Eve Leuzinger's Reviews > Millions

Millions was my first novel by Frank Cottrell Boyce and whilst not my personal favourite I can understand how the children in a Key Stage 2 classroom would fall in love with this novel. Witty, fast paced and a heightened sense of tension would keep children engaged for hours.

Millions tells the story of two brothers- Damian and Anthony- who find a bag filled to the brim with money. As the reader follows their journey through deciding whether to spend, save or hide the money we learn the characters of the boys and the importance of change on their lives. The boys are thrown from decision to decision and quickly learn the influence of money on the people around them- both positive and negative. As they encounter these challenges the boys learn what is important to them and who they want to include in their family. The boys also represent the struggle of adapting to new family and new situations. Damian who the reader understands to have a learning difficulty trusts all those around him wholeheartedly and only wants to prove himself as the best he can be...even if this doesn't always actually happen. Whereas Anthony feels that he must always lead to ensure he can protect both of them, which has some tragic consequences when all their hard work appears to crumble around them.

The subtle humour and fast paced narrative would keep children engaged whilst also providing them a unique insight into the differences between character's thoughts. The role of perspective also enables the children to think about changing events and how this influences our awareness of the plot. However, I found the end of the plot predictable and much slower to the rest of the novel meaning I began to come a little bored. Despite this, I feel that this would be a great whole class text for a Year 4 or 5 classroom.