Windfall

I really enjoyed "Windfall" by Jennifer E. Smith, even if it was a bit predictable. Alice is an orphan who lives with her aunt, uncle, and cousin Leo in Chicago. For the last few years, she's been secretly in love with their best friend, Teddy. Teddy's had a rough childhood, too. His dad is addicted to gambling and after bankrupting his family he skipped out, leaving Teddy's mom to raise him on her own. For Teddy's 18th birthday, Alice buys him a Powerball ticket. Teddy wins 141.3 million dollars, and just like that, the poor high school boy becomes a multimillionaire. As you can expect, he starts spending the money recklessly, worrying his mom, Leo, and especially Alice. Teddy offers Alice a share of the money, since she bought the ticket, but she doesn't want the burden of having that much money. She's also sad that Teddy doesn't return her feelings for him, and she can't decide what college to go to. There was a lot of teenage angst in this book! But it was fun and very sweet.