The Rich Part of Life : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: A fictional masterpiece.
Review: This story by Jim Kokoris has it all: excitement, adventure, drama, love, sadness, humor, and a little bit of magic. Told from an 11-year-old boy's perspective, the story takes on a life of it's own as Teddy's widower dad wins 190 million dollars in the lottery. Teddy and his younger brother Tommy have lost their mother in a car accident just one year ago. This sad but wholesome family has a life that is simple until the lottery changes everything. From nowhere and everywhere, creeps, weirdos, kooks, charities and all sorts of folks come wanting a piece of the 190 million dollar pie. Teddy's dad is a quiet no one until he is faced with his new found fortune and new found friends and relatives. The drama is lively and all in good fun, until a very sinister character from the past shows up to claim what is rightfully his. Suddenly, Teddy's loving family and simple life are threatened in a way so dangerous it could tear the family apart forever. But while you are brooding on that, meet Aunt Bess, Teddy & Tommy's new live-in caretaker, Uncle Frank, the funny but lonely uncle who comes to live in the small house where Teddy and Tommy have grown up. There's a parade of characters that will keep you upbeat and enjoying the story, right up to Sylvanius the vampire! This author is so good he almost allows you to forget the ever-deepening threat in the story, as though he is teasing you with distractions, finally moving in for the kill with an unforgettable ending. You'll experience every range of emotion, and end up with intense pleasure for having finally found a truly great author.

Rating:
Summary: The Rich Part of Life
Review: When his widowed father wins a huge lottery prize, the 11 year old narrator finds that "the rich part of life" isn't the money after all--but the lessons he learns about himself and others in his life,especially his curt and stodgy father, who shows his sensitivity as the story unfolds. The gently humorous episodes and characterizations do not detract from the serious plot, but enhance the story.