The Book:
Jackpot Summer by Elyssa Friedland
Published: June 11, 2024 by Berkley
Date read: May 5, 2024
Find more June 2024 releases here.
The Characters:
Leo Jacobson
Matthew, Laura, Noah, and Sophie
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The Plot (from Goodreads):
After the Jacobson siblings win a life-changing fortune in the lottery, they assume their messy lives will transform into sleek, storybook perfection—but they couldn’t be more wrong in the new laugh-out-loud novel from beloved author Elyssa Friedland.
The four Jacobson children were raised to respect the value of a dollar. Their mother reused tea bags and refused to pay retail; their father taught them to budget before he taught them to ride a bike. And yet, as adults, their financial lives—as well as their personal lives—are in complete disarray.
The siblings reunite when their newly widowed father puts their Jersey Shore home on the market. Packing up their childhood isn’t easy, especially when they’ve all got drama brewing back home. Matthew is miserable at his corporate law job and wishes he had more time with his son; Laura’s marriage is imploding in spectacular fashion; Sophie’s art career is stalled while her boyfriend’s is on the rise; and Noah’s total failure to launch has him doing tech repair for pennies.
So when Noah sees an ad for a Powerball drawing, he and his sisters go in on a ticket. Matthew passes but the ticket is a winner and all hell breaks loose as the infusion of cash causes sibling rivalries and family secrets to resurface. Without their mother, and with their father busy playing pickleball in a Florida retirement village, the once close-knit siblings search for comfort in shiny new toys instead of each other.
It’s not long before the Jacobson’s start to realize that they’ll never feel rich unless they can pull their family back together.
My Review:
JACKPOT SUMMER is THE heartfelt family drama of the season. It’s simultaneously funny, heartwrenching, and hopeful. The four Jacobson siblings have just learned that their father is selling their beloved beach house, after recently losing their mother. While figuring out how to deal with this grief, three of the four siblings win the Powerball jackpot.
This novel just goes to show that nobody’s perfect, and even a seemingly great thing can tear a family apart.
My heart hurt the most for poor Noah, saying yes to everyone’s requests for money and just wishing for his old job as the island’s tech support. My favorite character was the Jacobsons’ dad, though.
While these characters make many questionable decisions along the way, they eventually learn from their mistakes and turn out okay. The ending really makes the book: it’s so heartwarming and hopeful. I definitely recommend you add this to your TBR this summer! It’s out in June.
QOTD: What would be your first purchase if you won a huge Powerball jackpot? I’d probably book a dream trip like Laura and Doug, but I’d be doing my best to keep my winnings quiet!
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