Dan Gutman writes books that kids want to read. The Million Dollar Kick is no exception, continuing with the million dollar series. In this series Gutman writes about kids having the chance to win a million dollars in a variety of sports.
This series is very well liked (I mean; what kid doesn’t dream about winning a million bucks?), and also very well written. The characters are all different, and each has their own storyline and development.
Summary
The main character in The Million Dollar Kick is a thirteen year-old girl named Whisper Nelson. She is very identifiable as a normal eighth grade girl who doesn’t like sports; in fact she hates them.
Part of the reason for this is because her younger sister, Briana, is a pro at sports. Plus, she is a pro at school. On report card day she gets straight A’s, so their mom has Whisper take her out to get some doughnuts. Whisper is jealous of her sister because she is viewed as the perfect one by their mom.
While getting doughnuts Briana happens to enter them into a contest that gives the winner a chance to win a million by kicking against Carmen Applegate, one of the best professional soccer goalies around. Surprisingly, Whisper wins!
Even though Whisper hates sports, she knows a million dollars would really be nice. She tries to learn how to kick, and Ellie Gonzales (the high school keeper) agrees to help her out.
Whisper soon becomes proficient in her soccer skills, improving her emotional life and her relationship with her mom. On the big day however, Carmen gets hurt and a familiar friend steps in to be the goalie. Will Whisper score? Or will she miss and feel bad forever?
Review
This is a very good book, as we have come to expect from Dan Gutman. Whisper is easy to relate to and I still feel like I know her. Throughout the book Gutman uses breaks in the action to his advantage in order to build Whisper’s character.
Whisper’s journey to become a better soccer player is also inspiring. It’s not easy for her to do, but it helps her with much more than just her soccer playing.
It’s also good that Gutman has the main character of this book be a girl, because all of the other books in the million dollar series are boys. This is a great book for girls from around 2nd to 5th or 6th grade, although many boys may still enjoy it. I sure did.
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from mater academy
Hey, thanks for your questions. I’m not sure exactly what you’re asking, since I didn’t write this book, although I have some that are currently working towards publication. Are you asking me about my own writing projects, or about Dan Gutman and The Million Dollar Kick?