This is an adorable YA Contemporary about a small town girl, not quite 18, who manages to buy the winning lotto ticket.

Jane just won $58 million dollars but there’s one problem, she’s not 18 and can’t legally cash it in or she could face actual criminal charges. When the news announces the name of Jane’s small town in Wisconsin as being the place where the winning ticket is purchased she starts to panic. Who is she going to get to cash all this money in and guarantee they won’t take her for all it’s worth? I thought the author did a great job in portraying the anxiety Jane feels every time someone brings up the lotto ticket and when the whole town goes on the hunt you can feel the world around Jane getting smaller and smaller.

Will she choose her best friend Bran, her mentally unstable mother, or the ex-boyfriend she thought she was in love with but left her high and dry with little explanation. I really liked the snippets of stories around other lotto winners and what happened to them throughout the book. Many of the stories included are a bit tragic from the winner taking their own life, being murdered for their money, or blowing it all and ending up broke. If all this research into past winners hasn’t given Jane enough anxiety her best friend Bran has decided to take his reporting skills to the next level to try to find the winner. Little does he know he’s connected to the winner more than he realizes.

This book was really cute. I thought the emotions were well done when it came to Jane. I thought the portrayal of her mother’s mental illness felt authentic to her grief. I have someone close to me who lost their father and his mother was never really the same. She even became a hoarder and still struggles with it to this day. This book doesn’t just portray someone with anxiety but also different ways people cope with grief. I enjoyed it overall and would recommend it to anyone looking for a fast-paced YA Contemporary that deals with grief and anxiety but in a way that feels light in tone.

3 stars = Find/solid/good

I was drawn to this because I love lottery stories. This one was on the stressful side. Every time Jane left the ticket somewhere, I felt stressed. I was fascinated by the resentful reaction of the community to the winner not coming forward. And I enjoyed how the author put all the pieces together in the end. (Language, LGBTQ+, references to sex)

To make this short: I loved this book. Immensely so. But we shall make this a bit longer.

I so do enjoy a character driven story, and this one really delivered. We have Jane, who is the protagonist. I liked her from the very start. She is so wonderfully written, her struggles and hopes interwoven in a character who is both led by emotions while simultaneously thinking so, so much. To be honest, if I could have Jane as a friend, I’d definitely want her by my side.
Her emotions and feelings really came through and I felt with her throughout the whole story.

I also liked her best friend, Bran, who was such a joy to read about. I really liked his family and the tight bond he has with Jane. I loved that the two of them were such good friends and that they’re a good friendgroup with Brandon’s girlfriend. I’d read so much more about the three of them.

Generally, I loved all the character dynamics in the story and how Jane’s surroundings influenced her. Both herself and her mother are still grieving for Jane’s father but in very different ways. I think the portrayal of grief was really well done, especially when it comes to different people reacting differently to it and how others might deal with it. It made my heart ache but it also warmed me, because so much of the story was about acceptance of different kinds.

I also really, really liked the setting of a small Wisconsin town. It had such a cozy feeling while on the other hand there always seemed frenzied and there was this contstant pressure because of the lotto winner. I really enjoyed the atmosphere this whole mix created.

So yes, I loved Lucky Girl and I got so much more than expected. I got emotions of all sorts, I laughed out loud while other parts made me absolutely emotional. If you’re looking for a short yet deep and fun contemporary read, Lucky Girl is definitely for you!

This ARC was provided in exchange of an impartial and honest review:
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4*
Pros: Definitely helps answering the question of what if you were the lottery winner. Explores a bit of the relationship of humankind with money. Deals with grief, mourning and coping mechanisms. Bisexual lead and PoC representation. Pretty awesome and supportive grandma, which is always a treat. Loved the cameo of Kit Sweetly.
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Cons: Would love to learn more about her mom's and Brandon's lives.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Happy Pub Day to Lucky Girl!

Thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for a chance to read and review this YA contemporary prior to its release.

Lucky Girl follows our main character Fortuna Jane (aka Jane) after she finds out she won the lottery. The only problem? She’s not 18 yet.

The story follows Jane as she tries to figure out what to do about this winning ticket. It’s a short story that is definitely geared towards the younger audience of YA, but still enjoyable for an adult in their 20’s. Jane was very likable and I enjoyed reading from her perspective.

The book also deals with heavier topics such as grief following a loss of a parent, emotional abuse & control in a relationship, as well as mental illness. All these are handled delicately and add a nice touch to the story, making it more than just a story about a girl winning a lottery ticket and not knowing what to do with it.

Holden was a jerk and Bran was the best. They were good side characters that really added to the story in a way that made it more enjoyable. Without them, I’m not sure I would have liked this story as much.

It’s a pretty basic story, but with these side characters and other elements mentioned above, it makes it less basic and more detailed.

Overall a cute and quick read!

Lucky Girl by Jamie Pacton looks at what would happen if a small town was suddenly in the headlines for rumors of a local resident winning 58 million dollars in the lottery. The only problem is that the winner is a minor and cannot legally claim the money. Jane has to figure out if/how/when to cash her secret lotto winnings.

I loved this book It was a super quick read which was exactly what I was looking for right now. Even though it definitely addresses heavy subject matter, it does so very well and in a way that makes it organic to the rest of the storyline. I adored the brief mention to Kit Sweetly hidden in Lucky Girl, Kit was one of my favorite books of last year, and I’m glad Lucky Girl didn’t disappoint either.

One of the things I’m enjoying the most about Pacton’s writing is her friend groups and side characters. They’re all fully fleshed out and not used as props to further the main character’s plot.

I would definitely recommend this book to my middle school students and all other lovers of MG/YA reads.

Fortuna has a secret that is burning a hole in her pocket. She just won over $58,000,000 on the lottery and she is freaking out... internally. In the outside she refuses to let it show. There are several major issues eating away at her currently. For one, she is only 17 and even though she bought the ticket (illegally) she cannot cash it. She turns 18 soon so she is hoping to wait it out. Meanwhile, the whole town is going crazy because they have pinpointed the lottery ticket as being sold by a local store. So they know someone in their little town won that jackpot... and they cannot understand why the winner hasn’t come forward yet.

The whole town is in an uproar, sharing their ideas on what they would do with the money, and throwing a lot of shade on the individual who hasn’t claimed their winnings yet. Fortuna’s best friend is actually running an pseudo investigation into who the winner could be... leaving Fortuna feeling like a terrible friend, but still not willing to give up her secret.

Fortuna also is dealing with her hoarder of a mother, whose obsession with other people’s discarded memories is literally crushing them. And her ex boyfriend, while they shared two years together, is trying to get back in her life...

This was such a great book. I loved Fortuna. I loved her strength and her sass. She really only ever just wanted to do the right thing. And she must traverse the tumultuous waters through so many aspects of her life: her relationship with her mother, her love life, trying to be a decent friend and just trying to do the right thing.

I recommend this book to anyone looking for a sweet story about growth and loss and the realization of who you should keep in your life and who you should not.

There are just SOOO many good things about this book! I have never read a book before that talks about winning the lottery and the effects of it, so this was definitely wonderful to read. I love the messages of money not being able to solve all problems, and not being the main key to happiness. First of all, I LOVE Bran. He is what you call A TRUE BEST FRIEND. The way he is always at her side and supports her through everything, is absolutely wonderful. His girlfriend Sofie is also such a sweet girl. This book touches on strong topics like hoarding and grief, and showcases how it affects everyone in different ways. The book ended just the way I wanted it to, if not better. UGH, I really wanted to punch Holden sometimes; who does this psychopath think he is. Lastly, huge shoutout to Jane Belleweather. She is a strong young woman, and the way she puts others before herself, and has such an empathetic personality, made me love her right from the start. She definitely gets this from her father. ALSO, I love her quirky comments hahaaa she made me laugh many times. We all love a story that takes place in a small town and has visits to a pumpkin farm during the autumn season. A wonderful read!

Loved this one! I forgot just how FUNNY the author is!! The characters are sharply drawn, dynamic, fully imagined. Jane's multiple struggles were very real, and I wondered right alongside of her how she would possibly get out of them. From what she would even DO with the lottery winnings, to how she would CASH it because she was underage, to her reluctance to leave her mom. Even though she hated living in the midst of her mom's hoarding, if she wasn't there, who would remind her to eat? Who would take care of her? It's something too many kids have to wonder about.

You'll wonder the whole time--what would YOU do with 58 million dollars?

Jane is 17 and she lives with her single mom who is a hoarder. On her dead dad's birthday, Jane buys a single lottery ticket and ends up winning over 58 million dollars. The only problem? She can't legally claim her prize. Now Jane has to figre out how to get the money - or if she should do it at all.

It was a nice short contemporary read about a teenager who deals with rather adult problems and comes to realize some important things along the way.

Seeing all the praise for Lucky Girl, I had high hopes I would enjoy it too, but wow I did not expect to love this book as much as I did. It was something that grew on me until I was teary eyed at the end and wanted to scream to the world about this book.

There's betrayal and drama and friendship. It's so funny, and Jane's Grandma gave me quite a few laughs. The entire plot of Jane trying to decide who should help her cash the ticket while also trying to keep the fact she had the ticket from her best friend Bran was very fun and took you on constant twists and turns. Jane read a little young in the beginning, but after a chapter or so I got used to her voice, and I think it really fits with the story.

I really enjoyed how Jamie's mom's hoarding wasn't just a plot device used to make the story interesting. It was wrapped in the entire story and affected how Jamie viewed items, money, time, and her relationship with her mother. It added a lot of substance and heart to the book.

Another cool element of the story, besides the MC's bisexuality, is her trying to get over a relationship but failing. It was so realistic to have the best friend that still hates the person even though you've made up with them, so that extra tension made Jane's decisions more interesting. Jane was interesting in her own way though. I love characters who are passionate about one topic, so her oceanography love was nice to read about. She also has really good taste in books, but that's a side note.

Overall, this is a book you want to read. Your feelings about characters will completely pivot from one end of the spectrum to the other while reading. I'm definitely going to have to read Pacton's other YA book because I enjoyed the writing and story in this one so much.

Lucky Girl lived up to all my expectations. Talk about a book that just hit all the right high notes. Pacton presents a character driven story revolving around a lottery win. It's never simple though. The discussion about what money does to a person, what dreams and ambition can twist, is one of my favorite elements of Lucky Girl. Would we sacrifice a loved one, our principles, our friendships for money? The characters in Lucky Girl come alive.

They're rich and, mostly, empathetic, appealing to these vulnerable places in our heart. Lucky Girl manages to be fast paced, without feeling rushed. Handling privilege and class, just like Pacton's debut, Lucky Girl is thoughtful as Jane struggles to solve her lottery winning problem. In a world where our possessions tell a story, where the randomness of fate perplexes us, how long will our memory, our love, last?

Lucky Girl is a story about Fortuna Jane Belleweather, a seventeen-year old who has just won more than fifty-eight million dollars in the lottery. But along with the shock of winning, a lot more problems arise too. Jane isn't eighteen yet, so she can't cash the ticket, and if anyone finds out she bought the ticket as a minor, it would technically make her a criminal. Her best friend is intent on finding out the mystery winner, and her mom has a serious hoarding problem, which will only escalate if she lets the cat out of the bag.

And for the cherry on top? Her ex-boyfriend has shown up out of the blue, with big plans for that money.

This was a short and fluffy contemporary which dealt with hard topics in just the right way. Right from the synopsis, I knew not to expect anything going right in this book, which is basically exactly what happened. After winning the lottery, a string of funny and relatable incidents ensue, which made my experience very enjoyable.

It also explains the effects of money and greed, and what it can do to people. I feel like that's a really important lesson we need to learn in life, and Jamie Pacton does a brilliant job of putting it into light. Another thing I loved was the friendship between Bran and Jane. He was so supportive of her and never judged her for the mistakes she made and I think everyone needs someone like him in our lives.

initially, I was a bit weary of Jane hanging out with her ex-boyfriend again. I mean, her feelings were a mess when it came to him, and her conflicting emotions of how to deal with him were very amusing and annoying at the same time.

And as we all know, with each YA novel comes a character we want to hurtle off to hell. I'm not going to say who it was but their ending was just SO satisfying.

Jane's mom went through some pretty hard times after her husband's death and used hoarding as a coping method. Seeing how Jane dealt with her mom's mental issues and how both of them came to a mutual understanding was genuinely uplifting.

Overall, the writing was amazing, and this book was just a lot of problematic lives rolled into one was just so fun to read and be a part of.

This was a super interesting read that really got me thinking! It had a lot of depth and covered some important topics.
Lucky Girl follows Fortuna Jane, though she prefers just Jane, after finding out she’s the sole winner of a 58 million dollar lottery. Sounds like a dream, right? Well, things aren’t all that simple as Jane is only 17 and shouldn’t have been allowed to buy a ticket in the first place, forcing her to scramble to find someone over 18 to claim her winnings for her. Her choices are slim as she’s faced with her money-obsessed ex, her mother’s hoarding problems that began after her father’s passing, and a small, Wisconsin town that’s desperate to know who among them is a new multi-millionaire.
I couldn’t help but place myself in June’s shoes and wonder what I would’ve done in her situation. This was such a conundrum! Jane was stuck in such a difficult place and it was really captivating watching her try to work through her problems.
Supporting Jane throughout her adventures was her best friend Bran, and he honestly stole the show for me. He was such a good friend in being there for Jane every step of the way and ultimately helping her solve her problem. The whole cast of characters was developed extremely well. They were all multi-faceted and easy to care about.
I loved the brief nod to The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly! That’s another great book by Jamie that I highly recommend. I really enjoy when authors tie their works together even if it’s in a small way.
This book was on the shorter side, but talked about so many meaningful things. There was obviously a lot of discussion around money; having it and not having it, what to do with a lot of it and how to handle having a little of it. Lucky Girl also covered some heavier topics. While contemplating what to do with $58,000,000 is a fun discussion to have, this story was more about family, loss and mental illness tied with grief.
I was expecting a fun and light read but I got so much more than that! This was a really impactful book that I highly recommend checking out.
Thank you so much to NetGalley, Page Street and Jamie Pacton for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

First of all, thank you so much to Page Street for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

What would you do if you won the lottery and $58,642,129 was sitting in your pocket? That's what Jane has to ask herself, especially ocnsidering she illegally bought the ticket weeks before she'll turn 18. Does she give it to her mom who's a hoarder, does she give it to her grandma to chas in? Or does she leave it?

I'm a huge fan of Jamie PActon's books. The Life and (Medieval) Times of Kit Sweetly was so lovely and inclusive, and Lucky Girl was no different! I love Jane. She felt so real ant tangible as a character. The casual queerness in this book was absolutely wonderful, and this townfelt so very real!

Lucky Girl tackles sexuality, racism, grief, and hoarding. It's a fast read and should definitely be added to your TBR!!!

I really enjoy Jamie Pacton's writing.

Jane is a seventeen year old living in Wisconsin. Her father died years earlier and her mom became a hoarder in her grief. It started with her getting emotional that people throw out memories and it grew from there. It's to the point that the whole house is covered in random items. The yard is full of broken kids toys. It's really bad. So when Jane wins the lotto, she isn't sure what to do. Her best friend Bran is determined to investigate to find the winner. Everyone in the small town is angry that the winner hadn't come forward. Jane starts reading about the lottery curse. She's terrified to have that much money and is worried it will not just change her, but also the people around her. Then Jane finds out that you can't buy or cash a winning ticket if you're seventeen. It's a crime.

Jane starts to think about who could cash the ticket for her. She worries her mom will blow through the money. Her grandma is a bit of a hippy and doesn't think lots of money is good. Bran is also seventeen. But Jane's ex, Holden, is eighteen. The problem is the ex. Jane's still heart broken over their breakup. Holden changed and became obsessed with money. So could she trust him to give her the money? They do start hanging out a bit and it's obvious Jane wasn't over him. Was it possible that Holden regretted the break up? Or was there another reason he started talking to her again. He even bought her presents from his trip to Hawaii. Bran doesn't trust Holden at all. Jane goes back and forth on what to do. Winning the lotto should be the best thing to happen to someone, but Jane is worried and wonders if she should even try to cash it.

I loved Jane's relationship with Bran. I felt for both Jane and her mom. I don't know much about hoarding, but it felt pretty real. The grief was just too much for her mom.

I gave this book 4 1/2 stars rounded up to 5 on Goodreads.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my review copy.

Warnings for grief, hoarding, money issues, death, and an unhealthy relationship.

This was an interesting story. Tackling hoarding, crappy ex boyfriends, and a winning lottery ticket? It sounds like a lot, but the author handled it with finesse. I enjoyed watching Jane come into herself, and the conflict was just enough to keep me interested.

Very clever young adult book about having to have faith in people.

Fortuna Jane has won the lottery.

Only, as a 17 year old, she can't claim the prize now, or any time when she is 18, because it is illegal to sell to minors.

So, she has to find someone she can trust to cash the ticket. Her choices are limited, and the whole story is how she finds who she can trust with that much money.

It would not have been my choice, but I do like how she goes through it, and how her friend, Bran helps her.

I also like how Holden, her ex, is a choice as well.

Everyone is well written, and good back stories, and a fine book, over all, although I did get frustrated with Fortuna because I just wanted her to find someone already.

<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>

Fortuna (don't call her "Tuna") Jane has illegally played megamillions... and won. The way in which the small town begins to react to the news of a winner who refuses to come forward feels very real to me, as does Jane's struggle to find a way to claim the money without getting in trouble with the law. Her mother's descent into hoarder territory was very well written, and you have to wonder how many episodes of Hoarders (the tv show) were watched to get this right.

It's fun to daydream about how you'd spend $53+ million and to then judge Jane's decisions. Overall, a decent read that explores some issues you don't normally read about in YA lit.

eARC provided by publisher via Netgalley.

Jane (born Fortuna Jane Belleweather) is a seventeen year old high school senior living in small town Wisconsin. Jane was recently dumped by her boyfriend of two years, and lives with her mother, who is deep in the throes of a hoarding disorder since the death of Jane’s father 5 years ago. On a whim, Jane buys a lottery ticket, which ends up being the only winning ticket for a prize of more than 58 million dollars. The only problem: Jane’s still two weeks from her 18th birthday, and there isn’t really anyone over 18 she trusts to help her cash the ticket. To complicate things further, Jane’s best friend, Brandon, has made it his mission to find the lottery winner and uncover why they haven’t come forward.

Throughout the course of Lucky Girl, Jane grapples with what to do about the winning ticket. Pacton does an excellent job of portraying life in the kind of small town where everybody is in everybody else’s business. Though the premise is fun, this book deals with heavy topics including mental health, poverty, power/control dynamics within relationships, and historic negative outcomes for lottery winners. Representation includes: child of parent with mental illness, hoarding disorder, anxiety, trauma, and grief/loss. The protagonist is bisexual (incidental to plot!) with a Korean best friend. I also appreciated the representation of a male/female platonic friendship.

On the topic of mental health: Though definitely experienced through the perspective of a frustrated daughter, Pacton deals with hoarding disorder realistically and with sensitivity, including exploring the catalyst for the behavior (a traumatic loss), Jane’s mother’s perception (items need rescuing), and characters understand that they can’t force change. Jane’s own experience with grief is also explored, including within the context of the ways the parent/child roles shifted following the loss of her father.

I really enjoyed Lucky Girl, and enjoyed how the narrative pushed the reader to think not only about what options Jane had, but also what they might do in a similar scenario. I think this one will have broad appeal with YA readers, and I’ll keep this one on my list for bibliotherapy, especially for youth with adults in their life impacted by hoarding disorders.

Thank you to Netgalley, Page Street Publishing, and the Author for providing me with an advance copy of Lucky Girl to review. All opinions are my own.