a joke. Except, the ticket actually wins $143 million dollars. The teens start out ecstatic and shocked about winning. This money can really change their lives - especially since Alice and Teddy have had a lot of tragedy in their lives. Eventually the money starts to change things. It tests their relationships as they all deal with change. I love the growth shown in all three characters.

I went into Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith expecting a light-hearted contemporary romance, like so many YA romances out there. I was not expecting to be hit with such a sad book. Windfall deals with poverty, death, and grief. I even felt that the romance aspect of the story was sad, as Alice keeps hoping for things to happen with Teddy and then they... don't. I came away feeling kind of melancholy and depressed, which surprised me. The synopsis and the cute, bright cover do not convey the tone of the book, in my opinion. The ending itself was sweet, but I feel like I invested so much emotion into reading this story that it didn't even matter a ton to me in the end. I was just glad to be finished, to be honest.

This felt wuiter and sweeter than other books I've read of hers. Still romantic but in a different way.

What an awesome book!
Whenever the jackpot of our lotteries are high I usually spend a few moments dreaming about all the things I would do with the winnings. New car, new house, a vacation, open a bookstore. You know, the fun stuff!
This book shows you what happens good and bad when money is involved.
Love any book by Jennifer E. Smith that's for sure!

I was experiencing a major reading slump before reading this. I was delighted to discover that this book was exactly what I was looking for at the time.

A down to Earth story with lovable characters!
Thanks to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the opportunity to read and review Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith!
Alice has lived with her cousin Leo since she was nine, after her parents died. She’s content and treated well. Leo, Alice and Teddy are three best friends and Alice has had a long-standing crush on Teddy for years. Alice purchases a lottery ticket for Teddy’s birthday and it ends up being a winner! Life gets more complicated after that, plus the fact that the three friends are trying to make plans for the future. They’re each trying to decide what college to attend or whether college is an option at all. Teddy finds out the hard way how people use you after they discover you’re rich, including his own father. Windfall shows a lot of character growth and insights that we can all use and learn from. I love the little added extra about the lottery overseer and how winners and their actions have been observed over time. Windfall is a romance above all and even though it’s about winning the lottery, it’s a down to Earth story, 5 stars for the lovable characters!

Quick review for a quick read. "Windfall" was a cute read overall. I'll admit I wasn't quite expecting the take that this book would have with respect to a protagonist winning the lottery, but it also managed to be a nice coming to terms and romance story all rolled into one. There were many moments I liked about it, from the friendships (Leo and Alice were cute) to the bit interactions with family that made me go "D'awwww." Probably the first book I've picked up in a while that had such positive vibes and endearing quirkiness while managing to delve into difficult subjects. While it might be a little on the predictable side for events, "Windfall" has much going for it with respect to the cast of characters, their interactions, and ultimately much of what the book chooses to say on a number of realistic subjects.

Alice just so happens to buy the winning ticket as a gift to her friend/love-interest Teddy and it changes his life in an instant. Alice grapples with the turn of events as she sees Teddy grow more distant and reckless, hoping that money can help rekindle some of the things he's lost in the past (like his relationship with his financially irresponsible father, wanting to please his peers, etc.) In almost a parallel way, Alice grapples with aspects of her past as she decides where she wants to go to college, examines the loss of her parents with a closer eye, and even navigates her affections for those she cares about, including Teddy.

I won't spoil any more about where the novel chooses to go for building the characters, but there's still a part of me that wishes this novel could've delved even deeper into aspects of the central conflict. It did feel that the main conflict had to march to certain points of resolution, with Alice piping in things that we knew Teddy would eventually figure out on his own. The interactions between the cast and the way the novel shapes the relationships here was one of my favorite aspects. I really felt for Alice because I knew where she was mentally and knew how conflicted she felt in a given moment - about passing up the lottery win, watching changes in Teddy, dealing with her parents' deaths, among other things. I loved the interactions between Alice's adoptive family and how they supported her (you don't see a lot of front-and-center family dynamics in YA novels), and Leo's friendship with Alice was great as well.

Overall, I liked "Windfall". I haven't read that many of Jennifer E. Smith's works, but I'm curious to see more of what she has to offer, both in works I haven't perused yet and those to come.

Overall score: 3/5 stars.

Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley from the publisher.

Not a very fun book. I hated the guy, totally forgot his name, and I did not like any of the decisions the main chick made. This was a solid idea when I read the description, but this went downhill fast.

This book is adorable. I love Jennifer E. Smith books, because I can feel good about ordering them for middle schoolers. I've shared it with tons of my students. We even made book trailers for the book and tweeted the links to Jennifer E. Smith. She liked them on Twitter. If you haven't ever read a Jennifer E. Smith, do it. It'll make your heart happy!

Loved the first person narrative. In the past I've had trouble connecting with Jennifer E. Smith's stories, I've felt too removed and the stories have been too whimsical, but this was different. Parts of this story made me so sad, but I really enjoyed it. Interesting points about families, friendships, and how people treat money and status around money. Would absolutely recommend.

WHY DID I LISTEN TO WINDFALL BY JENNIFER E. SMITH?
Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith basically continues the pattern OF EXCELLENCE that I’ve come to experience from Smith’s books. I mean, when I want a book that reminds me of falling in love for the first time, I check out her books. When I want books about nice kids who are genuinely good, interesting people, I check out her books. And so, I decided to give this book a listen because I wanted something a little bit lighthearted with a touch of serious. Also, I sense a mini trend about teens who win the lottery, and I want to be right on the money.

WHAT’S THE STORY HERE?
This book is about a girl named Alice. Her parents died one year apart, so she lives with her aunt and uncle and cousin. She’s best friends with this guy named Teddy (also my son’s name!). She and Teddy are on the verge of something, when on his eighteenth birthday she buys him a lottery ticket. His ticket hits the jackpot. He ends up spending like he’s never spent before, constantly. He spends his money in smart ways and in not so smart ways. It changes everything between Alice and Teddy. At points, the money sort of feels like more of a curse than a blessing. Still, let’s be real. This money is just life changing and so, the story follows how it impacts Teddy and Alice and if they hook up or not.

HOW DID I LIKE WINDFALL?
Well, it’s been awhile since I listened to Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith. I remember really liking it. I remember that Alice was a character I really cared about. She’s someone you feel for, because she lost her parents. However, she’s got this great relationship with her aunt and uncle. It’s interesting too, seeing her learn some long buried things about her parents as the book unfolds. Also, I thought the way Teddy spends his new money came across as really realistic. Also, the ending was wonderful too and made me smile.

HOW’S THE NARRATION?
The audiobook is narrated by Tonya Cornelisse. Cornelisse is a totally new to me narrator. I listened to this via the Volumes app and I think at 1.5 speed as I do most audiobooks. Cornelisse doesn’t have a bad voice at all. But also, not a super memorable voice as I can’t even recall the tone or the actual sound of her voice. Still, this was a good listen and one that made my drives go by much faster. I would recommend the audiobook of Windfall for sure.

Story was a bit slow and drawn out during. This book wasn’t for me. Teens might appreciate it.

I loved the premise of the book. It was realistic and to the point. Money changes everything and it's a battle to overcome that obstacle. I have been recommending this already and will continue!

I couldn't get into this book and she seemed too perfect considering the windfall. I DNF this book

Jennifer E. Smith is a student favorite at my library! (And one of my favorites, too!)

I love how well developed Alice is, we can feel what she feels and relate to her. I love how good the relationship between Aunt and Uncle with each other and with the children, this is like the best YA parents (aside from the Weasleys) that I have ever read. I wish to know more about Leo and as for Teddy... well he's just okay for me.

I like how short each chapter was. They are very easy to read and never dragged. I love the exploration of money and how it could change you. I just wish Alice could stop thinking how in love she is with Teddy 24/7.

Overall, this book works for me and redeemed the author for me!

When I first read Windfall, I immediately thought it was a cute story with so many elements that I like. And because I hadn't (and still haven't) read another YA lottery win tale--Lucky in Love by Kasie West--my opinion at first was definitely favorable. And it still mostly is. But after some discussion with other reviewers, I have to agree that one of the characters is quite frustrating. More on that shortly.

Windfall is a YA contemporary about a girl who has been in an unrequited love situation with her best friend Teddy for a long, long time. And just about the time something could maybe happen (because apparently she hasn't seen or read He's Just Not That Into You and hasn't moved on), she buys Teddy a lottery ticket for his birthday. And he wins millions of dollars. I think a lot of people like to dream about winning the lottery, but just as many have read about what it has done to families and external relationships. People's judgement tends to be not so clear in the best of stories, and in the worst of them, there is often tragedy. But seeing that this is a YA, I figured the most that would be on the line is their friendship and potential romantic entanglement.

Both the MCs, Alice and Teddy, are given really sob story backgrounds. Which while it worked well for their character, it was also a bit unnecessary. In a fictional setting, it didn't work well for me to think that because they are both poor, one is an orphan, and one had their father walk out on them... I don't know. It just seems like a bit much. Sort of like a crutch to explain why you should be that much happier that things are going well in their life finally when they win the lottery. But it is a rags to riches story... I just don't see that as super relatable. 

Regardless, the windfall of having money in their lives (Teddy's money), is a lot for them to handle. Being that Teddy is a teenager, you expect him to be a little reckless with it. He has zero experience at handling that much cash, or a decent paycheck even, so his idea of what to buy is going to be reflective of his idea of how rich people spend their money. So Alice keeps getting her hopes up on being with Teddy, and Teddy makes a lot of mistakes, looking her over time and again, until he finally comes around.

I found Alice quite relatable and likable. From being a volunteer (I did tons of community service as a kid, and no it was not court mandated... just a do-gooder) to being in love with something who is not in love with you... I get it. It's a tough place to be in. I think I wanted her to be more assertive with Teddy, but she wanted him to figure it out on his own. That fear of losing him when she never had him to begin with was, however, the primary driving force. So the book played out how it should have. It was good, but for me it wasn't my favorite YA. 

If you do like a bit of melodrama in your YA romance, I think it could be a fun read for you. It does have a bit of a I've-read-this-before vibe, but overall not a bad read for summer.

I love Jennifer E. Smith’s books and I was super excited to see Windfall arrive for me in my Uppercase box. I enjoyed reading it, but the continuity of the plot was a little choppy. It felt like the book could have ended several times before it actually did. The storyline was pretty predictable, but I didn’t care because it was fun to read - mostly because the characters themselves were interesting, and I enjoyed the side-romance of Leo and Max. However, I wasn’t a fan of the main character’s romance. Alice loved Teddy, but Teddy was not interested, apparently. So along came Sawyer - who I really liked and was rooting for. Love triangle! It resolved itself, but I wasn’t happy with the person that Alice picked at all. Sigh. Oh well. I haven’t read a teen romance in a while and this was just what I needed!

Teddy is turning eighteen years old and Alice has the perfect gag gift. She is buying him a lottery ticket for the enormous Powerball jackpot that will be drawn that day. When they wake up the next morning, they discover that Teddy is now the winner of $140 million after it is split with two other winners. It is a dream come true since Teddy and his mom have been living on very little since his father abandoned them. Will Teddy spend the money wisely or try and buy people’s friendships? Will the money drive a wedge between Teddy and Alice?

Windfall is a stand-alone novel that will delight most readers. The characters are easy to relate to and the storyline is plausible even if the odds are against most people. Readers will think about how they would spend the money as Teddy is making his own decisions. Smith takes her characters through a roller coaster of emotions and readers will find their own emotions rolling as well. Windfall is a great read and should be added to every reader’s TBR list.