What a great lesson in financial responsibility with mini lessons thrown in to the mix. I’ve used both of Stacy’s middle grades novels in my classrooms and I can’t wait to add this as my next read aloud. An extra bonus in the back are the fun math lessons included by the author. I can already think of a few of my students who will enjoy this.

While I found some of this a little far fetched, it was really fun to read and I think kids will enjoy the fantasy of spending a million dollars.

Absolutely loved this book!! I really enjoyed Ms Mcanulty's previous middle reader books - Miscalculations of Lightning Girl & The World Ends in April. Her characters are real and sympathetic. I have already recommended them to my grandkids and have made them available in my store where I am handselling them!

3.5 stars

This fun middle-school read has a fair amount of improbability, but it also brings up some interesting ideas to ponder. Felix and Benji are on a school field trip when they discover a lost wallet. It turns out that it belongs to an insanely wealthy woman named Laura Friendly. Benji boosts $20 from the wallet before the boys turn it in.

Then, in an unlikely but sort of appealing scenario, Laura meets with the boys and offers them a wager: if they can spend $5 million in 30 days, she will give them each $10 million. They can't tell anyone about the bet, and there are a lot of rules -- they can't give the money away, donate to charity, buy houses or property, etc. I can imagine young teens intrigued by the actual difficulties of spending that amount of money.

Felix and Benji are completely different in just about every way. Benji comes from a privileged background and gets a lot of pressure to succeed from his dad. Felix has a single mom and working sister, and they don't have much and live in very tight financial circumstances.

There are some great plot twists and an ending that feels right. An enjoyable read. Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was really fun! I like the mix of wild extravagance with the more grounded real life aspects of the story. Felix and Benji are both fully realized characters - and both kids you care about by the end of the story.

Definitely recommended for classroom libraries, and I think this would be a really fun read aloud for fourth or fifth grade.

Two 12 year olds have one month to spend 5 million dollars. The catch? They can't tell anyone what they are trying to do. They can't buy things for others, real estate or cars, if they break the rules it's automatic disqualification. Rule follower Felix has an easier time with rules than Benji, whose main role in life is to see every rule bent. Can they work together to beat the game?

I loved the two entirely different personalities of Felix and Benji. Felix lives with a single mom in a one room apartment and the thought of being extravagant and excessive is distasteful to him. While Benji, who comes from a well-to-do two parent home, has less problems "wasting" their money. In the end, both boys learn lessons and grow as a result of their challenge.

As a teacher, I see so many ways to use this book in the classroom. Students would enjoy telling (writing) ways they would spend the money. Debating if Felix or Benji's approach was right, would bring engaging conversations to the classroom. And allowing students to keep a running tally of how much things cost and how quickly their money was spent would incorporate math. Students, even the reluctant readers, I believe would be intrigued with this concept.

This book was so good! Everyone imagines what they would do if they were suddenly rich, Felix and Beni showed us that it could be our worse nightmare. I loved the character development and relationship growth between all the characters. Great middle grade read!

Millionaires for the Month by Stacy McAnulty; Random House Books for Young Readers, 336 pages ($16.99) Ages 8 to 12.

...

Stacy McAnulty, a mechanical engineer-turned children's book author, offers another hugely entertaining math-themed tale, of two seventh graders who find their lives turned upside down when they return a lost wallet to a tech billionaire and accept her challenge to spend $5.3 million in one month.

Inspired by the idea of not wasting a penny because pennies add up, the $5.368 million is the total if you double a penny every day for 30 days. But there are rules: no buying houses, yachts or airplanes; no donations to charity, no gifts to other people, no investments in stocks and bonds, and no telling anyone else, including their parents, about the rules.

Felix, who lives with his single mom in a one-bedroom apartment and wears sneakers that have to be glued together, is a stickler for following rules and is horrified when Benji, his assigned field trip partner, takes $20 from the wallet they found in Central Park to buy lunch. Benji is the only child of parents who were both basketball standouts; he has the entire second floor of the house to himself (three bedrooms, 2 bathrooms) but still "felt like he was suffocating," under the weight of parental expectations of good grades and athletic achievement.

The novel alternates perspectives between Felix and Benji, who were not friends before the field trip when they found the wallet. Benji muses that Felix "made a great tail – like FBI-level surveillance great." Felix, thinking about billionaire Laura Friendly, muses "that must be the life, being able to get fast food whenever you wanted, not just as a treat on your mom's payday."

The boys quickly discover that it's hard work spending all that money on themselves, as they hire a driver, rent hotel rooms, have pizza and doughnuts delivered to their school every day. The money causes many complications; Felix worries his mother will quit her job and give up their apartment, because she has no idea the money Felix has won has strings attached. Benji's parents hire lawyers to try to gain control of the money. There is drama at school, where Benji has a crush on a girl, and Benji and Felix find themselves competing against each other in tryouts for the basketball team.

Amidst the over-the-top silliness of increasingly desperate spending excesses (racehorses, a T-rex skull), the boys – and Ms. Friendly – learn some valuable lessons about what really matters.

Readers who like this book may want to check out a previous McAnulty book, "The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl."

This was a really fun read! I enjoyed reading about Felix and Benji’s money adventure and seeing them grow along the way!

3-1/2 stars

This book is basically a "Brewster's Millions" for kids, the original being a 1902 novel by George Barr McCutcheon that has been adapted for stage or film many times, the 1985 film starring Richard Pryor and John Candy being the one I'm most familiar with.

In this adaptation, two boys find a wallet belonging to well-known billionaire Laura Friendly while on a field trip. They turn it in, but not before Benji talks Felix into taking $20 to buy something to eat because he forgot to pack his lunch, arguing the owner is rich and will never miss it. Later, Ms. Friendly shows up at their school to publicly praise them and present them with a reward. But privately, she confronts them for taking the $20 and chastises them for not appreciating the value of money, and challenges them to spend just over $5 million in a month. If they win, they each get $10 million dollars; if they lose, they get nothing.

So just as in "Brewster's Millions", the boys find that spending that much money in a short time is not as easy as they thought. But along the way they learn some valuble life-lessons about friendship, loyalty, honesty, and the value of money, but Laura Friendly may have learned a few lessons as well.

This is a cute, engaging story with very likeable but realistic characters that have some flaws and sometimes show poor judgement, but show personal growth throughout the story. Although it initially annoyed me that it was obviously a take-off of Brewster's Millions, once I got into it I enjoyed it, and kids are unlikely to be familiar with the original or any of its prior adaptations. I would recommend this for readers aged 8-13 who enjoy contemporary, more realistic fiction, that mostly deals with everyday issues they can relate to with a little adventure thrown in. I would not call it a must-read or must-purchase, but an enjoyable read and worth purchasing if you have space on your shelves.

My thanks to Netgalley and Random House for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. This is the story of an unlikely friendship forged by a twenty-dollar bill. Benji is fairly wealthy, he’s the tallest kid in his class, and quite outspoke. Felix, on the other hand, is small, quiet, and his single-mom obviously struggles, financially. Happenstance places both boys in the right place at the right time to be thrown into a game of spending millions in free cash. The catch is, they have to spend over $5,000,000.00 in 30 days or they lose it all. Oh, and did I mention there are a number of rules they must follow. For example, no real estate, no jewelry, no art, and whatever they buy must be used by the boys (so no gifts for others). Easy peasy, right? WRONG! Because they cannot tell a soul about the challenge. Just imagine being the parents of THESE boys as they burn through millions in mere WEEKS!

While I admit I wasn’t enamored by the cover art, the story was captivating right up to the end. I believe the book will make an excellent middle grade read aloud – kids will be talking in class, in hallways, at lunch, and after school as they come up with ways THEY would have made the challenge work, despite the strict rules. But there’s more to this story than money and math. The family relationships and management of an unusual friendship are both insightful and touching. McAnulty writes so well for this audience! And sure to check out the math information and charts available in the back matter.

What I thought would be a story about two boys spending a bunch of money turned into a poignant story about family and sacrifice. Kids will come for the humor and adventure, and leave reflecting on what they would do in this situation, and how important our choices are to those around us.

What a delightful book! I loved every minute!
I loved the silly premise. It was fun to see what the boys spent their money on.
The conflict played out well and was resolved nicely.
I most loved how the friendship between the boys grew and developed.
Freebie and Reggie were great side characters!
I will definitely purchase this for my elementary school libraries!

4.5 stars - Loved it!! Would re-read.
From the first I heard about this book it reminded me of the plot of Brewster's Millions, a movie I have enjoyed for years, and I knew this would be a must-read. And I was not disappointed!

I loved Felix and Benji. Their differences made their developing friendship fun to watch. I felt for them as they had to follow the rules that accompanied their money while not telling anyone the truth. They had to risk looking selfish and greedy. They couldn't do things to help the people they loved.

At the same time, they had a TON of fun with their money. I think kids are going to love the idea of having 5 million dollars to spend on whatever they want. Teachers and families can engage in some terrific discussions about what readers would do in the same situation. Who doesn't like to daydream what they would do with a million dollars?

This would be a terrific read-aloud or be great for use in book groups. If you have readers who enjoyed the author's earlier books (The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl is a personal favorite), be sure to hand them this one too. (LGBTQ+)

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a DRC of this title for review. All opinions are my own.

This was a lovely book. I only briefly SKIMMED the premise before beginning it, but knew that it was something I should keep on my radar since McAnulty is a prominent author in my building and one of her earlier works is currently a nominee for our state award list. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this one, and I can't wait to recommend it to my readers.

Felix and Benji aren't friends. So when they're paired up for a field trip, neither of them is very excited. Felix wishes Benji would just follow the rules, and Benji wishes Felix would have some fun already. When they get to the park for lunch, they find an abandoned wallet. The driver's license belongs to Ms. Friendly, the billionaire. Benji decides to "borrow" $20, buy lunch, and then return the wallet with a note stating who had found it. Soon enough, Ms. Friendly shows up at their school to give them their reward for returning the wallet. The boys are incredibly excited, at least until she offers them a deal: take the scholarship money NOW, or take the amount of penny doubled every day for a month. That amount? Over five million dollars. The catch? They have to spend it all that month, on only themselves, on disposable items (no real estate, no investments) and they have to keep it a secret. If they can do it, they'll get $10 million at the end, to keep. No strings attached.

Being 7th graders, they take the deal. Because how hard can it be to spend five million dollars? Harder than it seems.

So, why only 4 stars? There were a few plot holes/undeveloped items that nagged me enough that I withheld the 5th star. Nothing awful, but enough.

Overall, this is a strong purchase for almost all library collections serving middle grade readers. It is fast paced, fun/funny, and it showcases just how money can change a person.

I love Stacey McAnulty! I love the way she incorporates mathematical concepts around her stories and shows that math is a real life skill! "Millionaires for the Month" is about an unlikely pair who are challenged to spend over $5 million dollars in a month. Sounds amazing, right? But these two find out that it is harder than it looks, especially with the rules that are put into place. This is a heartwarming story about poverty, family, friendship, middle school and math! I highly recommend to all readers of middle grade fiction, no matter how old they may be.
#MillionairesfortheMonth #NetGalley

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.

Such a fun read! Millionaires for the Month is not only entertaining, but also teaches us how money cannot buy the things that matters the most.

The story is about an unexpected friendship that started when two boys found a wallet owned by a tech billionaire. Felix was firmed to return the wallet, but Benji “borrowed” twenty dollars first to buy some hotdogs. A few days later, Laura Friendly contacted and challenged them to spend 5 million dollars for thirty days. If they won, they would get ten million each. Spending that much money seemed easy, but Felix and Benji were bound to lots of rules. At first, they enjoyed spending as much as they want. However, as time went and they encountered problems, they realized it wasn’t fun and easy as they thought the challenge would be. Plotwise, the premise was really intriguing. I think every one dreamed to have that amount of money in one point of their lives. While the overall mood and atmosphere seemed upbeat and juvenile, it also discussed significant and relevant values that younger readers can easily relate to and learn from. Mostly the plot focused on how the value of money affected Felix and Benji’s own worries, their friendship, their relationship with their families, and how other people saw them. I think the book succeeded in conveying the moral lessons it wanted to convey to its readers.

I also enjoyed the dynamics of the two main characters. Felix and Benji were completely opposites in appearance, attitude, and their socio-economic status. While Felix was a follower, Benji always bended the rules. Benji did not have to concern himself to money matters, while Felix’s family struggled. Although Felix had short stature, he was good at playing basketball while Benji’s tall height did not help him to be good at basketball at all. Despite their differences, they knew that they can count on each other. Even when there were few bumps on their friendship, they still managed to solve their issues and become closer than before.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book. This fast-paced, delightful book will surely amuse anyone regardless of age. I highly recommend this book.

5/5 stars!

Millionaires for the Month by Stacy McAnulty was an engrossing and fascinating book. Though I was disappointed by the characters’ inability to think of other more creative means of spending the five million dollars, the idea and character conflicts kept me hooked. At some points, the main characters’ choices left me irritated, but I enjoyed reading about how they dealt with each other and worked through their problems. The plot’s ups and downs were unpredictable and always left me wondering what was going to happen next. Millionaires for the Month is an entertaining and thought-provoking story about friendship and the value of a penny.

One might predict "Millionaires for the Month" to be a book with little substance about greedy boys. However, the author, Stacy McAnulty, delivers an entertaining yet educational story. While most kids probably wish to be in the very expensive Nikes of main characters, Felix and Benji, they may change their mind after checking out this book. From the outset, Felix and Benji are far from friends but these sweet boys find out that they have more in common than expected. In the end, they learn the importance of working together. McAnulty teaches the value of money in a fun way throughout the story and even gives some cool mathematical examples at the end. Readers also learn the importance of relationships and honesty. If you're a fan of "Brewster's Millions" you need to check out "Millionaires for the Month."

I read McAnulty's THE MISCALCULATIONS OF LIGHTNING GIRL around two years ago and I instantly fell in love with that story. Then, last year I read THE WORLD ENDS IN APRIL and I liked it, not as much as LIGHTNING GIRL, but still, it was alright. That's kind of how I felt with this one.

Overall, it was a cute story about friendship and it just wasn't my personal cup of tea. I found it to be kind of stressful and rather boring at times, although I can definitely see where kids would love the concept. Case in point - my brother. He loves these kinds of stories.

I didn't hate it, just not Stacy McAnulty's best.