Title: Millionaires for the Month
Author: Stacy McAnulty
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: Effie Starr Zook Has One More Question by Martha Freeman
The Dollar Kids by Jennifer Richard Jacobson
Rating:
Summary (provided by publisher): Felix Rannells and Benji Porter were never supposed to be field-trip partners. Felix is a rule follower. Benji is a rule bender. They're not friends. And they don't have anything to talk about. Until . . .
They find a wallet. A wallet that belongs to tech billionaire Laura Friendly. They're totally going to return it-but not before Benji "borrows" twenty dollars to buy hot dogs. Because twenty dollars is like a penny to a billionaire, right?
But a penny has value. A penny doubled every day for thirty days is $5,368,709.12! So that's exactly how much money Laura Friendly challenges Felix and Benji to spend. They have thirty days. They can't tell anyone. And there are LOTS of other rules. But if they succeed, they each get ten million dollars to spend however they want.
Challenge accepted! They rent cool cars, go to Disney World, buy pizza for the whole school-and that's just the beginning! But money can't buy everything or fix every problem. And spending it isn't always as easy and fun as they thought it would be. . .
My opinion: The concept here is one many kids dream of: suddenly finding yourself able to spend indiscriminately, to buy or do anything that pops into your head. By putting limits (limits that will be familiar if you've ever seen Brewster's Millions) on how they can spend the money the plot is more interesting, especially as each of the boys ring different approaches to the endeavor. Benji is looking for fulfillment and recognition. Felix is extremely driven to win and help his mother but torn by his natural inclination to follow the rules. As expected, their relationships are tested. They have initial popularity at large but earn a lot of disapproval. And their more meaningful relationships are tested by the money and secrets. The ending is a bit rough. The final confrontation is awkward, not entirely satisfying, and leaves me with reservations. Entertaining and might serve as a good prompt for a writing project for young readers.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
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