Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith

I picked this book up at Chapters a few weeks ago. I really like buying hardcover books that are on sale.  I find they do that just before the book is going to be released into paperback.  Hardcover books just last a little bit longer than paperback books. 

I actually felt the whole time I was reading this book that I had read it before, but not enough to know what was going to happen. 

In this book, three friends, Alice, Teddy and Leo have been friends forever.  The night of Teddy's 18th birthday, Alice buys him a lottery ticket as a joke- something you can only do as an adult.  To everyone's surprise, the numbers come up as the winner. This means that Teddy, whose mother has tried to make ends meet ever since Teddy's father left them, has more money than he ever thought possible.  For most people, having that much money all at once would come with it's own challenges, for an 18 year old, this is even more true.  As Teddy learns how to handle all of the pressure of that much money, he makes mistakes along the way.  His friends Alice and Leo are at time frustrated with him, sad that he is changing and worried about his future, all the while trying to figure out what they want out of life as well. 

I loved this book, it was a nice quick read, with some really great lessons. Even though all the characters are 18, this book has no mature parts that would be of concern to give to Intermediate students.