You May Already Be a Winner

Written by Ann Dee Ellis

Narrated by Taylor Meskimen

For fans of Ali Benjamin’s The Thing About Jellyfish and Katherine Applegate’s Crenshaw comes the humorous and heart aching story of one girl’s struggle to keep hope alive for her and her younger sister in Sunny Pines Trailer Park.

Twelve-year-old Olivia Hales has a foolproof plan for winning a million dollars so that she and her little sister, Berkeley, can leave behind Sunny Pines Trailer Park.

But first she has to:
·  Fix the swamp cooler and make dinner and put Berkeley to bed because her mom is too busy to do all that
·  Write another letter to her dad even though he hasn’t written back yet
·  Teach Berk the important stuff, like how to make chalk drawings, because they can’t afford day care and Olivia has to stay home from school to watch her
·  Petition her oddball neighbors for a circus spectacular, because there needs to be something to look forward to at dumb-bum Sunny Pines
·  Become a super-secret spy to impress her new friend Bart
·  Enter a minimum of fourteen sweepstakes a day. Who knows? She may already be a winner!

Olivia has thought of everything . . . except herself. Who will take care of her when she needs it? Luckily, somewhere deep down between her small intestine and stomach is a tiny voice reminding her that sometimes people can surprise you—and sometimes your family is right next door.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
• Release date: Jul 11, 2017
• ISBN: 9781524775148

Reviews for You May Already Be a Winner

[fingerpost_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

12-year-old Olivia lives with her 5-year-old sister, Berkley, and their mother, in a small, run down trailer park. Their father left some time ago. Their mother isn't doing very well raising two daughters on her own. She can't afford day care for Berkley, so she keeps Olivia out of school to take care of her sister while she goes to work cleaning houses. A strange boy, Bart, shows up one day, spying on one of Olivia's neighbors. He tells Oliva that he's with the FBI and he has to spy on Grant, who is wanted for all sorts of crimes. Olivia's pretty sure he's lying, because Grant is just a slightly weird neighbor, but a pretty nice guy overall. Still, Bart is the most interesting thing to happen to her in a long time, and she might be falling in love with him.
As the story moves along, the degree of dysfunction in Olivia's family rises more and more to the surface, and the mood of the book changes in the last third. Almost everything Olivia has believed, or tried to believe, seems to be falling apart, and she is falling apart with it.
What feels like a sort of light story in the first half is pretty serious by the end. Olivia narrates the story in many ways like a 12-year-old really would; and yet, I was not bothered by the writing style. It actually gave more impact to the book. I just loved Olivia and Berkley.
When I finished it, I had tears in my eyes just because it was so good. Sad, happy, funny and strange.

[asomers_8 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Recommend this book to students who loved Waiting for Normal.

[melaniehope · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A middle school novel that can also be enjoyed by adults. Twelve year old Olivia seems to have the weight of the world on her shoulders. Her dad has left their home in the trailer park and her mom is stressed and never seems to have the energy, time or money to do much. Olivia has basically assumed responsibility for taking care of herself and her younger sister, Berkley. When Olivia meets a strange boy named Bart, she begins to hope that a little bit of happiness has found her home. This story has both ups and downs. A few times it seems a little long winded, but Olivia is such a likeable character, it made the story interesting. I was a little disappointed by the ending which felt a bit rushed and out of place, but a great story overall! I received a complimentary ebook from the publisher.