Publishers Weekly - Audio
11/27/2017
Actor Bouvard is perfect fit for the teenage protagonist of West’s latest YA drama. Maddie is a high school senior with a type A personality: studious, responsible, organized, anxious about getting into a good college, and constantly worried about lack of money and her dysfunctional family, whom she tries her best to manage and keep together. When she buys a lottery ticket on a whim and wins $30 million, she thinks it will solve all her problems. But a host of new ones arise: people try to scam her, acquaintances try to take advantage of her, and she gets her share of negative media publicity. Narrator Bouvard sounds by turns anxious, hopeful, and excited; her narration makes Maddie an even more human and relatable than she is in the text. Bouvard also creates distinct voices for the other characters, including a French saleswoman and a hilariously snooty Valley girl accent for Trina, the most popular girl in school. Anyone who’s ever fantasized about winning the lottery will enjoy this realistic and entertaining tale of an average girl hitting it big. Ages 13–up. A Point hardcover. (July)
From the Publisher
Praise for P.S. I Like You:"Lily is one of the funniest heroines I've met in a long time. This is my favorite Kasie West book yet!" — Miranda Kenneally, author of Catching Jordan"Clever and heartwarming. P.S. I love this book, and you will too!" — Lisa Schroeder, author of The Bridge from Me to You"The perfect romantic comedy." — VOYA"Pride and Prejudice lite. Readers after an enjoyable beach romance won't go wrong with this." — Kirkus Reviews"Once again, West pens an adorably cute romance that will leave you with a smile on your face and a huge case of the warm fuzzies.... a sweet, swoony love story." — RT Book Reviews"Kasie West books always make us fall in love with love! And this sweet-and-salty, opposites-attract romance has more than a pinch of Pride & Prejudice tucked inside. Prepare for adorable." — Justine Magazine
School Library Journal - Audio
12/01/2017
Gr 9 Up—Maddie is a serious student who worries that her dysfunctional family and lack of money may prevent her from achieving her dream of attending college. When she wins the lottery, she thinks all her problems are behind her—yet her newfound wealth seems to cause more problems than it solves. While the title of the book suggests that Maddie's love life is the central plotline, the story focuses more on how unlucky she is with her financial decisions than on her budding romance with coworker Seth. Although Maddie is smart, she is also young, naive, and ill equipped to handle the great responsibility that comes with such a huge fortune. Her parents provide little guidance, and she must figure out on her own how to adjust to her new reality as a multimillionaire. Laurence Bouvard narrates, giving Maddie a sweet and innocent voice that increases in confidence at the conclusion as she gains more control over her life. VERDICT Listeners might be frustrated by Maddie's early choices, which seem out of character for someone so sensible, but will enjoy thinking about how they would spend the money differently if they were in her shoes.—Theresa Horn, St. Joseph County Public Library, South Bend, IN
School Library Journal
06/01/2017
Gr 8 Up—Maddie's world is about to change. She's a senior in high school, waiting for college acceptance letters to start rolling in. UCLA, Stanford, San Diego State—-Maddie expects to get into them all. She has been doing nothing else but studying and working for all of high school, and now she's ready for her efforts to pay off. And pay off they do: on her 18th birthday, on a whim, Maddie plays the lottery and wins! The money—$50 million —solves a lot of problems, such as college tuition and her family's financial troubles. But with this windfall comes a cost. It's hard to stay focused on what matters, and it's even harder to know whom to trust. Practical Maddie is torn between the easy life and the life she has worked so hard to make for herself. In the end, she finds a balance—friends, family, college, money, and the Boy—with a few stumbles along the way. A quick read with lots of dialogue, the story is sweet and safe, and Maddie's stumbles are swiftly remedied. VERDICT Lighthearted, romantic but never gratuitous, and honest without being overbearing. Fans of Susane Colasanti, Jennifer E. Smith, and Jenny Han will enjoy this smart girl protagonist dealing with the typical (and not-so-typical) drama that senior year of high school brings.—Jennifer Miskec, Longwood University, Farmville, VA
DECEMBER 2017 - AudioFile
Maddie Parker is driven and hardworking—she doesn't rely on luck or chance. When she buys a Lotto ticket on her 18th birthday, and wins, her life is instantly turned upside down. Laurence Bouvard is tasked with narrating Maddie's new reality as she struggles to figure out what she wants, whom she can trust, and what comes next. The difficulty Bouvard faces is that Maddie isn't always a likable protagonist. She’s a bit of a pushover and can come across as whiny and insecure. In addition, as the only narrator, Bouvard is stronger at the adult characters and weaker at Maddie's friends and classmates, particularly as Seth, Maddie's love interest. The story will appeal to Kasie West’s fans. K.S.M. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2017-04-17
A teen discovers that winning the lottery has an inescapable downside. Maddie's one of nature's caretakers, a worrier with plenty to worry about. Money's tight at home; her unemployed dad and overworked mom fight all the time; her college-dropout brother sleeps all day. On her 18th birthday, a convenience-store clerk talks her into buying a lottery ticket, winning her a $30 million payout. Keenly aware her wealth's unearned, Maddie's impulse is to make generous gifts to her parents and brother. A relative she's never met solicits investment in his real estate deal. As news of her win spreads, a popular classmate persuades her to buy a sports car from her dad, curating Maddie's makeover and stylish do with blonde highlights. Maddie's old friends feel discarded, but she's overwhelmed as her generosity's met with envy, resentment, demands, and betrayal, even from family. Money can't fix what's broken. Only Maddie's friendship with Seth Nguyen feels uncorrupted. Artistic, genial, observant, confronting cultural bias with pointed humor, he's her romantic anchor. Seth's an American kid of Vietnamese-American, U.S.-born parents, a rarity in teen literature, but in their California region, where 20 percent of residents have Asian roots, he and white Maddie inhabit the same cultural mainstream. The romantic cover photo positions both side to, but while Maddie's race, with her long blonde hair and fair skin, is clearly conveyed, black-haired, olive-skinned Seth's is more ambiguous—it's disappointing this Asian-American romantic hero isn't firmly announced as such. There's a wealth of profoundly topical, thematic territory to explore in lottery wins; this iteration, with its cast of culturally and economically diverse characters, is especially resonant. (Fiction. 12-16)
