I liked the characters and the plot of this book very much. I wish there was a little more development of the themes, though.

I requested to read this book because of the interesting title and the intriguing description of the protagonist, Olivia.  She is a strong 12, "pretty much almost thirteen," year old character who broke my heart and touched my soul.  

The story is told from her point of view in a stream of consciousness style which accurately reflects the thought processes of an emerging young adult.  While the prose can seem disjointed at times, this writing style adds to the emotional impact Olivia's story has on the reader.  I not only could identify with Olivia and the other characters in her life, but I shared in her triumphs, both in fantasy and reality, and deeply felt her desperation and pain in the difficult life situations she faced.

The story is well pace, a fast read, compelling in content and very character driven.  While heartbreaking at times, Olivia's story will ultimately leave the reader with a sense of renewed faith in human nature and the resilience of youth.

As someone who's spent my career working with and advocating for children, books like You May Already Be a Winner appeal to me. When I read the description of the book, it reminded me of two of Kate DiCamillo's books (Because of Winn Dixie and Raymie Nightingale-both of which I loved), and the cover is perfection. I found the narrative a bit harder to follow in this novel, however due to the "stream of consciousness" approach of the first person point of view. The MC Olivia was dealing with way more pressure than a child of 12 should ever have to handle. So, I cut her some slack for the wandering thought processes and the frequent delving into pure fantasy. 
There is plenty to like about this book. If you're a teacher or work with children in any capacity, it's a reminder that we shouldn't make any assumptions about the home lives of our students. Childhood poverty is a very real issue that impacts the learning and welfare of students on a daily basis. I appreciated the moments of tenderness between Olivia and her mother, but I felt that the parental characters could have been better developed. Overall, this is a solid middle grade novel with plenty of heart.