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hellomadalyn's review against another edition
4.0
Wow. Wowowowow. I think this book made my brain explode a little bit, but in a good way? So much to think about after finishing this one. I’ll write more of a review once I process my thoughts better, but for now: preorder this one. Nic never disappoints, but she REALLY did something great with Jackpot.
latelykelsey's review against another edition
3.0
This is one of those books where I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it. Rico was equally annoying and brilliant, Zan was mostly annoying but got better? And it was a romance, but at the same time not a romance? The whole jackpot mystery was interesting, and the spoiler *Zan had the winning ticket all a long* was kinda boring. And then there's the whole relationship Rico has with her mom, it was a bit chaotic. Rico talked about wanting be a normal teen for most of the book but when her mom gives her the opportunity to be a normal teen she complains? And there are some tough topics that are addressed: biracial dating, familial obligations, poor kid vs rich kid, healthcare crisis, and those were interesting but after reading it I'm just left confused as to if I liked it or not.
lettertokylie's review against another edition
2.0
this book was... weird.
i went into it completely blind (after buying a signed, hardcover copy of it for $6 at a books-a-million because why not? that's a good deal to me!), but i think even if i had read the dust jacket summary, i wouldn't have expected the novel to be so... unlikeable.
first of all, stone's style of writing is very messy, and it made the story incredibly hard to get through at times. she constantly plays around with grammar, vocabulary, and structure in a way that just never sat well with me at all. i saw another user say this, but it does almost feel as if she views her style to be unique and elevated when it's really just... annoying. i actually did contemplate DNF-ing the book a few times (mainly when the teenage dialect started getting a little too unbelievable or the starting-sentences-with-present-tense-verbs thing she had going on got to be too much for me to take), but i stuck it out.
i also had a very strong tolerate/hate relationship with rico as a main character. i completely understand why she thinks about money in the way that she does, but her naivety towards the notion that all people (even rich ones!) have complex lives is just... insane. i know stone wanted her to have a big realization moment for character development's sake, but she must have thought she was writing this book for people who can't read between lines because for the first half of the book, it felt like every piece of narration from rico was another unrealistic assertion about zan's easy, simple life. it got to be insufferable. at seventeen, i just think that rico would realistically display a little more empathy for others before wildly simplifying them to one facet of their identity.
there was so much cheesiness and predictability to this story, and although that sort of thing really isn't for me, i can't fault this book for that. i can, however, fault this book for absolutely destroying its best character by the end for the sake of... i don't know, shock? i won't spoil the ending (so i also won't name the character), but it's truly such a waste because the big twist wasn't even unpredictable. it was easy to guess, but i didn't mind at first because i thought it could still get resolved well. spoiler: it didn't!
anyway. i did LOVE the final destination reference. for me, that was the best part of the book. also, zan's completely random obsession with fidget spinners was sorta hilarious. what was that even about?
i went into it completely blind (after buying a signed, hardcover copy of it for $6 at a books-a-million because why not? that's a good deal to me!), but i think even if i had read the dust jacket summary, i wouldn't have expected the novel to be so... unlikeable.
first of all, stone's style of writing is very messy, and it made the story incredibly hard to get through at times. she constantly plays around with grammar, vocabulary, and structure in a way that just never sat well with me at all. i saw another user say this, but it does almost feel as if she views her style to be unique and elevated when it's really just... annoying. i actually did contemplate DNF-ing the book a few times (mainly when the teenage dialect started getting a little too unbelievable or the starting-sentences-with-present-tense-verbs thing she had going on got to be too much for me to take), but i stuck it out.
i also had a very strong tolerate/hate relationship with rico as a main character. i completely understand why she thinks about money in the way that she does, but her naivety towards the notion that all people (even rich ones!) have complex lives is just... insane. i know stone wanted her to have a big realization moment for character development's sake, but she must have thought she was writing this book for people who can't read between lines because for the first half of the book, it felt like every piece of narration from rico was another unrealistic assertion about zan's easy, simple life. it got to be insufferable. at seventeen, i just think that rico would realistically display a little more empathy for others before wildly simplifying them to one facet of their identity.
there was so much cheesiness and predictability to this story, and although that sort of thing really isn't for me, i can't fault this book for that. i can, however, fault this book for absolutely destroying its best character by the end for the sake of... i don't know, shock? i won't spoil the ending (so i also won't name the character), but it's truly such a waste because the big twist wasn't even unpredictable. it was easy to guess, but i didn't mind at first because i thought it could still get resolved well. spoiler: it didn't!
anyway. i did LOVE the final destination reference. for me, that was the best part of the book. also, zan's completely random obsession with fidget spinners was sorta hilarious. what was that even about?
sandlerpage's review against another edition
4.0
4.5. Super enjoyable, with interesting discussions of those topics I love.
zbrarian's review against another edition
5.0
Ms. Stone does an amazing job of addressing racial and financial differences between the characters and the struggles they all have. She grabbed me from the start with Rico's voice and the portrayal of her character, along with Rico's brother, Jax, Zan, and Jess. All of these characters are just looking to make a connection and when it's right in front of them, she makes it so the reader gets frustrated enough to yell at the book and say WAKE UP...which I admit I did a few times. Rico's hope for a better life for her family comes through the words Ms. Stone uses. There is also a lot of humor throughout the book, showing how oblivious Rico is to Zan's feelings about her. It was a quick and easy read, done again in one sitting!
jayaremarshall's review against another edition
2.0
So.
This book was okay? I guess. There was a lot of writing choices I didn’t agree with. From Macklin telling Rico about micro agressions and then proceeding to do a micro aggression...yeah that was pretty weird. From Rico’s little brother taking about wet dreams. But most of all this book just felt like something was missing the entire time. Rico was also generally a very irritating character.
This book was okay? I guess. There was a lot of writing choices I didn’t agree with. From Macklin telling Rico about micro agressions and then proceeding to do a micro aggression...yeah that was pretty weird. From Rico’s little brother taking about wet dreams. But most of all this book just felt like something was missing the entire time. Rico was also generally a very irritating character.
pantehnreads's review against another edition
4.0
This books was incredibly funny and had some good conversations about class differences. I will say though that Rico was hard to root for sometimes. As a person that grew up poor, I get that you compare yourself to those who have money. But there were times I wanted to scream suck it up buttercup. She complained most of the book (some of which was valid but other times not so much). Zan is a character that was frustrating as well. I could not tell if he truly did not understand some of the things she was talking about or if he was just playing naive. Nevertheless, I found myself getting lost in this book, and the only reason I did not give it 5 stars is because of my conflicted feelings about our protagonist. Still would recommend it 9 out of Tehn!
adriennek13's review against another edition
5.0
So good, it was incredibly hard to put down. Such a fun read, definitely one of my favorites I’ve read so far this year. The only issue I had was that it felt like everything ended pretty abruptly, but overall, I really liked it.
the_mais's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5