Though Paula Danziger is no longer with us, her good friends Bruce Coville and Elizabeth Levy have brought her, Amber Brown, character back to life in this new book in the Amber Brown series.

“I, Amber Brown, have to spend a million dollars.” So begins this tale of a school project in Chapter One. “We have to include: 1. Buy a house, 2. Pay for college, 3. Give to charity, 4. Spend the rest in $25,000 chunks”.  Chapters 2-17 are about Amber’s relationship with her father and soon to be remarried mother. Money issues arise as the wedding is planned, but they work themselves out.  Amber’s best friend, Justin, will be coming back to town from Alabama, for the wedding. And Amber makes a new unexpected friend of a follow classmate through the wedding planning.

“Sometimes happy and sad comes so close together in my life that I can’t keep track of how I’m feeling.” (page 87)

Nine year old Amber does not like to hear her divorced parents talk negatively about the other parent and tells them so, several times.

There is a happy ending!