You Are a Millionaire

Choose Your Own Adventure #98

by Jay Leibold, Ron Wing (Illustrator)

The reader is looking for a baseball behind some bushes and finds a satchel filled with more than a million dollars. Should the reader share it with friends or keep it all? The outcome of the story depends upon the choices the reader makes--providing a number of interesting endings.

Genres: Choose Your Own Adventure, Childrens, Gamebooks, Fiction, Adventure

118 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Pseudonym used by Jay Montavon. Author of fifteen books in the original Choose Your Own Adventure series, including the five-book "Secret of the Ninja" saga.

Reviews

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

How could you not love choose your own adventure books? I read a ton a s a kid

[Brian Umholtz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty good. I thoroughly enjoyed the premise and it was executed very well. Everything seemed plausible as I imagined myself being a small child finding so much money. The story was written well and had endings that covered just about every outcome I could think of. I found most of them organically and didn't really think to do any backtracking. It was a lot of fun to just follow through without worrying about keeping my place before big decisions. That's right-for one of the few times I can think of, I actually enjoyed re-reading the setup of a CYOA book.

Reading this flew by because I really had to think critically about balancing my greed with my sense of justice. However, there were many more things to consider than just keeping the money or turning it in.. no real spoiler; you find a million dollars abandoned in a ragged smattering of trees and brush. I felt like my experience as an older person helped me make more sense of what was going to happen sometimes, but there was just enough literary license to make some threads less predictable. It was a good story while still being based in a grounded reality. Mr. Leibold did a commendable job of this.

The artwork was great and really conveyed the importance of the scenes they were meant to highlight. I felt a great sense of urgency when, thinking as a child, I was in uncomfortable and dangerous situations that had wonderful illustrations to help my imagination along. I'm glad I picked up a larger-print edition from the library so I was able to see more detail as I read.

Overall, this was one of my favorites. I have to read them so far out of order because my library doesn't have that many of them left after all these years. There are many that I remember reading as a child that had lower numbered editions before this one (one in particular that really stuck out- because it taught me about 'the bends' & underwater salvage- wasn't in the system), but I can safely say this is definitely a CYOA book not to miss. Enjoy!

[Layla · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the book you are a millionaire you get to choose your own path threw things. Mine was where I went and first looking for a ball me and Bruce were throwing I found a satchel. I opened it up and there was a million dollars in it. Then me and Bruce flew to Egypt to see the Egypt pyramids. When we were in a certain room a man came chasing after us. He kept on saying you’ve got my money. We ran and went into a pyramid that had bars on it. He couldn’t fit by. We saw a lot of mummies and then we walked into a room and an agent department was in there they put us in jail. At last, they sent us home back on the airplane again. We never found out what happened to the satchel with the money in it but we were sure glad to be home!!!

You’ll enjoy this book a lot!!

[Dale Wicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books. It's well written, with a lot of variety in the stories. You could be running from terrorists across Egypt or you could stay near home and visit a friend at camp. Your choices have impact, and though some paths converge, it feels natural when they do. You never get a sense that the book is attempting to shepherd you into a narrow path, and that spirit of exploration within fiction is what the series is all about.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful series. Ignited my interest in adding the board game to library lessons at some point.

[Erythor Silvertip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly thoughtful.

[Ryan Lum · Rating 3 out of 5]

What an exciting book because the reader got to choose the story line on the book. The story is based on you and is suppose to be the perspective of you as you go through the story. So it starts with you and your friend bruce playing baseball but then because Bruce decides to be mean and throws the ball over your head. You go search for the ball then you find a brief case full of money. You decide to keep the money for yourself so you start a fight with Bruce so he will leave pissed off. When you go home with the money, you count it and the you realize that the case has a couple thousand dollars. The next day you decide to do something with it. This is where it gets interesting because now you can decide the adventure. You can bring it to the bank but then the Police wll come and then arrest you. Or you can visit your friend at camp and pay the cab driver a thousand dollars to do so. The only problenm is yhat the counselor will then take your money and you can't get it back. Or you can go on a trip and then go to Egypt with your friends. The adventure is endless and its basically up to the reader.

[Josiah · Rating 2 out of 5]

You Are a Millionaire is different from much of Jay Leibold's Choose Your Own Adventure material, but it's sort of the ultimate gamebook concept. The series wouldn't be complete without this book.

Though historical fiction is more the author's forte, he does well with this story, introducing elements of mystery and adventure while fulfilling the fantasy most kids have to become suddenly wealthy. You Are a Millionaire believably (for the most part) caters to this common dream.

[Miles Rausch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though I'm certain this book wouldn't hold up, it was a favorite of mine as a child. I had a deep fascination with the Choose Your Own Adventure series, and it's no wonder that I ended up doing that sort of thing for life. This one stood out as one of my favorites. I can't remember a single plot line; just that I loved it dearly.

[angrykitty · Rating 5 out of 5]

if only i really did find a bag with a million dollars.....but the choices it makes you make....damn you choose your own adventure!

[for-much-deliberation ... · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another 'Choose your own adventure' lets see what happens when you suddenly become filthy rich!

[Tim Chizmar · Rating 5 out of 5]

To cool

[Chloe · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really hated these books as a kid. Boring and condescending.