Fantastic! Lilian Duval’s “You Never Know: Tales of Tobias, an Accidental Lottery Winner” is well-written, well-researched and for the most part, inspirational and captivating. Definitely one of my favorite books that I have read in 2011!  Highly recommended!
TITLE: You Never Know: Tales of Tobias, an Accidental Lottery Winner
BY: Lilian Duval
PUBLISHER: Wheatmark
PAGE COUNT: 346
RELEASED: March 15, 2011
Tobias Hillyer had a promising future until a car accident claimed the lives of his parents. Abandoning his dreams, he dropped out of college to take care of his orphaned, brain-damaged younger brother. Now in his late thirties, Tobias must struggle to provide for his family, working dead-end jobs that fall far short of the academic career he had imagined.
Then he wins the lottery. His financial worries eliminated, Tobias anticipates nothing but smooth sailing ahead for himself and the people he loves. But he soon finds that his amazing stroke of luck may threaten everything he holds dear.
Over peaks and valleys, this uplifting journey will challenge everything we think we know about luck, life, and what we value most.
In life, we often are struck with unpredictable situations beyond our control. You can be experiencing the greatest moment in your life and then see all that happiness taken away in an instant.
But for those who have took on the gravest of challenges, no matter how dark life may have been at one time, you know that there is hope. When will it come? Will it ever come? At the time, you can only hope and pray that better times will come.
And reading Lilian Duval’s “You Never Know: Tales of Tobias, an Accidental Lottery Winner”, it’s an inspirational piece of fiction, a book that many of us can relate with. It feels real, because the emotions and various situations throughout the book are easily felt and understood.
The book revolves around Tobias Hillyer, a student at Abington College in Maryland who is not only doing well in his studies, he has been given the opportunity of a lifetime to go to the rainforests of the Peruvian Amazon and the Yanomami territories of Brazil and Venezuela for his undergraduate anthropology.
But before he leaves out of the country, he decides to spend time with his family in Woodrock, New Jersey for the Christmas holiday. But it’s a visit that he’s not sure if he will enjoy so much. His mother is an alcoholic, his father constantly trying to watch over his mother, but if there was one reason to return back home, it’s to see his talented, artistic younger brother Simeon.
On December 23, 1989…the day seemed to go fine as he celebrated the holidays with his family. Now an adult, with money, he decided to choose the restaurant where the family will eat. Also choosing a restaurant that doesn’t serve alcohol. But on the day they left the restaurant, it’s a moment in time that will change Tobias’ life forever.
While driving his family back home during the cold winter night, as he made a left turn, a car coming ahead was unable to completely stop during the red light due to the slick roads and plowed into the Hillyer vehicle.
Tobias’ parents were killed and his brother has suffered brain damage.
Feeling guilty about his parent’s death and what has happened to Simeon, Tobias being the only family that his younger brother has, decides to quit school and take care of him.
Life also changes for Tobias drastically as he now has to work a full-time job at the Book Trove while now having to take over his parent’s home while going back and forth to take care of Simeon and paying the bills. With his professor reminding me that the opportunity to go out of the country for the fellowship is rare and that he is the best student in the department, despite how difficult it is for him, his mind has been made up. He is quitting school, as his brother comes first.
But fortunately, Tobias has his college roommate Martin, helping to keep his spirits up. Martin and Tobias were roommates and would have competitive tennis matches with each other and eventually both became good friends.
Also, Tobias can always count on Carmela, a nurse at the hospital who has been planning Simeon’s post-coma therapy and planning his schedule with a neurologist, physiatrist, psychologist and also physical, occupational and speech therapists.
No matter how difficult it is to see his brother in his current state, the fact that Carmela is there with Simeon and is able to help him puts Tobias’ mind at ease. But also, the time spent with Carmela has been positive as it begins to bring both closely together and eventually, to the point in time where Tobias and Carmela begin to have a relationship.
“You Never Know: Tales of Tobias, an Accidental Lottery Winner” is a book that chronicles Tobias’ relationship with is brother and Carmela, as well as his friendship with Martin including his boss at the Book Trove – Elsebeth and eventually his two twin children Lowell and Roxanne. A look into the life of Tobias from the day of the accident in 1989 through 2010.
From the economic challenge that he faces in order to take care of Simeon, to see his job at the Book Trove becoming bigger and bigger but seeing his friend Martin begin to have major financial success and eventually working at Lehman Brothers on Wall Street and to see how his relationship with Carmela changes as years pass by. From the loving couple to the reality of having to worry about taking care of children and the financial burden that he fears. From his best friend Martin offering him a position on the same day that Elsebeth has offered Tobias a position to manage her stores (which he had previously agreed to).
It’s a book that examines relationships, choices and but also hope.
From the Hillyer’s trying to survive financially, to another drastic change in his life when he accidentally becomes the big winner of the lottery making him a millionaire but also seeing how the lottery can change one’s life when everyone starts to ask for money. Including the people he once was close to during the economic downturn in the U.S.
“You Never Know: Tales of Tobias, an Accidental Lottery Winner” is a realistic portrayal of a man who has faced major challenges in his life after tragedy, but to face challenges in his life once again because he has become a multimillionaire. As Tobias is quick to learn, money does not always equate to happiness.
Lilian Duval’s “You Never Know” is a story that is realistic in its portrayal of covering an average American family trying to survive during the tough economy but also the pressures of everyday life.
Lilian Duval has crafted a captivating story of hope in her book “You Never Know: Tales of Tobias, an Accidental Lottery Winner”.
I found the book to be so captivating because Tobias and his family were just like any other family with problems that people can relate to. But what Lilian was able to accomplish is capturing the human spirit in detail. From the anguish and sadness of losing a family and seeing your surviving brother with a major brain injury and not knowing if he will ever talk, look at you or be a normal human being ever again. The details of the intimate moments of his life with his girlfriend, and later wife, Carmela.
I was quite pleased with the amount of research done in order to make the reader understand the challenges that both Tobias and Simeon must go through during therapy and we see this family going through various stages of Simeon’s healing. But the book also manages to capture the life changes of Tobias and the family after he wins the lottery, the trouble it brings because he is a well-known multi-millionaire but also, how money can lead to major problems and even creating a void between a couple who earlier in their relationship, had so much love and appreciation for one another.
If anything, the efficacy of this book was how it communicated with me and how real it seemed. The character development was well-planned, each chapter was entertaining, captivating and for the most apart, Lilian does a wonderful job in connecting with the reader. Many writers tend not to delve into explicit details of mannerisms and inner thoughts but Lilian Duval wants the reader to know what these characters are thinking, how they are feeling and making you feel as a third party watching as everything presents itself for the good and the bad.
One thing that I also enjoyed about the book is that Lilian Duval doesn’t fall into the recent banality of every relationship that goes wrong, will lead to divorce. Because truthfully, I’m sick of hearing about divorces with no counseling or the parents not even trying to make things work. With “You Never Know: Tales of Tobias, an Accidental Lottery Winner”, there are heated arguments between Tobias and his wife Carmela. Heated exchanges which you can only think would lead to a breakup of their marriage but no matter if it’s days or weeks of not talking, the characters manage to make things work. In this case, it may have a taken a near tragedy of one of Tobias’ children to make him realize the importance of family.
But Lilian has done a great job in capturing those emotions and communicating those emotional challenges with the reader.
“You Never Know: Tales of Tobias, an Accidental Lottery Winner” is a fantastic and inspirational book. I am quite amazed of how well-written and how thorough the book when it came to the research that was done.   It’s a book that does feature the up’s and down’s that people encounter in life and how to make the best of things, when things don’t exactly go as planned. You keep living and keep doing the best job possible. If anything, this book is about “hope” and anyone needing some of that in their life right now, will find this book to be quite an inspiration.
Lilian Duval’s “You Never Know: Tales of Tobias, an Accidental Lottery Winner” is one of the best books I have read in 2011 and a book that is highly recommended!