Lottery Boy

by Michael Byrne

In a gripping thriller with a hint of Oliver Twist, a street kid and his dog are chasing an unlikely fortune — and dodging the thugs who would steal it.

Twelve-year-old Bully has lost his mum and his old life. Living rough on the streets of London with his dog, Jack, he can’t imagine a future. But one day he finds, tucked inside his most cherished possession—the last birthday card his mother ever gave him—a lottery ticket he bought her. And it’s a winner. A big winner. Suddenly there’s hope, if only he can get to his prize on time! But just as Bully’s prospects open up, peril closes in. Now ruthless gangsters are in hot pursuit, and everyone wants a piece of him. Whom can he trust to help him retrieve what's his? And even if Bully does claim all that money, will he really be winning what he needs most? Michael Byrne's thrill-packed debut delivers the emotionally charged story of a boy whose luck has changed for the better, if only he can survive long enough to claim it.

Genres: Young Adult, Adventure, Thriller, Contemporary, Middle Grade, Fiction, Audiobook

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

Michael Byrne is an English teacher turned taxi driver who lives with his teenage daughter in Hampshire, England. Lottery Boy is his first book for young readers.

Reviews

[Io Nuca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bradley, mi-a fost atât de frică pentru tine! Te-am urmărit de deasupra paginii cum ai fugit prin toată Londra, cu Jacky lângă tine, de toți nebunii ăia care încercau să te prindă și să-ți fure biletul cu care TU ai câștigat premiul cel mare la loterie.

Am sărit peste pagini, am citit înainte ce se-ntâmplă doar ca să mă liniștesc și să știu că la un moment dat, cumva, cursa aia nebună o să se termine.

Promite-mi că nu mai faci niciodată așa ceva, ok?

[Raye of the Dead · Rating 1 out of 5]

It took me a very long time to get through this book. I just wasn’t into it.

[aida · Rating 1 out of 5]

Cartea asta este un dezastru! Primele 100 de pagini descriere ,doar descriere ,fara actiune care sa te prinda fara nimic. Apoi urmatoarele sunt ok dar nu e o carte addicted, actiunea nu e pusa bine in valoare chiar daca e o idee buna ,destul de populara dar buna si nu cred ca aceasta carte o contureaza bine (my opinion).Cartea se citeste incet ,dar totodata o recomand oamenilor pasionati de aventura pt ca pe la ultimele 20 de pagini cartea are actiune si aventura cam câtā vrei!📚😑

[Maria R · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cartea este frumoasă,subiectul este foarte interesant,dar m-a plictisit foaaarte muult.

[Maria · Rating 2 out of 5]

I-am dat cărții 2. 5 pentru ca m-au enervat unele lucruri si uneori nu a avea sens.

În mare, povestea se învârte în jurul acestui pusti de 12 ani, Bully, care descoperă ca a castigat un milion de dolari. Ideea mi se pare chiar originală, iar stilul de scriere este usor de digerat, sa nu mai spun de capitolele pline de acțiune.

Desi chiar si tipul de la loterie ii spune sa nu scoată o vorbă despre câștigul sau senzațional, el a spus marele secret celor doi Sammy, care la rândul lor au transmis mesajul tuturor cerșetorilor din Londra. Asta m-a enervant cumplit, deoarece era un lucru atât de normal sa taci. Este ceva minor, dar pur si simplu nu am putut trece peste.

Alt lucru care m-a enervant a fost ca, desi a spus clar ca Bully si-a dat singura bricheta unui "david", câteva capitole mai tarziu isi foloseste bricheta magică pentru a se salva.

Partea de final a cărții mi-a placut in mod special. Daca si vouă vă plac filmele thriller si acțiune, atunci veti adora acea parte, deoarece este plina de violență, suspans si acțiune.

Romanul arata perfect dramele si pericolele la care se supun oamenii străzii si luptă lor constantă pentru supraviețuire.

[Alec Sturm · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm going to be completely honest. This was not a good book. It was a boring read, I didn't look forward to reading it, and it felt very straight forward. The main character Bully seemed ok, but kind of plain. There was a weird setting, and I never understood it. I convinced myself it was a good book but in hindsight it clear as day wasn't.

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

vetsina je skvela ale za pulkou uz se to docela zbytecne protahuje. anyways je to fakt skvela knizka <3

[Darkyson Gonçalves · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 ⭐️

Leitura legal

[Byers P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twelve year old bully has lost his mom and his old life. Living on the rough streets of London with his dog jack he can't imagine a life or a future. But one day, he found the best thing ever the last birthday card his mom ever gave him a lottery ticket. It is a winner and a big winner suddenly there is a hope. But there is only days left before it expires and bully is not old enough to claim it though. To make matters worse the word got out on the street that he has the ticket so every body is after him. Will he get the ticket turned in. I personally liked the book because it was action packed and all over the place i rate it 4 starts. The people who would like the book are people that are adventurous. This book would be like any I survived books.

[Kalilah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book!

The thing that stuck out the most for me were the personalities.
They were very realistic and true to real life, in that they weren't predictable or 2D.
There's Bully, who's been on the streets for quite some time, and due to that he has some trust issues, and is quite the wary chap. On the other hand, because he's still young and (naturally) naive, he can be a bit too trusting at the worst of times. Crazy, I know, yet so brilliant - because humans, especially small ones - are pretty weird and inconsistent with their emotions.
Another example is Bully's Step-Dad. I just don't get him. He's like Mother Gothel, only a man version. Father Gothel. One minute he's all nicey-nice and the next he's a total jackass. What is that!?
Except, I would say, his role was a lot more subtle and far better executed than that of Mother Gothel.
So yes, I would say the characterisations were remarkable, genius even.

The plot is good - quite simple, but good - and riveting all the way. Lots of action and escape scenes that make you want to run or pace the room as you read, it's that exciting. Plus, it's not completely melancholy, there're plenty of LOL moments with real funny bits that make you want to share, share, share with anyone who happens to be in the same vicinity as you (as I did). I think I enjoyed the humour a bit too much simply because it is precisely the sort of thing I myself would write, and I do (unfortunately) find myself tear-jerkingly amusing.
And sad bits - don't forget the sad bits! The overall story is sad, without overdoing it. It's sort of... bitter-sweet and full of wry remarks and all that psychological stuff.



Anyway, just read the book. Read it! NOW!

This is a rushed review and mayhap in the future I will replace it with a calmer, more professional one but I cannot make any promises. I don't do promises.

Thank-you to Lovereading4kids for sending me a copy to review!

Publication Date: 7th May 2015

Edit: Okay, that's it. I've re-read the book and, even though in the exact technical meaning I don't think the book is amazing -- I still really, really like it! I enjoyed even more this time than the first time and that's saying something, isn't it? So I'm upping the rating to FIVE STARS! And I've added it to my favourites.
In fact, I feel a rant coming on... I may have to rant about it on my blog.

[Romeo · Rating 4 out of 5]

i really enjoyed this here book. truth be told i havent read an actual book for quite some time (by actual i mean something that isn't manga, since people don't consider those to be actual books -_-), and i must say it was a great welcome back into reading actual books. just my kind of story. the plot was really gripping and kept me on the edge of my sofa. i found the little time-line thingies that is thrown in showing you how long the main character (Bully) has until he can redeem his ticket adds for a great touch of suspense without actually wording how suspenseful the character himself is feeling all the time, and it also makes you feel like your in on the chase with Bully, as though you have to hurry and read the book before your time is up otherwise the character's hopes of redeeming said ticket will also be dashed... if that makes any sense.
i have to admit that almost every character that came onto the scene i thought was going to be his saviour and help him with his lottery problems, but how wrong i was. i'm just a really hopeful person you understand.
i think the overall ending was nice and the one i wanted to happen, however when you are simply nearing the end but havent actually reached it i found it to be a bit draggy and things happening which didn't really need to happen (didnt add for amusement nor was it essential to the plot). i also really enjoyed the interactions between characters, they felt real and gripping, however i don't think there was enough of it. a bit more dialogue wouldn't have harmed anyone i dont think.

moving onto characters, i really liked Bully, everything about him. the way he speaks (what little of it he does), his attitude, his hopes, his dreams, his descriptions, everything. i think the author did a great job of making him really likeable without him being perfect in every way.

overall this was great read!! i thank my friend Katitch for forcing me to read it one summer's afternoon! ;D

[Hannah K · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm torn between a 3 and 4-star rating. For plot, pacing, characters, emotion, voice--almost everything related to the craft of writing--I'd give this book 5 stars. The writing was stunning, really--grabbed me write away and I could hardly put the book down. The climax was BIG, a little over-the-top, maybe, but was 'enjoyable' in an intense, thrilling, chilling sort of way. The only critique I have as far as craft was that a couple times I briefly lost track of what was going on, or what had just happened--mostly, I think, because of 'British' or street slang terms that I didn't understand. ('Stick him in the boot', I'm like, 'Stab him in the foot'...? What? Until I realize it means, 'Put him in the trunk' :-) )
When it comes to wholesomeness this book doesn't exactly make the cut, though, which is sad considering how great it was in other respects. There was quite a bit of swearing, some 'bathroom' humor/references. Mostly I had a problem with the language. But deeper than that, I finished feeling like there wasn't much of a 'point'. Without God, there was no meaning to the story, and the themes that were there felt weak and meaningless. Bully (the hero) didn't come to a point of change, he seemed largely a static character (albeit a well-rounded and intriguing one), and through all his chasing after millions of dollars and being beaten again and again he didn't seem to come to any sort of real conclusion. So even though the ending was big and fulfilled all the promises, I finished feeling, in a way, empty.
Leaving me torn between stunning writing and lack of meaning when I came to rate the book...

[Sherrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was pleased to win a copy of Library Boy through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program. This the gritty and harrowing story of Bully a twelve year old who is struggling with the loss of his mother and their old life. Rather than stay with his mother's live in boyfriend Bully has chosen to live on the streets with his dog Jacky. When Bully finds a winning lottery ticket hidden in the last birthday card he received from his mom he quickly realized that he has no one he can trust. As the countdown to the deadline to claim the prize money begins slipping past, Bully races against time and ruthless people and towards a chance at a better life. This was a tough read because my heart was breaking for Bully and Jacky who seemed to face obstacles at every turn. I felt a strong connection to the two main characters and was rooting for them to beat the odds and find a better life. The ending left the possibility of another book with these characters which would be wonderful so I can find out how life turns out for Bully a few years down the road.

[Michelle]

Great potential but not for me.

[Maia · Rating 4 out of 5]

O poveste emoționantă. Sincer mă așteptam la mai mult, dar cartea e ok.

[KC R and the TM Empire · Rating 3 out of 5]

This being one of the first adventure stories I've read in a while, I tried reading this story with an open mind. The plot is intriguing, where a homeless boy who calls himself Bully finds out he has struck it rich when he realizes that a card he carries holds a winning lottery ticket. The main obstacles he faces are that he cannot cash in the ticket since he is too young, and he is being chased by people who are aware of his possession of the ticket.
Despite the intriguing plot, I felt that this story suffered from some weaknesses in the writing. The character, Bully, has a goal to find the headquarters of the company that offers the lottery tickets, but throughout the story, the goal feels more and more like a pipe dream because of the countless obstacles that the protagonist faces. Despite this, Bully is still motivated enough to find a way to cash in the ticket instead of finding help. The other weak point of the story I felt were the characters. The author utilizes third person to describe Bully's thoughts and to occasionally focus on other characters. The utilization of this felt lackluster and unnecessary, especially since the story is centralized around Bully. Lastly, the other characters did not seem well written, where several times other characters were not given enough exposition or not enough time was spent with them for significant exposition to occur. This issue becomes more apparent where towards the end of the story, some characters make a reappearance, but it was difficult to remember who they were because of their brief encounter earlier on. In my opinion, the best written character was the main antagonist (who I will not reveal), who had the clearest motivations, brief but solid context provided for who they were, and the best characterization out of all the characters in the story.
My analysis, although critical, does not greatly impede how enjoyable this story is. "Lottery Boy" earns its category of being an adventure-thriller where some parts of the story take turns you may not expect. For any reader that is interested in that type of story, I recommend this one to them.
I rate this story a three out of five.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 2 out of 5]

Byrne, Michael Lottery Boy 290 pgs. Candlewick, 2016. $16.99 Content: Language: G (0 swears; 1 B used to describe a dog); Mature Content: PG (Youth Homelessness; drinking) Violence: PG (bullying)

Bully is a homeless boy who survives on the streets with the help of his pet dog, Jack. When he discovers a lottery ticket in an old birthday card, he also discovers he is a big winner, though too young to officially claim the prize. But he is used to being robbed by other homeless youth, and this is one item he doesn’t want taken. Suddenly it seems like everyone is after him and the time is ticking down to turn in the ticket.

This book felt soo long to me and I did not enjoy reading it. The book is stuffed with British street vernacular, giving it an authentic feel, but might be tricky for younger readers. I had difficulty connecting with the main character and was worried about his dog. There is plenty of danger in this book, but it’s kind of depressing rather than intriguing. There have got to be better options for middle school thrillers.

MS –OPTIONAL Reviewer: Stephanie Elementary School Librarian & Author.
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2017...

[Daniela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mistura de sentimentos. Bradley perdeu a mãe, padrasto já tinha outra mulher antes da mãe falecer então quando a perdeu, foi viver na rua. Antes do falecimento, ele comprou um bilhete da loteria para tentar alegrar a mãe e ela colocou no cartão de aniversário que fez para ele. Ele não sabia disso e quando encontrou o bilhete, foi conferir e descobre que só tem cinco dias para retirar o prêmio, visto que, alguns meses já se passaram. Por ser uma criança, não pode receber o prêmio e acha que pode pedir aos "amigos" da rua que o ajudem. Passei muita raiva nesse momento. Mesmo dando ruim uma, duas, três vezes ele insiste nessa abordagem. Porém, o que uma criança que vive nas ruas de Londres poderia fazer? Como amante de cachorro, sofri muito com tudo que ele e Jacky passaram. As pessoas perigosas começam a persegui-lo, eles quase morreram, ele conhece uma família bacana, faz um acordo com o padrasto de dividirem o prêmio mas na entrevista para checar a veracidade dos fatos, conta que não foi Phill que comprou mas sim sua mãe. Com isso, ele dividirá o prêmio com sua irmã e só poderá retirar quando completar dezoito anos. Ele vai morar com a família que conheceu junto com Jacky (que amputou uma pata traseira).

[Oana · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got extremely annoyed by this book as I just couldn’t root for the protagonist.
A book where nothing good happens.
“Bully” is a 12 yo who lost his mother and is living on the streets in the worst conditions. Just when a nice lady offers him a 20£ bill and he’s making plans with it for a nice, cold Coke and food for his dog that could last for weeks, a very annoying boy, Janks, who also lives on the streets and has a bully dog comes and take it from him, throwing the bill in the river.
After that, Bully discovers that he has a winning lottery ticket that his mother left him, that expires in 5 days, 5 hrs and 19 minutes.
Despite an adult warning him of not telling anyone about his ticket, he tells 2 of his street “friends” and soon enough all the people living on the streets find out. How stupid is that? And unlikely in his situation? Another reason why you can’t connect with the main character.
He gets chased all over the city by homeless people and he offers all his 1 million$ prize to a stranger (?!?)
Of course Janks stoles his the last memory his mother left him, a card with a voice message and shots him in the shoulder.
The countdown to the expiry date of the ticket is so slow it’s really annoying.
The ending is the only good thing as he gets some of the money.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Living with his dog, a twelve years old boy named Bully has lost his mom and suffer his life. Living rough in the London street was really challenging, and his annoying girlfriend always disturb him and Bully almost lost his hope to survive. But one day, he find the hope— a lottery ticket that his mother once bought him. Soon, Bully discovered the lottery ticket he owned is a winner, a BIG winner. However, he realised he need a trustworthy adult to help him to retrieve what he wants. Plus, theres only one day left before the ticket get expires.
When i first read the book, it didnt really interest me. I was like "Whats the plot, whats the setting, whats the story of this book?" However, the author depicts realistic moments which I as a reader made connections to real life. For example there were very realistic and true to real life, particularly eveyrhitng wasn’t predictable. I also loved how Bully takes risks and guide himself, a perfect life moral story.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great YA novel about a homeless lad called Bully, living rough on the streets of London after the death of his mother, who discovers he has in his possession the winning lottery ticket from a lottery draw nearly six months ago (just before his mother died).

What ensues is a race to reach the Camelot offices in Watford before the ticket expires in a matter of days. In the best tradition of such adventures, people find out what is going on, and do everything they can to relieve him of his winning ticket.

This is a good story, with some believable and well drawn characters in it. Much of the story had a grim inevitability, in my view, but even though I find such chase stories somewhat frustrating (I wanted to shout at Bully to act more sensibly at times), it was well done and a good, enjoyable read.

[Cloudonie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rate it 4 stars because of the descriptions that made me feel very disturbed, I was so hungry for the end of the story and I wanted to know Bully and Jack at peace, that some descriptions just made me so mad.
I would have given 5 stars if, besides the descriptions, there wouldnt have been animal abuse.. Janks was a piece of s*it and it made me so sad at some point to read that he literally "glued" a dog on the ceiling for not doing his job as he was supposed to do.

And also, what broke my heart, was at the end when Bully said he's ashamed with Jack..because she has 3 legs instead of 4. It broke my heart and soul. After all that dog did for him, he's ashamed with her??

But besides all of this, it was a good book!

[Laryssa Paiva · Rating 1 out of 5]

Esse livro só não foi para os livros abandonados por que eu insisti nele quando eu já tinha chegado nos 60%, mas não valeu a pena. Foi tão cansativo e maçante ficar acompanhando o personagem principal correndo o tempo inteiro atrás de conseguir o dinheiro do bilhete que quando ele consegue eu já tinha pulado muitas páginas e perdido o interesse.

Esse livro poderia ser mais curto ou com reflexões de uma vida passada que, apesar de ter, eram poucas e não o suficiente para eu me conectar com o personagem de forma que chegou um momento do livro que eu nem estava mais torcendo por ele, só queria que ele terminasse a história.

[Saleena Longmuir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bully has had a rough life, that has only gotten worse with the death of his mother. One day, he finally opens a card from his mother, and finds a lottery ticket in it. Turns out, it's a winner, and now he only has a few days to claim the prize. However, getting to the offices aren't easy for a boy with no resources, and once word gets out that he HAS a winning ticket, his life is in danger from all sides. Lottery boy is a quick adventure story with a lot of heart. This book will appeal to younger teens and those looking for a suspenseful adventure story set in a more urban environment.

[Luma Dionísio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Esse livro tem MUITA ação e eu confesso que a partir de certo momento foi impossível parar de ler porque eu precisava saber a conclusão dele.

Foi muito fácil me apegar ao Bully e a Jack e de repente eu estava tão ligada a eles que me sentia muito irritada e profundamente triste pela injustiça de tudo.

A narrativa flui muito bem e é bem gostosa, ao mesmo tempo que triste porque vemos pelos olhos de Bully e ele só tem 12 anos e está passando por tanta coisa...

Enfim, gostei. É um bom livro.
Nota: 3.8.

[Cleo Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

A face paced thriller about a 12-year old homeless boy (Bully) who survives in London's streets with his dog Jack. After finding he owns a winning lottery ticket, Bully finds himself chased all over town by low-life and dangerous street thugs. Bully is a very likeable character and the realtionship with his dog is very moving. There are so many twists and turns in this book - I really enjoyed it. I would recomend this for 9-12 year olds.

[Patrizia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Storia carina che racconta la storia di Bully e della sua cagnolina Jack. Una corsa contro il tempo perché il ragazzino scopre di possedere un ticket della lotteria, vincente e in via di scadenza, nell'aprire il biglietto di auguri lasciatogli dalla sua mamma da poco deceduta. Bully ha quindi cinque giorni per poterlo riscattare e qui inizia l'avventura.
È una lettura piacevole consigliata soprattutto ai ragazzi.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story follows a 12 year old boy named Bully who lives on the streets with his dog Jack. It follows the adventures of his life as he discovers his late mom left him a winning lottery ticket and his journey to claim it.

It was an easy to follow read with a few twists along the way but wasn't the most enthralling for me personally.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a tense, suspenseful ride. I was clenched with anxiety for Bully & his dog the whole way through. I needed to finish this book just to relax again.

Enjoyable? Yes, in the way it captured me in being part of their journey. But I didn’t like their journey. Homelessness. Kid sleeping rough. And the danger of the streets. Tough, well-written read.

[Sophia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was filled with action and lots of detail. Some places had too much detail, though, and that left me very confused in some places of the book. The plot line was fine but it went by very slow and it felt like the book was never going to end.