The Get Rich Quick Club

Gutman, Dan. 2004. The Get Rich Quick Club. Read by Angela Goethals. Harper Children's Audio.

The Get Rich Quick Club, or GRQ as its members call it, is formed for the purpose of making a million dollars over the summer vacation. Friends Gina, Rob, and Quincy, with tag-alongs Eddie and Teddie make up the roster of the GRQ. (Eddie and Teddie, being only 8 years old, are assigned the role of company drones) The story of their hair-brained plan to sell a faked UFO photo is told in the first person by Gina, read by Angela Goethals. Goethals is the voice of all the characters and does a great job in making each one distinct. Quincy, from Australia, has a great Aussie accent, although the incessant explanation of Aussie terms becomes annoying, particularly when the context makes them unnecessary. In the print version, the Aussie terms are footnoted. In the audio version, each is added to the dialogue,

'"Oh choof off, Rob." Quincy smirked. "You're a fruitcake." or "Oh, get out of here, Rob. You're crazy."'

The children carry out their plan with amusing results and a surprise ending.

The overall message of this book is honesty; but the constant wise-cracking, clueless parenting, and Gina's "helpful" advice, (always assume that your parent's first offer is negotiable, always claim "I forgot" if you're caught in a lie, always get someone older than 10 to lie for you, etc.) makes the message hard to find until it's dropped in the reader's lap in the last chapter or two.

Kids should like it. It's short (only about 2 hours on audio) and funny, but not high on my recommended list.