The Lottery

Susan Kemp is a high-school teacher in Kingston, Ontario.

Beth Goobie was nominated for the Governor General’s Literary Award
for Before Wings, which received the Canadian Library Association Young
Adult Book Award and the Mr. Christie Silver Seal Award. The Lottery is
her 16th book.

In 15-year-old Sally Hanson’s school, the most important aspects of
social life are controlled by a secret club called the Shadow Council.
At the beginning of each school year, the council holds a lottery in
which a single student’s name is drawn. The winner—or perhaps a more
apt description would be victim—is obliged to serve the council for a
year, mainly by delivering messages of doom to selected targets. Not
surprisingly, the “winner” is shunned by the student body for a
whole year. The brave and resourceful Sally struggles to retain her
identity in the face of antagonism and dislike.

Goobie has the ability to make both her narrative and her characters
resonate strongly with young readers. In this inspiring book, she gets
to the heart of what it is to be 15 years old. Highly recommended.