As smart as it is entertaining, Millionaires for the Month is a thought-provoking story about friendship, privilege, and the value of a penny.

I read this book ages ago and don't remember enough for a proper review. I did order it for my library.

Decent book that middle grade kids will probably enjoy. Hand to readers who likes Restart by Korman, Slide by Hautman, and Miscalculations of Lightning Girl.

Millionaires for the Month by Stacy McAnulty, 323 pages. Penguin Random House, 2020. $17

Content: G

BUYING ADVISORY: MS - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

12yo 7th graders Benji and Felix are not friends, but they have been partnered for the field trip to New York City. Felix follows rules, Benji does not. When the boys find a wallet in the park, Benji spends the $20 inside before giving it to their teacher to return. The wallet belongs to a billionaire who publicly rewards the school with ten thousand dollars worth of technology, but privately wants to teach the boys a lesson about money. A penny doubled everyday for a month is $5,368,709.12 and it's this amount she challenges the boys to spend, in just 30 days. There's lots of rules to follow - they can't tell anybody about the challenge for one, but, if they succeed, they'll each get ten million dollars. But spending that much money is harder than they thought, and it's not just about finding stuff to buy.

I loved this modern retelling of Brewster's Millions. Seeing how that kind of money affects each family differently, and its effect on each boy was wonderful. There's more to the story than just the money - it's also about friendship, and self confidence, and making your parents proud, and doing the right thing. Engaging and exciting from the first few pages, I think my middle schoolers will really like "Millionaires for the Month"

Lisa Librarian

McAnulty has created an amazingly fun read for kids who wished they had a million dollars. As Felix and Benji fall into an unwanted partnership, they find that having money doesn't solve all of your problems. Readers of all ages will think about how they would respond in a similar situation. This opportunity to examine the pitfalls, benefits and basic tasks that would be associated with spending such a sum is a great chance to discuss "what if..." with kids and parents alike.

As a former teacher, I think this would make a great read-aloud, small group book discussion, or a math-related resource for a class. As a reader, I enjoyed the story as just that. The unexpected ending adds to the depth of the book and characters.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC, all opinions are my own.

Stacy McAnulty once again does a great job of creating complex and nuanced characters that are relatable and engaging. In this story, two boys, thrown together by circumstance and not by choice, happen to find a wallet while on a class trip. They discover that the wallet belongs to the female equivalent of Bill Gates, a billionaire tech mogul, and after some persuasion from one of the boys, decide to keep $20 to buy food and then return the wallet. This turns into a very serious problem when the owner of the wallet proposes a kind of bet with the boys in lieu of revealing their original theft. The bet is that the boys have to secretly spend 5 million dollars, but with a bunch of stipulations and exceptions. If they succeed, they will get a much bigger payout, but is it even possible? Both boys shave their own reasons for wanting to prove themselves and of course that amount of money would be life changing. The story is told in alternating narration with both boys becoming truly fleshed out and interesting characters. Even the side stories are compelling. This is perfect for a class read aloud and writing prompt and will absolutely be a hit in my library.

I really liked this title. It was fun, seeing the two main characters try to spend their money to win the contest. IT turns out money can't buy everything, and spending for the sake of spending not only gets old, but looks pretty obnoxious to the average onlooker. But the characters, humor, and writing style are what carries the story.

Who wouldn't love to be given over $5 million dollars and be told you have to spend it in 30 days. If you do, you will get $10 million. Oh, but there are lots of rules. And you can't tell ANYONE about the challenge.

That's what happens to Benji and Felix. It's a lot harder to spend the money when you can't buy gifts for people, and when you're 12 years old, it's especially hard to keep it a secret from your parents!

I really enjoyed this book. It was fun to watch the characters progress throughout the story as the money challenge starts to change them.

I received an ARC of this book thanks to the publishers and NetGalley.

I read an early copy of this book. Like often happens, I didn't quite finish it before my access expired. I'm also a fan of this author already. I know just enough to have many readers asking for it. The conflict between having to spend a lot of money and not being able to tell anyone why you're doing it.. I totally recommend it.

I was given a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Two boys on a field trip find a wallet that belongs to a wealthy woman. They "borrow" $20 from the wallet to buy some junk food because $20 "is like a penny" to the wealthy. When they return the wallet to it's owner and explains where the $20 went, the owner challenges them to spend .01 doubled every day before the end of the month. She has rules for them however, and spending $5,368,709.12 is not has easy as it looks. The boys are clever and it's a lot of fun to be part of their struggle. #MillionairesfortheMonth #StacyMcAnulty #NetGalley #Mathinreallife

My daughter read this one and really enjoyed it. She enjoyed the new friendship between two kids that usually wouldn’t become friends. She loved how they spent money but she felt the ending was a little “boring”. However she definitely would recommend this to others!

The concept of this book is a bit far-fetched: two classmates find a billionaire's wallet and take $20 before returning it only to be "rewarded" with a challenge to spend over $5 million dollars in a month. There are several rules, of course, including that money cannot be gifted or used to purchase gifts, invested, or used to buy property. Additionally, all purchases will have to be returned at the end of the month.

It's equal parts entertaining and informative and I can see how it could spark some great conversations. In fact, if I were still teaching I would strongly consider this as a classroom read-aloud that would tie into math class. If readers can suspend their belief regarding the situation, they'll enjoy watching the characters bond over their newfound wealth while discovering that money doesn't solve all of the world's problems, but can be very helpful in solving others.

Kids will eat up this story, imagining how they could sped $5+ million in a month. Felix and Benji are both relatable and likable despite their flaws. Issues surrounding privilege, money (and its value) are presented in an enlightening way for young readers without ever becoming preachy. After reading McAnulty's third novel, I've added her to my list of authors to automatically purchase whenever a new title is published.

This was a fun book! I very much enjoyed reading it, and I can’t wait for my students to read this. I know it will keep their attention right up until the end! This would also make a really good read aloud for students.

Could you spend $5 million in 30 days? Felix and Benji are about to find out. From the author of THE MISCALCULATIONS OF LIGHTNING GIRL, this is an enjoyable read that still gives the reader a lot to think about related to friendship, entitlement and all the things money cannot buy. I could see a lot of extension activities coming from this book.

Fast paced story about two boys who struggle to spend millions of dollars in one month, even though they had no doubt it would be easy. Fun to read how they think up ways to spend the money that is part of a lesson from a rich benefactor trying to teach the boys the value of money. Tie in math concepts of compounding values. Spark interesting discussions about how to spend money, the value of money, the burdens of having significant amounts of money. Recommended for middle grade.

This book is great for the kid who wants to win the lottery, but I also think it could be used to spark really great discussions on how money gets allocated in our society. I have some readers in mind for passing it to.

I absolutely loved this story about a group of boys "winning" millions. The conundrums they come up against while trying to figure out what is right, what makes sense and what is really important was fantastic. Stacy McAnulty does an incredible job with realistic fiction. She is great with charachter development and making situations believable. I love her stories!

Unlikely field trip partners Benji and Felix find themselves with a problem you might like to have in Millionaires for the Month: If they can spend more than $5 million in one month, they’ll get $10 million each — but they have to spend all the money, and they can’t tell anyone about the deal. (Yes, this is a lot like the set-up for the movie Brewster’s Millions.)

This sounds fun, but it’s not. For one thing, Benji and Felix only have this opportunity because they did something wrong — on a field trip, they found a lost wallet, and before returning it to the social media billionaire who dropped it, they “borrowed” $20 for a hot dog cart lunch. For another, they can’t buy anything they can’t actually use — houses, stocks, art, and other investments are out. Felix’s financially struggling family can’t understand why he’s throwing away hundreds of thousands of dollars on hotel suites and fancy sneakers when he could be setting them up for a much happier future. For Benji’s parents, their son’s reckless spending is just further proof that he’s a problem child. As they worry their way through their shared challenges (and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of sneakers), Felix and Benji discover that friendship is better than an unlimited debit card.

I thought this was a great middle grades book, with likable protagonists and a math-y sensibility that reminds you why you want to know how to calculate, for example, tips and interest rates. Definitely recommended.

Although the idea behind this story - having to spend a ridiculous amount of money in a limited amount of time - isn't new, McAnulty manages to make the idea feel fresh. Felix and Benji, the two protagonists, are both flawed and endearing, and their struggle to spend 5 million dollars in a month without coming off as stuck-up, privileged brats is surprisingly relatable. Fans of middle grade realistic fiction will find this a compelling read.