Millions

Starred review from October 11, 2004
British screenwriter Boyce's inventive first novel, set in contemporary England, makes a fine transition to audio, thanks to Jones's lively, spot-on performance. Brothers Anthony and Damian are going through a tough time following their mother's death. The boys have moved to a new house with their father and are attending a new school. While Dad is overextended in his role as single parent, the boys try their best to "be excellent" and make things a little easier for all of them. As a coping method, Damian has become obsessed with the lives of saints, striving to emulate their acts of sacrifice—a point of serious concern for Dad and teachers from school. But one day when Damian is hanging out by the train tracks in his saint-like hermitage built of cardboard boxes, life takes an unusual turn. A bag of money—£229,370—seemingly falls from the sky. Of course the cash comes with strings. In 17 days, it will be deemed worthless when the country's currency changes over to euros. And the people who stole the money in the first place are eager to get it back. The boys' struggle to decide what to do with the money (and how to spend at least some of it) makes for an interesting, suspenseful caper. Jones brings humor and tenderness to the proceedings, making Damian's preoccupations both funny and heartwarming. And listeners will feel sure the family bonds are strengthened by the test. Ages 8-up. (Sept.)

FYI:
A feature film based on the book hits U.S. theaters November 24.

Starred review from August 23, 2004
How would you spend a lot of money fast? That's the irresistible premise of this witty and poignant first novel by a British screenwriter. Damian and Anthony Cunningham have moved to a new neighborhood with their loving but overwhelmed father, following their mother's death. (A mention that their old house is still on the market because of "what happened there" suggests suicide.) Anthony, a precocious fifth-grader plays on people's sympathy: "Tell them your mum's dead and they give you stuff." Damian, the beguiling fourth-grade narrator, is obsessed with saints and saintly behavior. He "mortif his flesh" by placing holly leaves under his shirt, and constructs his own makeshift "hermitage" near the railroad tracks. He's in this cardboard hideout when a bag containing more than a quarter-million pound notes drops from the sky. Damian believes it's from God. Anthony suspects otherwise but embarks on a spending spree fueled by a deadline—the pounds will be worthless in 17 days, when England converts its monetary system to the Euro. Boyce gracefully weaves in many thought-provoking episodes. Anthony learns about inflation when he overpays for favors and toys at school. Damian follows St. Francis of Assisi's example by buying and setting free a pet store's worth of birds. The ending is sure to spark heated debate, as Damian comes to terms with the ubiquity of poverty and the dark side of human nature. The story starts slowly, but readers who stick with it will be racing to the finish to figure out who's conning whom. Brilliant. Ages 8-12.

October 1, 2004
Gr 4-8 -When fourth-grader Damian finds a bag full of cash by the train tracks, he and his brother try to spend it fast. The bills are all pounds, and England is just a few weeks away from converting to the euro, so anything they don't use will, in their minds, soon be worthless. This happy predicament sets up some excellent comic situations, including rampant inflation at the school yard and some suspiciously materialistic Mormons. But a lot more is going on than money-related antics. Damian, obsessed with the lives of the saints and a bit muddled about the real world, narrates with endearing navet and unintended deadpan humor. Fifth-grader Anthony has an endless supply of schemes, contrasting with his brother's more charitable sensibilities. Though their mother's recent death is not described until later, the boys' sense of loss permeates the story, and their instant fortune subtly leads them to a point where they can finally face their grief. Damian's encyclopedic knowledge of saints is hilarious at times, but also reveals his touching need for faith and reassurance. Supporting characters, including their dad and a shrewd female fund-raiser, have distinct personalities. The imagined 1998 monetary changeover may be confusing to American kids, who might assume the event really occurred, but readers should grasp the resulting need to act with dispatch. There's plenty of excitement as the deadline approaches and the brothers' secret becomes known, but the humor, the strong family story, and Damian's narrative voice make this satisfying novel succeed on several levels.-Steven Engelfried, Beaverton City Library, OR

Copyright 2004 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2004
Gr. 5-8. Would a lot of money be an answer to your prayers? Damien, a young expert on patron saints, thinks so after he finds 229,370 pounds sterling in a bag thrown by robbers from a passing train. With only a few short weeks until Euro Day, the day the "Great British Pound" would be replaced by the euro, Damien and his older, fifth-grade brother begin spending like daft nutters. The schoolyard economics quickly change, and soon adults are looking for the source of the cash--not to stop the flow, but to get in on the action. Naturally, the thwarted robbers are looking for their loot. The characters and their sometimes comical antics are as original, quirky, and compelling as in Hilary McKay's Exiles books, but the mood here is tempered by the recent death of the boys' mother. The point of view is solidly Damien's as he struggles to cope with his grief, be good, and find an ethical use for the money. Visits from saints guide him, and his faith in goodness helps him and his family to heal. An engaging possibility for reading aloud.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)

August 8, 2005
A fourth-grader finds a bag of cash that seemingly drops from the sky. In our Best Books citation, PW
wrote, "The irresistible premise of this novel asks: How would you spend a lot of money fast? Readers will madly flip the pages to figure out the cash's true source." Ages 8-up.

January 1, 2005
As Britain prepares to adopt the Euro, Damian finds over 200,000 pounds sterling, thrown from a train during a robbery. Somewhat eccentric Damian (he has visions of saints) and his brother, still grieving over their mother's recent death, debate what to do with the money and try to evade one of the robbers. This fresh, funny wish-fulfillment story both entertains and satisfies.

(Copyright 2005 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)