Millions
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3.3 • 16 Ratings
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
WINNER OF THE 2005 CARNEGIE MEDAL
Frank Cottrell Boyce's story, Millions - the tale of a not-so-great train robbery - is an absolute treasure!
Two brothers, Damian and Anthony, are unwittingly caught up in a train robbery during Britain's countdown to joining the Euro. Suddenly finding themselves with a vast amount of cash, the boys have just one glorious, appalling dilemma - how to spend it in the few days before it becomes worthless. Torn between the vices of buying a million pizzas and the virtues of ending world poverty, the boys soon discover that being rich is a mug's game. For not only is the clock ticking - the bungling bank robbers are closing in too.
Pizzas or World Peace - what would you choose?
Includes bonus material and discussion questions from Frank Cottrell Boyce, and illustrations by Steven Lenton.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
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. FYI:A feature film based on the book hits U.S. theaters November 24.
