Book Review: Jackpot Summer | Elyssa Friedland

Elyssa Friedland loves to write about a messy family full of drama, and we love her for it. Jackpot Summer is no exception. I found myself laughing several times as I got to know the Jacobson children and follow their summer antics. Winning the lottery is an interesting set up for a book. What would I do with the winnings? What if I had to split them with my siblings? I can already tell you which of my siblings would forget about the taxes, that’s for sure.

What is Jackpot Summer about?

The book opens with several news stories about lottery winners. One of the stories features a lottery winner who found themselves bankrupt within a few years. Is this foreshadowing some hiccups in the aftermath of the lottery winnings? The Jacobson kids were raised to be mindful with money. They know the value of the dollar; it was a lesson that was reinforced from a young age. Surely they won’t fall into the same mistakes other lottery winners have made… Their father Leo is selling his home at the Jersey Shore after their mom passed away, and is moving to a retirement village in Florida. The Jacobson’s have many fond memories at the shore, but this may be their last. As the four Jacobson children gather at the Shore to pack up the house, each has their own problems they are dealing with in their own lives. Matthew and his wife work at a prestigious law office, meaning they have very little time for their son and leave him with a string of au pairs. Laura’s lonely after her daughter leaves for college, and is starkly confronted with the cracks in her marriage. Sophie is a classroom teacher and artist who is seeing her boyfriend’s art career take off while hers is firmly not. Noah has been living at the beach house and working odd jobs for the locals, but is about to find himself without a home.

When the Jacobson kids decide to go in on a Powerball ticket, Matthew declines the offer. The other three go in together and against all odds, they win. More money, more problems, they say, and that is certainly the case with the Jacobson siblings. Chaos and drama ensues, the three siblings need to decide whether they should split the money four ways with Matthew, and family secrets buried deep suddenly begin to surface. The Jacobson’s make questionable choices with the money. Or rather, the choices they make don’t lead to what they hoped.

Laura and her husband buy a mansion and go on luxury vacations, but all of the money in the world can’t seem to fix their marriage. Sophie quits teaching to do art full time, but finds herself stuck in a creative rut. And Noah does… nothing. He gives money away to anyone who asks, and continues to feel aimless in life.

What did I think?

Leo is a fantastic character. He’s watching his children spiral with more money than they know what to do with, and he’s waiting for them to find their way back to the people he raised them to be. I found the story funny and it was full of hijinks and light moments. The plot is well-paced and the book is a quick and breezy read. The siblings each have their own alternating chapters, allowing the reader to get to know them (and their problems).

Anyone with siblings knows there is no relationship quite like those you were raised with. The dynamics among the Jacobson’s were great and made the book fun to read. As was foreshadowed at the beginning, the children don’t know quite what to do with the money, and choose to throw it at their problems without really doing the work to figure out how to solve them. Ultimately, I was wondering if they would eventually see things more clearly and look for happiness (and realize that it doesn’t necessarily come from money). Matthew already had money, and he is motivated by money even before the winnings, causing him to miss out on getting to know his own son and be a parent.

I found this book charming. A quick and fun read perfect for a summer vacation (or even a summer staycation)!

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for my copy. Opinions are my own.

About the Book (Goodreads synopsis)

After the Jacobson siblings win a life-changing fortune in the lottery, they assume their messy lives will transform into sleek, storybook perfection—but they couldn’t be more wrong in the new laugh-out-loud novel from beloved author Elyssa Friedland.

The four Jacobson children were raised to respect the value of a dollar. Their mother reused tea bags and refused to pay retail; their father taught them to budget before he taught them to ride a bike. And yet, as adults, their financial lives—as well as their personal lives—are in complete disarray.

The siblings reunite when their newly widowed father puts their Jersey Shore home on the market. Packing up their childhood isn’t easy, especially when they’ve all got drama brewing back home. Matthew is miserable at his corporate law job and wishes he had more time with his son; Laura’s marriage is imploding in spectacular fashion; Sophie’s art career is stalled while her boyfriend’s is on the rise; and Noah’s total failure to launch has him doing tech repair for pennies.

So when Noah sees an ad for a Powerball drawing, he and his sisters go in on a ticket. Matthew passes but the ticket is a winner and all hell breaks loose as the infusion of cash causes sibling rivalries and family secrets to resurface. Without their mother, and with their father busy playing pickleball in a Florida retirement village, the once close-knit siblings search for comfort in shiny new toys instead of each other.

It’s not long before the Jacobson’s start to realize that they’ll never feel rich unless they can pull their family back together.