Lia's Guide to Winning the Lottery

Keren David was brought up in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire and went to school in Hatfield. She left school at 18 and got a job as a messenger girl on a newspaper, then turned down a place to read English at university to take an apprenticeship as a junior reporter. She was freelancing as a reporter on the old Fleet Street by her mid-twenties and, after living and working in Scotland for two years, was appointed as a news editor on The Independent at the age of 27. She worked at The Independent for six years, moving from news to become a commissioning editor on the Comment pages. She and her family then went to live in Amsterdam for eight years where she was editor in chief of a photo-journalism agency. On returning to the UK in 2007 she decided to attend a course on writing for children at the City University. When I Was Joe started out as a project for that course. She lives in London with her husband and two children and studying for an Open University degree in Humanities with Art History. To read a Q&A with Keren David, click here

A really funny and thought-provoking tale of a teenage Lottery winner - and the inevitable chaos that follows. Bookseller A laugh-out-loud story of family life turned upside down by Lia's winning lottery ticket. Masquerading as a light-hearted read, this delightful book introduces a larger-than-life family struggling to stay calm with two teenage girls in their midst! Bookseller A good example of sharp, sassy fiction about urban girls who have made an art form of shopping and self-absorption, but are proved not to be completely shallow... The message fo the story (that an GBP8m lottery win can only solve some of Lia's problems) contains few surprises but is told with excellent comic timing. The details of how she obtained the winning ticket make a killer punchline. Observer A thoughtful, salutary, well-researched tale. Independent on Sunday A modern 16-year-old girl and the issues and problems she contends with when she wins the lottery - including friendship, bullying, sex, family, guilt, suicide, binge drinking and jealousy. That makes it sound very heavy but the delight of this is the light touch and the page turning ease of reading this thought-provoking book. -- Tricia Adams, Chair of the SLA A great new read from a fantastic UK YA novelist, Keren David... will make a perfect Summer read. -- Nicole Burstein, Waterstone's Picadilly Told with humour and a light touch, there are some mysteries to explore and hints of danger, but essentially, this is a coming-of-age story. Tall Tales and Short Stories Wise, funny, ingeniously plotted and deeper by far than its chick-lit type exterior suggests. Jewish Chronicle Surely you can buy a perfect life with GBP8 mill? Lia knows differently. Sweet, sad and very,very funny. Bliss Having 8 million pounds in the bank plays havoc with sixteen-year-old Lia's relationships with her family, friends, neighbours and schoolmates in this believable and rather funny account of the aftermath of a huge lottery win. The tone of the book is