Review: You May Already Be a Winner

You May Already Be a Winner by Ann Dee Ellis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thank You to Netgalley, Penguin Random House and Ann Dee Ellis for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Do you remember when you were a little kid and you would live in half reality/half fantasy. Your parents are yelling at you and your mind has already taken off, adding all kinds of imaginary events onto what is really happening. I used to do it all the time. I was a perpetual day dreamer, often lost in thought, so I immediately related to Olivia, the main character in “You May Already Be A Winner”.

But Olivia is a way cooler chick than me. She has a ton of real life responsibilities, more than any kid her age. Her Dad has left her Mom and rumour has it that he left her for another woman. Her mom is barely functioning and has pulled Olivia out of school to watch her little sister Berkeley because Mom can’t afford daycare. Between household chores, cooking dinner and baby-sitting Berkeley, who can blame Olivia for a little day dreaming? Her favourite shows are Iron Chef and Fixer Upper, but she doesn’t spend all day watching TV. She makes sure to get books and workbooks from the library so she and her sister can keep learning. I love that Olivia has her day organized like a school day with lists of what “subject” is scheduled when. She would make a great teacher when she grows up! But what Olivia makes sure to do every day is to enter contests. Any kind of contest that she can find on the computer. She wants to win enough money so her mom can quit her job, she can get a phone, they can live in a real house and most importantly maybe their dad would come back home.

Then, along comes Bart, a boy her age who doesn’t go to school and works for the FBI. He is on a secret mission. Well, probably not the truth when she sees him at school, discovers his name is not Bart and he doesn’t work for the FBI. But she really likes him.

I think this would be a great book for any child (of the appropriate age) to read. Some people found this so sad, heartbreaking, dark and a tear jerker, while I found it realistic. I have taught many a student in this situation, where they aren’t any parents at home and they are responsible for dinner and their siblings. Maybe not to the extent of Olivia’s situation, which is, let’s face it, a children’s services situation, but this is something they can relate to. Also, kids who don’t have a lot, having to go to school with kids who are more privileged, and navigating the social structures is again, something kids can relate to. I also think that it is good for kids who have enough, to read about someone who doesn’t and think about what that means and how their behaviour towards them matters. Kids are not as delicate as we think and can handle a book with serious issues. It has great messages just one being that asking for help is not a bad thing. Another, Olivia is a caretaker and puts the needs of her mom and sister above her own. She has to learn that her needs are important and making sure that she takes care of herself is a great lesson that many adults need to learn. I mean the whole mindfulness movement has become an industry because people are learning that self care matters.

Ellis is engaging and manages to speak to these issues with humour and without the preachiness that children’s books often have. It would be a great book to read with any classroom of kids as part of the curriculum. It is also a touching, meaningful, fun, and engaging book that anyone should read!

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