The Million Dollar Shot (book)

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The Million Dollar Shot is a children's story written by Dan Gutman. It is held by over 1100 US and Canadian libraries, according to worldCat.

[edit] Plot

Finkle Foods, a snack company, is holding a contest, with the grand prize being a trip to New York City to take a foul shot at the first NBA final game that, if made, would give the winner a million dollars. No one needed (or deserved) this money as much as Eddie Ball, a boy who lives in a trailer park in Jackson, Louisiana with his widowed mother, Becky Ball. Becky had recently been fired from Finkle Foods, and Eddie was determined to run George Finkle, the founder, out of business. He entered the contest by writing a rap poem, which was upon hearing it, turned down by his friend and neighbor Annie "Oakley" Stokely. Annie wrote another poem, which went:

'How could the pilgrims e'er be contented,

'When savory Finkles had not been invented?'

Annie's poem won the contest, though Eddie took credit for it. With the help of Annie's father, Bobby Stokely, Eddie trained long and hard to make the million dollar shot in June.

Not everyone was in Eddie's favor, however. George Finkle himself tried to bribe Eddie to miss the shot, offering him his mother's job back and all the Finkles he could eat, but Eddie declined. He knew Finkle had been spying on him while practising and thus knew how good he was at shooting.

Eddie arrived in New York City for the game and, under monumental pressure, made the shot and received the million dollars. As it turned out, Finkles caused cancer and Finkle Foods was shut down by the FDA. Eddie bought the company with his prize money and, with the help of his mother and the Stokelys, created The Air Ball Company, with the main product being the Air Ball Crunchy, a snack of his mother's invention originally shot down by Finkle Foods.

[edit] Characters

Character	Description
Eddie Ball	A boy from Louisiana who enters a contest to win a million dollars. His father died a year or two ago and his mother was recently laid off from her job at Finkle Foods. He's 'a good shot', but he's easily distracted when taking it, a problem which proved difficult to overcome.
Annie "Oakley" Stokely	Eddie's neighbor who wrote the poem that won the million dollar contest. She is an excellent basketball player and aids Eddie as he trains for the million dollar shot.
Becky Ball	A widow who was recently fired from Finkle Foods. Her son, Eddie, entered a contest to win a million dollars. It is suggested that she and Bobby Stokely have a relationship.
Bobby Stokely	A widower who was, like Becky Ball, fired from Finkle Foods. He could have played for the Lakers, but, as he said, 'blew his shot'. He acted as a coach to Eddie and instructed him how to block out outside distractions when shooting. It is suggested that he has a relationship with Becky Ball. He has one daughter, Annie.
George Finkle	The founder and owner of Finkle Foods. He started the million dollar contest tried to thwart Eddie in his attempt to win it, going as far as bribing him with his mother's job. He is described by Bobby Stokely as 'evil' and it is mentioned that he is a fat man who looks a bit like a Finkle. He has a wife and son.