The Lottery
by Beth Goobie
View Excerpt
- Short-listed, Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Award nominee
- Short-listed, SYRCA Snow Willow nominee
- Runner-up, White Pine nominee
- Commended, White Ravens List
- Long-listed, YALSA Quick Picks
- Commended, KLIATT Editors' Hardcover YA Fiction Choice
- Short-listed, CLA Young Adult Book Award nominee
- Commended, CCBC Our Choice starred selection
- Long-listed, ALA Best Books for Young Adults
Every student at Saskatoon Collegiate knew that all the most important aspects of school life were controlled by a secret club called Shadow Council. Each fall, Shadow held a traditional lottery during which a single student's name was drawn. The rest of the student body called the student the lottery winner. But Shadow Council knew better; to them the winner was the lottery victim. Whatever the label, the fated student became the Council's go-fer, delivering messages of doom to selected targets. In response, the student body shunned the lottery winner for the entire year. This year's victim was fifteen-year-old Sally Hanson.
close this panel
The third scroll was dropped onto her binder as she rushed between classes at mid-morning break. The halls were crowded, she hadn't seen anyone of note beside her—the scroll hadn't been there, then suddenly it was...To her left, she spotted an open maintenance closet, full of cleaning solutions and wet mops. Stepping in, she closed the door and fumbled for the light switch. Frantically she tore at the ribbon and the wax seal, not caring if the paper ripped...
As her eyes reluctantly returned to the black message scrawled across the page, the light bulb's electric after-image danced across her retinas, confusing her vision, but the third scroll's contents had already been seared deep into her memory.
Congratulations! You are this year's lottery winner.
"....one of this year's 'must' purchases.....Highly recommended."
"...a gripping and powerful narrative."
