Millions

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It was a one-in-a-million chance. A bag crammed with cash comes tumbling out of the air and lands right at Damian's feet. Suddenly the Cunningham brothers are rich. Very rich. They can buy anything they want. There's just one problem -- they have only seventeen days to spend all the money before it becomes worthless. And the crooks who stole the cash in the first place are closing in -- fast. Millions is a novel published early in 2004, the first book by British screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce. It is an adaptation of his screenplay for the film Millions, although it was released six months before the film (September). Set in England just before British adoption of the euro (a fictional event) the story features two boys who must decide what to do with a windfall in expiring currency. As the boys spend the money, lots of products are mentioned approvingly, though they don't bring much satisfaction. Frank was asked by the Fleming Estate to write the official sequel to Ian Fleming's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again was shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize in 2012.

This book has the word: bastard, in it twice - why do publishers think that's ok? More dumbing down! He is a good writer but surely publishers need to be brave enough to say no. Millions is about two young brothers who come across millions of pounds and their decisions on what they do with it. There is selflessness and selfishness throughout the story and what is right and wrong becomes tested. We follow Damian and Anthony (brothers) through everything they do with the money before the day when the pound gets changed for the Euro. Long-legged Liam makes a giant leap for boy-kind by competing with a group of adults for the chance to go into space. Is Liam the best boy for the job? It's a story about 2 brothers who are each dealing with the loss of their mother in different ways, and a father who reminds them to be excellent. The younger brother (and narrator) Damian tries his best to be excellent and to do good work every day. His heart is in the right place, but sadly the execution doesn't come off like he thinks it will. His older brother, Anthony, focuses on the almighty Pound/Euro, and is an excellent liar. Dad is just trying his best to keep a roof over their heads and teach the boys to be excellent.Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide. Get started Close

The conflict in the book is for Damian and Anthony to find a way to get rid of the money in seventeen days because it is in the old form of money and the money system is changing to a new one( Euros). They solve the conflict by Damian saying “what if we find some saints and give some money to them then let’s donate some to the poor”. The next day they try and find where the saints and the poor live, but before they can get to the house where the saints live they see a saint walking past them so they gave him some money from the bag. At the end of the story they were able to change the leftover money at the bank for Euros. I actually listened to the audiobook, which was even more hilarious than the book, due to the great voice of the narrator. (Being American, I wouldn't have been able to imagine the sound of the annoyed protagonist telling his older brother that his cardboard hideout isn't a den, but "an hermitage.") Conflicts arise throughout their family as the burden becomes to much to bear and secrets are becoming harder to keep. How will these two troublemakers fare with people watching at every turn? This article needs a plot summary. Please add one in your own words. ( March 2021) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)

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Beside winning the Carnegie Medal from the British librarians, [2] [3] Millions made the shortlists for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize and the Branford Boase Award. The boys are dishonest with their father. They use the death of their mother to gain sympathy and get out of trouble. The characters are so sweet and I loved Damian and his obsession with saints and their lives. And the saints that appear to him periodically - that killed me. Only bad thing was their Mom is dead and the boys are obviously sad about that. Normally I won't touch a book with a dead parent and sad kids with a 10 foot pole, but this book was worth it. An interesting read. I enjoyed the innocent, younger tone of the narrator paired with the more, sophisticated topic. The structure of the novel is neat and clear, simplistic vocabulary is used and the variety of characters is pleasing. However, I personally found the sequencing of the invents a little confusing, with more and more problems rising in the plot where least expected. I have enjoyed every book I have read by Frank Cottrell Boyce. He writes fast moving quirky stories with lots of heart. This book reads like a mad cap comic adventure/mystery/coming of age tale but is also a study in childhood grief and as is usual for this author the father son relationship is central to the plot . Damien's literal take on life, his pure heart, and his obsession with the lives of catholic saints is classic Cottrell Boyce and is both hilarious and poignant.