Good Luck
I'm Kim Alexander and this is Fiction Nation. The book is Good Luck by Whitney Gaskell.
I think Cyndi Lauper said it best when she said 'Money changes everything.' The woman is a genius and I always believe her. Anyway, how many times have you sat around and spent your imaginary money? It seems like whenever the Powerball gets over 50 or 60 million people start to pay attention — I've bought one or two tickets in my time, although I prefer to just spend that money on stuff — I'm a lousy gambler, I can't even bid on eBay. But what if you won? Really? Would you hide out for a while with a financial advisor? Would you really, really not invest in the stock market? Or would you shower handfuls of cash down on your friends and family? That last one is tricky. Once you start with the showering, can you stop? Or does that make you a bad guy? And which of your friends deserves your largesse? I like to think I'd set myself up as god-empress of my own private kingdom and keep people as pets, but I'd probably just give some to charity and spend the rest on shoes.
In Whitney Gaskell's Good Luck, Lucy is having a world-class one-day streak of bad luck punctuated by winning 87 million dollars in the Florida lottery. Well, that'll turn that frown upside down! But it takes Lucy a while to recognize the fact that she's wealthy. She keeps forgetting she can do stuff like rent a car and buy herself some new threads. Once she gets started on $200 jeans, though, there's no going back to the softer side of Sears. On the one hand, this is a book with a lot of shopping. I approve that message. On the other, Lucy has to take a hard look at her life, her grasping sister, her best friend, her new friends — who appeared at the same time as the cash — and of course the men. Whitney Gaskell describes this as a bubblebath book, and I would go along with her. Nothing wrong with a little introspection along with your fancy new lifestyle. And as far as a big bunch of cash leading to despair and ruin — that's a chance I'm willing to take.
Hear my interview with Whitney Gaskell on Fiction Nation, on Take Five, XM 155 on Wednesday, November 5th at 7:00am, on Thursday, November 6th at midnight, on Friday November 7th at 11:00pm, on Saturday November 8th at 6pm, on Sunday November 9th at 10:00am and 8:00pm, and on Monday November 10th at 12:00 midnight. You can also hear Fiction Nation on Sonic Theater, XM 163 on Thursday November 6th at 3:00 pm in its half-hour format. All times EDT.
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