Flat Broke: The Theory, Practice and Destructive Properties of Greed

Liar, Liar #2

by Gary Paulsen

Kevin struggled to overcome his knack for lying in Liar, Liar, and now he's back for another round of mayhem and misunderstandings in this financial comedy of errors. In Kevin, Gary Paulsen has created an appealing teen boy character who is just as human and fallible as his readers.

Genres: Realistic Fiction, Humor, Fiction, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Childrens, Friendship

118 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Gary James Paulsen was an American writer of children's and young adult fiction, best known for coming-of-age stories about the wilderness. He was the author of more than 200 books and wrote more than 200 magazine articles and short stories, and several plays, all primarily for teenagers. He won the Margaret Edwards Award from the American Library Association in 1997 for his lifetime contribution in writing for teens.

Reviews

[Josiah · Rating 1 out of 5]

"(Y)ou've got to do more than what's expected if you want to get ahead."

—Flat Broke: The Theory, Practice and Destructive Properties of Greed, P. 1

"Whoever says youth is the best time in your life has cash in hand and can't remember being poor."

—Flat Broke, P. 8

Kevin Lucas Spencer, age fourteen, is back with another scheme to win the heart of Tina Zabinski, but this time he's learned that chronic lying won't get him anywhere. After the avalanche of punishments that resulted from his lies in the previous book, Kevin scarcely has two coins to rub together, a big problem as the school dance approaches. He wants to prove to Tina he'd be a phenomenal boyfriend, but he hasn't the money for any expensive, romantic gestures. This leads to his big idea: becoming a teen business mogul. Kevin believes he's smarter than most kids, and if he applies his genius correctly, money should come pouring in and Tina will be dazzled. The plan has an auspicious start when Kevin coordinates a series of regular poker games for several guys he knows, who agree to pay him a percentage of the pot for his administrative role. Kevin's luck holds when he persuades his sixteen-year-old sister Sarah to start charging her friends a modest fee to do their hair and makeup. Kevin will receive a commission, since it was his idea. Even he is surprised by how quickly the money adds up as he multiples his business ventures; he's well on his way to capturing Tina's fancy.

"The difference between being smart and being really smart is looking at things in a way no one would ever expect."

—Flat Broke, P. 77

Of course, an entrepreneur is never satisfied. Kevin convinces his best friend JonPaul and his girlfriend Sam to help him sell baked goods at the local college to students craving some sugary treats. The snacks are wildly popular, but JonPaul and Sam are putting a lot of effort into the project, and Kevin continues to escalate its size and scope. Branching out further, he persuades his frenemy Katie Knowles to charge kids for the tutoring service she currently offers for free. Kevin has an impressively diverse portfolio but no experience managing a business, and he has overlooked a few aspects that could cause the rickety structure to come crashing down around him. Will he end up shamed again as in Liar, Liar, forced to apologize to friends and family for using them? If so, where does that leave him with Tina, the girl he has turned his life inside out to impress?

"Getting out of trouble is a whole lot more of a hassle than staying out of trouble".

—Kevin's dad, Flat Broke, P. 112

Flat Broke has entertaining moments, but stretches the limits of plausibility. And while in Liar, Liar most of the people Kevin deceived were justified in being angry, it's harder to see that justification in this book. Kevin presents business ideas they are free to accept or reject, and he treats his associates respectfully. I can't see why a second "apology tour" is needed at the end of this story. Also, Liar, Liar had more heart; the revelation of why four-year-old Markie calls Kevin "Dutchdeefuddy" is kind of heartwarming, and there's no equivalent in this book. I'm amused by the sly allusion to the author's own Lawn Boy on page eleven, though. I'd rate Flat Broke one and a half stars, and I could have rounded up. Comedy isn't Gary Paulsen's best genre, but he can be decently funny, and there are things to praise about the Liar, Liar series so far. I'm curious what the remaining three books will hold.

[Trevor Bosse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like how this book goes on with the book liar liar with Kevin. Flat broke was a book I wanted to read because Gary Paulsen was the author so I knew it was going to be good. Sure enough it was. Kevin is just a kid with many problems. But Kevin is still my favorite character. I rate this book a well three stars.

[Kael Jauron · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had mixed thoughts about this story. Half of me didn't really enjoy it because it seemed really slow and boring at the beggining. I thought it needed to pick the pace up and get the actual rising actions faster. The other half of me really enjoyed it. It was about a 14 year old boy that is completly broke, so he gets him and his friends into like a poker club, between all of them, in hopes of making a lot more money off it. I think the reason I liked it was because I can relate to it, trying to come up with ways to make money but without working at a local job. I thought it was funny how these kids in the story were doing things only I thought my group of friends do, like betting on a bunch of dumb/nonsense stuff. So overall I think that it is a good book so far, but it just needs to have something that leaves the reader wanting to reading more at the end of each chapter.

[Kathryn, the_naptime_reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars
I actually liked this book better than the first in the series. The writing was still more child like than middle grades, but the content was also not dealing with older issues, so to me it would have a wider appeal, maybe as young as 4th grade.

The language/voice of the main character still feels authentic and their are some chuckle worthy moments.

It just is such a short scratch the surface book, that is all wrapped up too quickly for my taste.

[Malachi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting. I’m surprised almost everybody likes this book. It’s my duty to write a negative review to balance things out.
First of all, the characters are pretty bad. Especially Kevin. He is extremely proud, and is so driven by greed that he is willing to do things that may be smart, but aren’t exactly morale. Then at the end, he’s kind of like “I learned my lesson, I’m so sorry.” The end.
Also, I couldn’t help but notice that Kevin thinks things through in a completely immature fashion. I’m thirteen, he’s fourteen, and I’m pretty sure I’m more mature than he is. He never even considers the fact that there may be other reasons to do things besides the fact that it makes money. And he talks about how in the prequel he was lying all the time, about everything. What is the excuse for that kind of behavior?
He’s too smart to be a little kid, but not wise enough to be a teen. Maybe all teenagers aside from me act like him, and I’ve missed out on everything.
Also, his obsession with Tina was weird. Do all fourteen year-olds have like no self control?
Now for the other characters.
JonPaul was even more immature than Kevin. He acted like he was nine (No offense to nine year-olds. If you really are nine, it’s probably okay to act like it. But by the time you get to be fourteen, you should have enough life experience to make more adult-like decisions.), and his germ-phobia was just overboard.
If this is possible, Sam was even more immature than JonPaul. It’s almost an excuse for Kevin to look down on her like I feel he does, but not quite.
Then the security guard. Oh. My. God. She was supposed to be an adult! Even if some security guards have a constant urge to arrest people, they don’t have to act like that.
Finally, the book summary and some reviews that I read said that Flat Broke was funny. I don't know where that came from. I did not read even read a single funny comment in this book. Kevin kind of tries to make the reader laugh, but his efforts were in vain.
I want to make sure that whoever reads this knows I have good reasons for not liking this book, and am not just nitpicking. A lot of people like this book, and even though I cannot understand how that is possible, I respect it.

[Kayden · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have just finished ready Flat Broke by Gary Paulsen. It is a realistic fiction book with 118 pages. This book is the companion to Liar, Liar. The main character is Kevin. He is broke. He doesn't get allowance for a month because he lied. He needs to get some money to show a girl that he is rich. He wants to ask Tina to the dance. She is a blonde. He says that she is the most beautiful girl in school. First he starts poker games. He has 3 games going but he runs out of business because he got caught by his Aunt Buzz who is letting him use her conference room for the games. Then he started a business where he make these really good bars and coffee and sells them to college kids so they can stay awake. It runs out of business because he gets caught by a security cop on campus. He also makes a business for his sister who spends all her time in the bathroom. He had her teach people beauty secrets. One day Kevin and his friend JonPaul who is a germ freak were having a day out together and they came across a man with a really dirty garage. He offered to clean it for him and the man offered to pay him $100 to clean it. So then Kevin made a business for cleaning garages out. He earned $475 in one day. It went out of business because he was caught putting the garbage in another mans dumpster and didn't realize that you have to pay to get rid of garbage. Kevin has lots of ideas about how he can make a business. I really enjoyed this book and if you ever get the chance to read it I think you will like it.

[Mikou · Rating 4 out of 5]

I though that the book was making me a little bit angry because Kevin's friend has a girlfriend but Kevin is trying to be the boyfriend of his friend girlfriend so Kevin is in a big situation. I think that Kevin is going to fail to get her and when his friend will now he will be in a big trouble. So with the money problem he founded a idea it was to make a store next to the school and it worked Kevin did not do it by himself Kevin did it with his friends.




My second though was that Kevin is super smart because he created a store to get rich$$$$. The second that why he is smart is because he asked his ant to help him how to talk well to girls. So he have a lot of to get a ant like this. The last thing that why he is smart is because he did some trap like that when she falls Kevin could take her with his hand.

[Jahan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Picked this up for the kids to listen to on a short road trip we had coming up. My two (9 and 11) enjoyed it, while I just tolerated it and nit-picked. It's the story of a boy who is trying to be industrious and earn some pocket money, but in the process, exploits and manipulates people and plays fast and loose with the truth. These are probably considered good qualities in a successful adult in today's capitalistic, business oriented world, but it made me find the character to be rather unlikable. Not a bad cautionary tale for the young though, his ventures go down in flames one by one, he doesn't get the girl of his dreams, and he (maybe) learns something from the episode. Not bad for young readers

[Lauren Tortorelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have you read Lawn Boy by Paulsen? This book calls back to it quite a bit. Our main character Kevin needs to make some quick cash and is using his entrepreneurial skills to work to make some. His plans, while they work for awhile, have their consequences.

Lawn Boy had more interesting characters and issues while this book has less in the way of confusing economic terms. It was a good read and a quick read, but lacked something in substance for me. It would be a good read aloud I think for maybe 5-7th grade.

[Rj Martinez]

Flat Broke
I read Flat Broke by Gary Paulsen. I like the book. I like the book because you will learn your lesson if you break rules.The setting in the book is usually outside or at school. The main character in the book is Kevin . The setting is The main problem is that Kevin has money issues. Yes, i would recommend this book. I would recommend this book to anyone. I would recommend it to everyone because it is a good story.

[Cameron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well i thought this book was good and Kevin is successful in life he is not afraid to take a risk so i gave it what it deserves because i you read it you would get it!!!

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started out promising but then ended quickly. I really was hoping a good long middle story but as soon as it started it was over.

[Jenn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened to this with my kids it was pretty lame.

[Valerie McEnroe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Gary Paulsen's humor, but I can see how it might go over kids' heads, hence the less than stellar ratings. Flat Broke is #2 in the Liar, Liar series. Kevin is always scheming, getting into trouble, then making amends. His personality is hilarious because he thinks he has the universe figured out. He's like a man in a kid's body. This could be why kid's can't appreciate the mature humor.

The thing to understand about Kevin is that he always has good intentions. In Liar, Liar he lies in part to make people happy. For example, if someone asks you if their new outfit makes them look fat, what are you going to say? You're going to lie, like Kevin. He goes too far and his parents punish him by taking away his allowance. Now Kevin's flat broke, hence this book, bearing that title. His brain begins brainstorming ways to make a quick buck. He decides he will be a business broker. He sets other people up to make money then takes a cut. He starts off arranging poker games, then convinces his sister to charge her friends for doing their hair and make-up, then convinces a classmate to charge for her tutoring services. He has a garage cleaning service and baking service thrown in the mix too. As with lying, it all starts to fall apart when people realize what he's doing.

I like Paulsen, but his humor takes just the right reader to appreciate it. Schemers and witty types will go for it. Others will say meh.

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great series. It cracks me up. He's so active and adventurous and always thinking. He's so UNAFRAID...except of a girl. ha. He's so bold with everything else. He's even man enough to say he's sorry. He's 14. Gotta love this kid. I will be reading the rest of them, sadly not in the correct order, but I am also having fun matching up things from one book to the next, and they do read as stand-alones just fine, but it's more fun if you know what the other books are about, because then you can appreciate even more of the references and reminders and connect some more dots. I am having fun with these!

[Audrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

My biggest problem with this read was that I didn’t like the main character. Not even the last chapter that summarizes all that he learned could redeem the many other chapters where he was in it for himself and oblivious to the consequences. Also, where was any character with common sense during all of his schemes. Even being exaggerated for effect, there were way too many times when someone should have at least ask a question or two and halted his misadventures. Quick read but not something I would recommend.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kevin's allowance has been taken away after his lying to everyone, so he's plotting for a way to make money. Some of his ideas are less than ethical (supplying poker games); other ideas are just using people’s work (his sister’s beauty shop & Katie’s tutoring service) to his advantage. Still others are ill-advised (catering on college campus.) It’s not long before all the bad ideas start to catch up with him.

[R_o_b_e_r_t · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that flat broke was a good prequel to liar, liar. the idea of the story was brilliant, I very much so felt as if I was in the story alongside all main characters. This was a very good short read for anyone that enjoys a humorous, and clever written book.

[Connor Lefevre · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really good, it was funny, and it didn't skip around to much. The book was about a kid named Kevin trying to impress a cute girl at his school, but the problem was he didn't have any money.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Along the same lines of "Lawn Boy", which is referenced!

[KJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was really good because the stuff he is smart but bad.I also like this book because he knows what he is going to do before it actually happens.

[Brett Berard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A funny story that any teenager with no money can relate to.

[Sarah Reiser · Rating 5 out of 5]

mayhem, silly, misunderstanding, laughter

[Bella=) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A knockoff of the first book

p.s. I read this in an hour

[Grant Angione · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an okay book. It was an short book and a easy read.

[Slidehsows - Company Account - Kaden · Rating 5 out of 5]

It greT

[Mark Smiley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am still happier with his outdoor survival books than following the adventures of a 14 year oldin school, but this was a quick read. So there is that.

[Squeaky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this little book very much! Haven't read any Paulsen in years. Still looking to see his second book (I think, for adults) Some Birds Don't Fly as a eBook, but no joy so far.

[Jax Turley · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a good book I just randomly remembered it was written by an adult anytime something inappropriate-ish was said and got a bit creeper out

[George Cole]

Pretty entertaining. Somethin' I bought at Goodwill. His writing style is interesting; it's gritty.