I had a hard time getting into this one. The writing just felt a little staccato to me and didn't manage to jump off the page and hook me with the voice. I was super excited to read this one, but not meshing with the prose dimmed my enthusiasm quite a bit. The book does feel worth reading and recommending. The main character is likable enough, and it's such a fun premise. What teen doesn't dream of winning the lottery without thinking of the technicalities?

I adore Jamie Pacton and will read whatever she publishes. This book was exactly what i was expecting from her. Loved the story and felt immediately connected to the characters.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me an advanced copy of this book to read and review.

A fun quick read, highly recommend this book and author. It dealt with a lot of issues young adults are dealing with today.

Ooof. This book was just not for me, and I am very sad about it. Granted, it wasn't a five star prediction and I did not think it would become a new all times favourite, but I hoped to have a good time reading it.
Unfortunately, I ended up *hating* this book and its only merit, in my eyes, it's its shortness. If it had more than 250 pages, I don't know how I would have pushed myself to the end. The main problem I had was the main character, who didn't have any personality at all. She was one of the flattest protagonists I have ever read and when she showed some character, she was so annoying. She is supposed to be almost 18 but 12 yo are smarter and less annoying than Fortunata Jane. And that's coming from someone who hates children and teens.
The plot was not engaging at all and it was obvious from the start how it was going to end. The "romantic" subplot was useless and badly written, the main plot was boring and all over the place.
The characters did not have any depth to them, the dialogues were basic and there was nothing to take from this book. Overall, this was one of that reads that leave you staring into the void once you end it, not because you are shocked or drained, but because you are asking yourself: "Why did I waste my time with this?"
I don't think I will ever read anything more from this author, because I didn't like her previous book and hated this one. It's clear that I don't vibe with her stories and her writing style, so I will leave her books to someone who will appreciate them more than me.

This story has such an interesting premise. A 17 year old wins the lottery- instantly piqued my interest. This story was a quick read with a likable main character who is still dealing with the aftermath of grief and loss and how her mother is also dealing with it while also trying to figure out what to do with the lottery. This story was enjoyable, and I may recommend it to a few friends who enjoy these types of books but it wasn’t a WOW read for me.

Let me start this off by saying how much I loved the voice in this book! As you may know by now, I’m big into voice driven and character driven novels. They are my bread and butter. The opening line of this book hooked me and didn’t let go. I loved Jane, and Bran, and honestly even her mom. I loved how they shaped how Jane saw the world and changed and became more of herself.

There were a few things that confused me about the book at first, but I loved how Pacton took what I had questions about, answered them, and then used the answers to build more tension in the book. I also love how Bran is always on Jane’s side. He is someone who is her ride or die and someone she can count on for a voice of reason. The fact that they remain friends and never do the will-they-won’t-they is a huge plus for me. I love seeing healthy relationships between various genders.

Another element I found hilarious and added to the story were the little excerpts from social media between chapters. It reminded me of the hometown Facebook group I’m part of and really drew you into the community that Jane is part of.

I highly recommend this to those looking for a book that seems light on the surface but really digs under the further you get into it. Be sure to check out the rest of the tour!

Happy reading,

Sophie 🙂

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. Jane wins money in the lotto but she is too young to claim it and her hoarder mother will spend it all if she gets her hands on it. There was more to this story than I expected but much of it was repetitive.

MY HEART. 💜💙💜

I need some time to think about what exactly to say here. In the meantime, please know that I LOVE this book, I’m currently crying happy tears, and I already know what my answer is going to be when everyone starts asking about the best books of 2021.

Thank you SO SO MUCH to TBR and Beyond Tours, NetGalley, and Page Street Kids for letting me read an ARC of this book, and thank you to Jamie for answering all my questions!!! 💜💜💜

Lucky Girl is a new novel by Jamie Pacton, which deals heavily with mental health representation, majorly anxiety, but also depression. Mental health isn’t easy to incorporate into books and even harder to do well if only because it adds a certain depth to the character that most people don’t generally explore. I love the way the main character evolved in this book and she definitely had that depth I was looking for.
Full review to come on my YouTube channel

Loved every minute! Jane has such a unique story that we don't hear much in YA and I really appreciated someone who didn't have it all handed to her easily. Seriously such a good, inspiring, and fun read.

Lucky Girl was a YA novel that seemed a bit lighthearted than my usual reading choices. Our 17-year-old protagonist, Fortuna is the latest lottery winner...the only thing is that it's illegal for her to have bought a ticket so she's keeping quiet. But as her small town keeps talking and her BFF and ex-boyfriend both are in a race to unmask the lottery winner. Fortuna might be running out of time.





Publication Date 11/05/21
Goodreads review published 31/05/21

I am part of Jamie Pacton’s street team, so I was given an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed Pacton’s debut, so I was excited to have the chance to read Lucky Girl early. I really enjoyed this one. It’s a really quick read. It’s filled with character that don’t always make the best choices, but you can’t help but empathize with them and root for them. The story follows Fortuna Jane, who goes by Jane. Jane buys a lottery ticket on a whim and then finds out that she’s won 58 million dollars. The only problem? Jane is only 17 so she could actually get in trouble if anyone finds out she’s the one that bought it. Most of the story is Jane trying to figure out the best option for how to get her winnings cashed. As she researched past winners, she becomes less sure that she even wants this money despite the fact that it could change her life in so many ways. I really liked Jane. She was a likable character. It was easy to empathize with her with the choice she needed to make.
One of the things I thought was interesting about this book was Jane’s mother. Jane’s mom is a hoarder. She collects things that people once loved. It’s clear that it’s become out of control. I think Pacton did a really good job of showing how this was negatively effecting Jane while still being thoughtful and respectful about the fact that Jane’s mom is clearly dealing with some sort of mental illness. I liked how their relationship changed in the end of the book when Jane finally brought some honesty to the table. I really enjoyed when Jane finally sat down and had a good and open conversation with her mom.
Bran was one of the highlights of this book. He’s Jane’s best friend and an aspiring journalist. So, he’s searching for whoever won the lottery, only Jane hasn’t told him that she won. He asks her to help him interview people in hopes that he will find whoever won. I thought the conflict of Jane feeling unable to tell her best friend this huge thing was a compelling one. It’s clear from their relationship and from the way he reacts when he does learn she’s the winner that she could have told him right from the start.
Overall, I think this was a really fun and quick read. I liked all of the characters (even Holden occasionally). I thought the conversation about what to do with that much money and greed was done really well. The story itself was a little slow but the way it’s written made it an easy and quick read.

I enjoyed this book for the most part - quick, fun, sweet characters - but there are parts I question. 1. I understand her issues in getting the ticket cashed in are pretty big, but we never got to see any joy from Jane about winning the prize or what she will do with the money if she manages to claim in. In fact... 2. She has to be convinced to even try to get the money! I find that hard to believe for anyone. Even though she lays out a bunch of bad situations with previous mega-millions winners, I think anyone would be anxious to get their hands on that much money. 3. The turnabout in her mother that suddenly makes her a viable option to claim the money is much too fast. 4. How could she even consider the "offer" from her ex?!! Jerk. Seems to me like he's the most likely person to murder her now, fulfilling the lottery winner curse. Okay, that sounds like a lot of concerns for the book but let me assure you that it's still worth reading and daydreaming about having that windfall at your disposal.

Lucky Girl was a wonderful YA contemporary novel with an extremely original plot idea. I really loved the characters and the book keeps you hooked from the very first chapter, you don’t feel like putting it down. There was a lot going on; there was humor, dealing with issues like grief, etc. It was also written very well and I’ll definitely be checking out more of her books.

Seventeen-year-old Fortuna Jane Belleweather buys a lottery ticket on a whim one day and ends up winning the $58 million jackpot. There are a few reason she can’t cash it. First of all, she’s underage. She could wait until she turns eighteen, but she still bought the ticket while underage so she would face a misdemeanor if she claimed it. She could let her mother cash it, but that is another problem. Her mother is a hoarder who has been filling their home with other people’s discarded mementos since Jane’s father died. If Jane’s mother cashed in the lottery ticket, Jane is afraid of what she would spend it on. Jane’s best friend Bran wants to be a journalist, so he investigates the mysterious lottery winner. At the same time, Jane’s ex-boyfriend also wants to find out who the winner is because he has big plans of what he would do with the jackpot. As time goes on, there is more excitement around who won the lottery ticket in their small town, and Jane has to decide what she’s going to do with it.

This is the third novel that I’ve read in the past month about someone winning the lottery. In two of those books, the person couldn’t cash it in because they are or would be in trouble with the law. Everyone dreams of winning the lottery, but it isn’t the dream that is seems. Jane and Bran researched past lottery winners and read about the horrible turns their lives took after winning. Many ended up dead or bankrupt. The lottery seems like it would solve all of life’s problems, but it causes a lot of new problems.

One thing I didn’t really believe was the ending of the story. I won’t give away what Jane’s ultimate decision was in terms of if she cashed in the ticket or not. She talked so much about what the future could be like if she cashed in the ticket, and I don’t think the future she had planned at the end of the story was believable. It went against what he learned throughout the story about past lottery winners. This was a YA story, so it had a positive outcome, but I don’t think it was the most realistic ending.

This is a thought-provoking read!

Thank you Page Street Kids and TBR and Beyond for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Jane has a winning lottery ticket she shouldn’t legally have. She needs to find someone of age to cash it, but she doesn’t have many people she can trust. The town is in a frenzy trying to find the winner, and her best friend, Bran, is trying to solve the mystery. Between working, dealing with her hoarding mother, figuring out her ticket problem, and her ex, Holden, coming back around, Jane has a lot on her plate. We follow her through the tough issues she’s facing and the possible repercussions of coming forward as the winner.

Foremost, the characters shine through in this story. Bran is a good, supportive friend who always has Jane’s back. Pacton portrayed the hoarding well. The thing people don’t understand is that childhood issues of trauma, including dealing with a mother who hoards, can have long-term repercussions. Add in a windfall that could escalate the hoarding, and Jane is facing some very real issues. Overall, Lucky Girl is a cute and thought-provoking read.

Fortuna Jane Bellwether (Jane for short) is not a lucky person. At least, not by typical societal standards. Her father died in an accident when she was young, traumatizing her mother into a world of bad coping mechanisms. Jane was left to fend for herself, with the help of her grandmother and best friend. Yet, in spite of a rather unlucky life, Jane has won the lottery jackpot. A $58,643,129 jackpot, to be exact. This money should be the solution to all of Jane’s problems, but she can’t claim it, as she was under 18 when she bought the ticket. Somehow, winning the lottery has only made Jane’s life more complicated, as she struggles to find someone to trust with a secret worth millions.

My Recommendation-
If you have ever wondered what it might be like to win the lottery, you should definitely pick up a copy of Lucky Girl! This book does a fantastic job of addressing the complexities that even the most exciting of scenarios can hold. I would especially recommend this book to readers looking for a quick read to kick off their summer season!

A big comfort read, bold and truthful with minor use of cuss words.

Book- Lucky Girl

Author- @jamiepacton

Suggested reading age- 12 - 20

My rating- 4.5/5 ( because of the cuss words, otherwise I loved the book)

Review- Lucky Girl has to be one of the most unique and truthful book I've read in a very long time. The portrayal of human emotions has been so beautifully written by Jamie. The protagonist is named fortuna as we can see it revolves around the theme of luck and how even our smallest of decisions can have such a big impact on our lives. Confusion, betrayal, threatening, it's the difficult truth of life that we read about in the book and of how despite being in a close relation we can Question trust. The use of social media is beautifully blended in the book and the part about a dead family member would make anyone shed tears. The ending is well structured and is a big comfort of our protagonist getting a happy and a peaceful ending. The only part which I did not like in the book is the use of cuss words but well that's my opinion.

Looking for comfort in these difficult times, go read the lucky girl!

Thank you @pagestreetya @netgalley for the ARC.

I really enjoyed reading Lucky Girl! It’s a fun, quick-paced read about Fortuna Jane Belleweather. I really loved how this book explored unexpected windfall and the way relationships could change because of it. I also appreciated the casual nature with which Jane’s bisexuality was introduced and handled. Jane's family issues came from the heart, and I'm glad that it was resolved the way that it was. Overall it’s an exciting read that makes you wonder what you would do if you won the lottery!