The Get Rich Quick Club

by Dan Gutman

We, the members of the Get Rich Quick Club, in order to form a more perfect summer, vow that we will figure out a way to make a million dollars by September. We agree that neither rain nor snow nor gloom of night will prevent us from achieving our stated goal, till death do us part. Gina Tumolo and her Get Rich Quick Club are determined to make their summer pay off. They're going to make a pact and hatch a scheme, and their small-town life will never be the same again.

Genres: Fiction, Humor, Realistic Fiction, Childrens, Middle Grade, Friendship, Fantasy

128 pages, Paperback

First published July 27, 2004

About the author

The author of over 80 books in a little over a decade of writing, Dan Gutman has written on topics from computers to baseball. Beginning his freelance career as a nonfiction author dealing mostly with sports for adults and young readers, Gutman has concentrated on juvenile fiction since 1995. His most popular titles include the time-travel sports book Honus and Me and its sequels, and a clutch of baseball books, including The Green Monster from Left Field. From hopeful and very youthful presidential candidates to stunt men, nothing is off limits in Gutman's fertile imagination. As he noted on his author Web site, since writing his first novel, They Came from Centerfield, in 1994, he has been hooked on fiction. "It was fun to write, kids loved it, and I discovered how incredibly rewarding it is to take a blank page and turn it into a WORLD."

Gutman was born in New York City in 1955, but moved to Newark, New Jersey the following year and spent his youth there.

Reviews

[Jennie Louwes · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Ten Million Dollars!" my 11 year old boy-child jumped out of his bed and exclaimed loudly; "Could we pull off something like that?"

"We could try", I replied; "but, I think it's best if we stick with the truth."

Fully engaged were my 11 year old son and 10 year old daughter while they listened to this tale play out. A unique twist and lesson to "never cry wolf"; unless, there's one truly lurking about.

My son's take away: Always have your camera close at hand. Never leave home without it!

A good book. Chapters were not too long, not too short, but just right. Each chapter melded into the next seamlessly.

Certain words were defined within the text. There were insights into businesses and start-ups given that were informative, spot on, and presented in a way for kids to be able to absorb with an ease of understanding.

Also included was Australian English with American English translation. My kids found certain Australian phrases quite entertaining. They only wished I could have spoken in a convincing Australian accent so as to have truly sold those character's lines. (Agreed!)

Two critiques: As a parent I disliked the use of name-calling within the text as seen most often from the older kids towards the younger ones. A multitude of derivatives used to convey others stupidity. I know calling people names seems to be a norm within life; but, should it be? Does it have to be? Should it be so often promoted as normal within the books we read to our children?

My other critique revolves around the main character (and narrator of the book) telling kids how to lie and how to do it well so as not to get caught.

Kid's don't need incentive to lie or to dupe their parents or others.

Thankfully, the "GRQ Club" includes a "Never Cry Wolf" scenario to balance out the telling of how one can master the art of a good lie.

Honesty still remains the best policy.

My kids thouroughly enjoyed listening to me read "The Get Rich Quick Club" out loud to them. As a parent, for the most part, I enjoyed this book too. From an adult stand point I would've given this book a 3 star rating; but, I'm going to rate this book from my children's point of view instead. In the eyes of my oldest two kiddos, this book was a really good read and deserving of a solid 4 stars.

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the seventh book by Dan Gutman that I have read, and the first I have read with my son. I love the quirky sense of humor that Dan exhibits in all of his books that I have read. What could go wrong when a group of youth form a club to get rich by the end of summer break? They for the GRQ - Get Rich Quick club. Soon they have everything a successful company needs, a list of officers, a motto and a mission statement of this ambitious group of friend is as follows:

"OUR MISSION STATEMENT

We, the members of the Get Rich Quick Club, in order to form a more perfect summer, vow that we will figure out a way to make a
$ MILLION DOLLARS $
by September. We agree that neither rain nor snow nor gloom of night will prevent us from achieving our stated goal, until death do us part. You tried the rest. Now try the best.
Signed,
Ms. Gina Tumolo, 11, CEO
Mr. Rob Hunnicutt, 11, Vice President
Ms. Quincy Biddle, 10, Creative Director
Mr. Edward A. Bogle, 8, Chief Drone #1
Mr. Theodore P. Bogle, 8, Chief Drone #2"

So one day sitting up in a tree they form a company, and work on a plan to get rich. But as we can almost all attest what seems like a good idea at the time in hindsight can be a terrible terrible idea. These friends come up with a plan to sell a photo of a UFO, unfortunately they do not have a photo of one but they devise a plan for how they can fake it.

When their plans to sell it to an enquirer type magazine, The National Truth fall through they sell it to the local paper, the Farmington Journal. For far less than their hoped for million dollar payout. But the story gets picked up by the news feeds, who doesn't trust young kids to tell the truth and soon they are on tv, the covers of magazines and it looks like their payday might be bigger than ever expected. Until someone's conscience gets in the way.

There are some fun twists in the plot and an awesome surprise at the end. Overall a great fun read for young readers and those who read to or with them. Thanks Mr. Gutman for another great read.

Read the review on my blog Book Reviews and More. As well as an author profile and interview with Dan Gutman, and reviews of some of his opther books.

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Gem from the bookshelf! Running out of them though, darn.

This is a great book for kids to learn the basics of business. Hilarious too-
Chuckled out loud several times!

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Gutman misplaced nostalgia fest continues -- I love the translations of Australian to American English!

[Ruth Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book has great kid appeal qualities: fast-paced, the kids fool the adults, lots of humor, an unexpected twist, and a quick read (only 118 pages).

The characters are interesting: Gina, the 5th grade Club CEO who looks to Bill Gates as her hero
Quincy, the Australian friend with artistic talents
Rob, the brilliant (but a bit odd classmate) with a deep soul
Eddie and Teddy, 8-year-old twins with huge imaginations and storytelling gifts.

This book was originally published in 2004 so the "technology" is outdated. The kids take a fake photo using FILM. Then at the close of the book, they miss an opportunity to take a photo because they don't have any FILM. Kids today take photos on their cell phones and with their digital cameras . . . no film required!

Nevertheless, I think this book would be a fun family or classroom read-aloud. It could be paired with a nonfiction book about money, the supernatural, or even Roswell. In the classroom, you could discuss sources you can trust and those which are not so credible (like some internet sites and grocery store sensational papers like The National Inquirer).

[KidsFiction Teton County Library]

J Gutman

Here's a fun story about five kids who make a pact to earn a million dollars by the end of the summer. The book is the story of their scheme and how it happens. Before long their pictures are in the paper all over the country. Their leader, a 5th grade girl named Gina, decides that if Bill Gates can do it before 20, so can they -- with the help of a picture of a UFO.

[AnnMarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

We listened to this in the car as a family on vacation! We range from 7 - 50 years old and we all loved it. Even us adults laughed out loud at times. Good author....fun for the family!

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was a bit disappointed in this after reading Million Dollar Shot by the same author. The characters here weren't as developed and weren't dealing with as interesting as problems (but then again, I also think the main character's singular focus on earning money was what turned me off). The idea of photographing a fake UFO to earn that money was kind of silly (and the ending was, of course, even sillier in that the exact alien they described came to take their picture to earn money on his home planet... and that he only does this with people who've been exposed for UFO hoaxes to protect himself. I guess that was kind of poetic justice, and meant to bring the book to a close with "well, at least we all became friends and recognized each others' strengths and that was the most important thing," but that rang a bit hollow because of the shallow character development. I guess I shouldn't expect too much, but it was short and readable again... just not sure how much it would maintain kids' interests.

[Weminence · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is important to me. In 2008, I was in fifth grade and in fifth grade I hated reading unless I was being read too. Most of the books I picked up were boring and long and useless, but I had to read for thirty minutes each day because our teacher made me. I hated it. I was mostly skimming over books instead of reading them and I just wasn't enjoying myself. Then I picked up this book and the dedication was 'to those children who don't like to read' or something along those lines. The book's on my desk, but honestly, I'm too lazy to get out of bed and get it. That dedication spurred me into reading this book, which led me to love this book, which led me to love reading. Without this book, I probably wouldn't be the avid reader I am today, I wouldn't love to sit still and live someone else's life like I do now. This book is important to me because without this book I wouldn't have a passion for books.
Thank you, Dan Gutman, for writing an engaging (to fifth grade me) funny story. I really appreciate it.

[D Curtis · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Get Rich Quick Club by Dan Gutman was an alright book to read if you just want to read a book and get it out of the way. This book was a 5 on the scale of 1 to 10 because this book was an overall okay book, but it just didn't have that IT factor. This book did make you crack up a lot reading it though, since there are a whole bunch of funny moments. This book was about a twelve year girl named Gina and her friends that try come up with a million dollar invention before summer is over. This book is actually pretty funny too because her friends like the Bogle twins always do funny, obnoxious things. I recommend this book to any one who likes a funny and action packed book to read.

[Evelyn Mendoza · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Get Rich Quick Club by Dan Gutman is a great book! I really like how the story goes and how all the characters are different. My personal favorite part is the last chapter. I also like how they figured out the name of there club. They first thought the Gina, Rob, and Quincy club but then it was the GRQ which they then figured out it also meant get rich quick! I didn't really like how Rob acted at the end but it still leads to my favorite part. So, would you be able to make a million dollars over the summer?

[Shelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a few less than awesome larger books, I decided to look through my goodreads "to-read" list. There are many books that I had intended to read with my daughter when she was younger, from some of our favorite authors, but never got to. This was in the list so I thought why not listen to a silly story for kids, Dan Gutman never lets you down. It was lots of fun and I could see a classroom of 2nd or 3rd graders LOVING this book. Lots of opportunities for discussions about what they would do if they were the characters in this story.

[Rhiannon's Reading Corner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pretty great book! It isn't at all what I expected, but that's alright. It's a good size for more reluctant readers, and it will keep anyone engaged whether they are six years old or sixty (my father took it and is reading it right now...). The plot is great and the whole thing is very funny. I was a little annoyed by the unrealistic use of Australian slang by one of the characters, but that's really the only complaint I have. It's one of those books that makes you want to go out and make your own Get Rich Quick Club (or at least something of the sort)!

[Kodyhovey89 · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is about 5 kids who are trying to get rich quick. They do a lot of different things, Ill let you find out what they are. This book inst to interesting and i think some of the characters are annoying and obnoxious. I would not recommend this to a friend unless they like books like this one.

[Johnny G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was read with my 3rd grade son over the course of a week or so at bedtime. He liked it! The Australian friend’s expressions were terrific. The story was plausible, until… there was a delicious plot twist that neither of us saw coming. My kid is a big Dan Gutman fan, and I’m trying to broaden his horizons from the formulaic, lower-level Weird School series. This one fit the bill.

[Tyler Brau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gena Tubman is a girl who loves money she faked a UFO pitcher now she is famous. I give this book a four star it is good. If you like lying,funny and entertainment.the caricatures are rob, Eddie, Quincy, Teddy and of course Gena.

[Jack Tchida · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was good because it reminds me of how I want to be rich one day. Another reason I like this book is how its fiction and I really like fiction books. I loved the charecters and their personalities.

[Maci DAyton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked The Get Quick Rich Club because when they tried so many different ways to get rich quick like when they tried to take a picture of the fake UFO and tried to show a bank person to try to get money from them but he knows that is fake so then they get like 5 or 10 dollars from them but they did not want to take because they kept saying that it real but then they finally took it.

[Meg (reading_meg) · Rating 4 out of 5]

- this was a book I enjoyed as a child and decided to reread! It was really interesting to see how much I remembered!
- this book is pretty ridiculous, but in a way kids would really enjoy.
- I really loved the ending, which I had almost completely forgotten from the first time I read it!

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this book, but still a Dan Gutman fan. My weird school books are much better and fun to read with the kids. There was something missing from this story and the jokes were just not funny.

[Amanda Vasey · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was nice to reread a childhood favorite. But it honestly didn’t have the same wow factor like it used too. Though I do believe beginning chapter book readers would enjoy this book a lot of the adventure the kids have in this book.

[Gracie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was amazing to see the different personalitys! I really liked it!

[Ata Cetinakinci · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a very funny book.

[Kristine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to this with my kids on a road trip. It was a bit predictable, but had some fun moments too. It was a good length for a drive: 2 hours total listening time.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny ending

[Sandeep]

A very nice read!

[Ben Sleeman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read as a read-aloud. My third graders enjoyed it. Funny, short, easy read.

[Renee · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s okay.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gina, Rob, Quincy, Eddie and Teddy try to make millions by faking a UFO. It’s kind of funny, but not very exciting to me. My kid loved it, though.

[RHEA · Rating 5 out of 5]

for a kids book, it was actually nice, i was invested till the end. a fun and quick read