“If our Anthony was telling this story, he’d start with the money.”

From Frank Cottrell Boyce’s Millions.

While his father and brother, Anthony, are not so concerned with the religious world, young Damian is a strong believer in the various saints of the Catholic Church. When a bag full of money practically falls into Damian’s lap, he thinks that the bag full of millions of pounds must be a miracle and he shows the bag to Anthony. While not quite millions, the bag does hold over two hundred thousand pounds, but the money does pose a big problem for the brothers–the United Kingdom is soon going to stop using the pound in exchange for the Euro, which will soon make the found paper money worthless. While Anthony and Damian hide the money from their father, they begin using the money. As time goes by, it quickly becomes apparent to the boys that the money was stolen and then lost by someone that is definitely searching for them to get it back. The saint-loving Damian just wants to be and do good, and their bag of money initially seems to be the answer to all their problems, but both Damian and Anthony quickly realize that the money cannot solve their problems and quickly leads to even more problems. Struggling with grief and the consequences that follow the bag of money, the brothers soon learn valuable lessons about life, love, money, and happiness.

Cottrell Boyce crafts an interestingly unique story that will draw readers in with humor and heart. The inspiration for the 2004 movie of the same name, this story highlights the innocence of childhood and the distraction of greed with openness. Millions is an interesting story that follows two grieving boys on an adventure of a lifetime.