A couple of years back, there were two YA books that explored what happened when a teen received a winning lottery ticket. It was a neat coincidence that stuck in my head. When I saw a book out this year with a similar premise, it made me wonder how often the lottery plays a part in YA books.

The answer is enough to make a book list.

Find below a roundup of YA books about winning the lottery. Some of these books feature teens who win, while others feature family members who win or someone unrelated who wins but that lottery is a major plot point. Most of these are newer, but a few of these go deep into backlist territory.

Note that these are very white in authorship and main character.

I’m positive there are other YA books about teens and the lottery not included, so if you know any, please drop them in the comments. Descriptions are from Goodreads.

 

 

 

YA Books About The Lottery

 

Cashing In by Susan Colebank

There are some problems even winning the lottery can?t fix With as many hours as Reggie Shaw puts in at the Cashmart, it?s no wonder that her grades and her friendships are slipping. Worst of all, Reggie?s mother?s inability to keep a job means that Reggie is pulling the weight of two people. Then, Reggie?s mom wins big in the lottery. Suddenly the money?and the popularity?comes pouring in. But when Reggie finds out that her mother has been borrowing more money than she actually won, she must face up to the fact that happiness can?t be bought?it only comes with hard work.

 

 

 

 

Everything You Want by Barbara Shoup

With high school mercifully drawing to a close, Emma’s only question is, “What next? And can it please be completely unlike what happened before?” Then one lucky little lotto ticket seems to give the answer-or does it? Everything You Want is a story about what happens to an average family when money is suddenly no object. Although Emma is bright and creative and has a supportive family, she isn’t exactly excited about life after high school. She’s got her share of unresolved issues, including a disastrous ending to her crush of a lifetime, which left her with a broken heart and a bloody nose (how do you move on when the only boy you’ve ever wanted to date punches you in the face?). Then Emma’s family wins fifty million dollars in the lottery, but instead of making everything better, it just makes everything more complicated.

 

 

 

 

Lucky Girl by Jamie Pacton

58,642,129. That’s how many dollars seventeen-year-old Fortuna Jane Belleweather just won in the lotto jackpot. It’s also about how many reasons she has for not coming forward to claim her prize.

Problem #1: Jane is still a minor, and if anyone discovers she bought the ticket underage, she’ll either have to forfeit the ticket, or worse . . .

Problem #2: Let her hoarder mother cash it. The last thing Jane’s mom needs is millions of dollars to buy more junk. Then . . .

Problem #3: Jane’s best friend, aspiring journalist Brandon Kim, declares on the news that he’s going to find the lucky winner. It’s one thing to keep her secret from the town — it’s another thing entirely to lie to her best friend. Especially when . . .

Problem #4: Jane’s ex-boyfriend, Holden, is suddenly back in her life, and he has big ideas about what he’d do with the prize money. As suspicion and jealousy turn neighbor against neighbor, and no good options for cashing the ticket come forward, Jane begins to wonder: Could this much money actually be a bad thing.

 

Lucky in Love by Kasie West

Maddie’s not impulsive. She’s all about hard work and planning ahead. But one night, on a whim, she buys a lottery ticket. And then, to her astonishment —

She wins!

In a flash, Maddie’s life is unrecognizable. No more stressing about college scholarships. Suddenly, she’s talking about renting a yacht. And being in the spotlight at school is fun… until rumors start flying, and random people ask her for loans. Now, Maddie isn’t sure who she can trust.

Except for Seth Nguyen, her funny, charming coworker at the local zoo. Seth doesn’t seem aware of Maddie’s big news. And, for some reason, she doesn’t want to tell him. But what will happen if he learns her secret?

 

 

Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith

Let luck find you.

Alice doesn’t believe in luck—at least, not the good kind. But she does believe in love, and for some time now, she’s been pining for her best friend, Teddy. On his eighteenth birthday—just when it seems they might be on the brink of something—she buys him a lottery ticket on a lark. To their astonishment, he wins $140 million, and in an instant, everything changes.

At first, it seems like a dream come true, especially since the two of them are no strangers to misfortune. As a kid, Alice won the worst kind of lottery possible when her parents died just over a year apart from each other. And Teddy’s father abandoned his family not long after that, leaving them to grapple with his gambling debts. Through it all, Teddy and Alice have leaned on each other. But now, as they negotiate the ripple effects of Teddy’s newfound wealth, a gulf opens between them. And soon, the money starts to feel like more of a curse than a windfall.

As they try to find their way back to each other, Alice learns more about herself than she ever could have imagined…and about the unexpected ways in which luck and love sometimes intersect.

 

Jackpot by Nic Stone

Meet Rico: high school senior and afternoon-shift cashier at the Gas ‘n’ Go, who after school and work races home to take care of her younger brother. Every. Single. Day. When Rico sells a jackpot-winning lotto ticket, she thinks maybe her luck will finally change, but only if she–with some assistance from her popular and wildly rich classmate Zan–can find the ticket holder who hasn’t claimed the prize. But what happens when have and have-nots collide? Will this investigative duo unite…or divide?

Nic Stone, the New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martinand Odd One Out, creates two unforgettable characters in one hard-hitting story about class, money–both too little and too much–and how you make your own luck in the world.

 

 

 

Spoils by Tammar Stein

When Leni’s family hit the lottery, life got . . . well, strange. Leni’s parents built a mansion fit for royalty; they enrolled their daughter in the fanciest, most expensive private school in Florida; and they even bought Leni a dolphin for her 12th birthday (she made them take it back). But all of that extravagant living has caught up with them and the lottery money is about to run out—except for the large trust fund Leni will inherit on her 18th birthday, now only a week away. Leni is prepared to give her parents the money until her sister, Natasha, confesses a shocking secret—one that threatens to destroy their entire family. Leni has been ordered to fix it, but how?