Cashing In

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY NOV 9, 2009

While the message that "money doesn't buy happiness" prevails throughout this rags-to-riches story, Colebank (Black Tuesday) expresses several other themes as she traces the escalating conflicts of a grounded teenager whose mother wins the lottery. At first, having enough money to finally get out of debt seems like an answer to a prayer for Reggie Shaw's struggling family. But the spending doesn't stop with paying off overdue bills. Reggie's mother, a compulsive shopper and gambler, goes overboard, buying new clothes and furnishings ("I knew we had money, but it wasn't like we were filthy rich," Reggie laments). Adding to Reggie's stress: she is being blackmailed by a self-centered cousin, her mother plans to remarry, and Reggie wonders whether she can trust a cute co-worker who wants to take her out on a date. Then there's the matter of Reggie's best friend, whom Reggie suspects is being abused. Problems arise as fast and furious as Mrs. Shaw's shopping sprees, and readers may find themselves out of breath and overwhelmed long before the novel's final, abrupt turn of events. Ages 14 up.