Billion Dollar Girl

by Megan Shull

Overview

"LUMINOUS and FULL OF HEART, this book is a STUNNING GEM."
—Meg Cabot, #1 New York Times best-selling author of the Princess Diaries and Airhead series

From the bestselling author behind Disney’s The Swap comes a profoundly moving novel about one girl’s unforgettable journey to discover that life’s true jackpot might not be what it seems. Full of joy and moxie, Billion Dollar Girl grabs hold and won’t let go.

River Ryland is the girl everyone wants to be around. But this brave 13-year-old has a secret that's getting harder and harder to hide: she lives mostly alone in a ramshackle, single-wide trailer with a mom who drops in and out of her life.

After a visit from Social Services goes horribly wrong, longing for security, River sets off on the run. Soon, a case of mistaken identity gives River a chance to live a life that she had never even dreamed. But, when her newfound safety is shattered, River discovers, against all odds—one in 307 million, to be exact—that life's true jackpot isn't anything that it seems.

A simultaneously heart-wrenching and exhilarating exploration of what we value, suspenseful and wise, Billion Dollar Girl is a deeply-felt reminder that we are inexplicably intertwined; a hopeful story of our times.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593524572
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	09/13/2022
Pages:	416
Sales rank:	643,361
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.40(d)
Lexile:	670L (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

A bighearted voice in kids’ fiction and film, MEGAN SHULL is the bestselling author of many stand-up-and-cheer stories for young readers and teens. Her books have been adapted for film, including Disney’s smash hit, The Swap. Most recently, Paramount won the rights to her novel Bounce. Born and raised in Ithaca, New York, Megan holds a doctoral degree from Cornell University, where her work focused on helping kids build resilience. She lives in her hometown, near a lake carved by glaciers and ringed by hills and a trillion waterfalls.

Follow along @meganshull on Instagram, Twitter, and Goodreads, and visit: heymegan.com.

Read an Excerpt

1
Look, I think we can agree: the chair right outside your principal’s office is not where you want to be sitting the second-to-last day of seventh grade. No.
But here I am.
Waiting.
Worse? I was called here over the loudspeaker, as in: “River Ryland, please report to the main office. River Ryland.”
Yeah. Thanks a lot.
Also, the secretary with the crazy frosted hair—-you know, the lady who sits right at the door when you walk in the main office? She keeps looking at me.
I’m not nervous, okay?
I’m more, just, annoyed. I mean, I was in the middle of grabbing lunch with everyone, planning our end—of—the—year Six Flags Magic Mountain day (tomorrow), talking about shrieking on the Viper (the best ride ever), and now I’m sitting wedged next to the copy machine, head down, staring at my chipped turquoise toenail polish and the dirty gray carpet.
I look up when Ms. Martinez’s door swings open and she pops her head out. “River?” she says, signaling for me to come in. If this was one of those Disney movies and not my very unexciting thirteen—year—old life, Ms. Martinez would have the starring role as Middle School Principal. She is wearing a green sweater with short sleeves and a skirt, and her long, dark hair is twisted up in a bun. She has brownish eyes and those tortoiseshell reading glasses people keep on the very tip of their nose.
Ms. Martinez’s office is windowless and cramped and there’s a slight smell of tuna fish sandwich. It’s kind of stuffy. There’s just something about this room that makes you want to hold your breath. I sit down in the chair farthest away from hers.
Ms. Martinez closes the door, which is never a good sign.
I take a long, hard look at her as she moves behind her big, cluttered desk and sits. She doesn’t scare me. Whatever. I’ve handled much worse.
I don’t settle back into the chair. Basically, I don’t plan on staying in here long. I keep my spine stiff and the bones of my butt balancing on the edge of the seat. There is about one minute of intense silence. I quickly glance at her, then stare at the pile of cream—colored files and papers stacked on her desk.
I don’t fidget.
I keep very still.
Honestly? Half of surviving stupid meetings like this is waiting it out.
Ms. Martinez reaches for a huge black binder, sets it flat in front of her, opens it, and shuffles through some papers—-licking her finger before turning each page—-finally stopping to examine whatever it is she was searching for.
She glances up, lifts an eyebrow, and says, “Do you have any idea why you’re here?” She waits.
I shake my head no.
Ms. Martinez leans back in her swivel chair and takes her glasses off. “River,” she says slowly. “You are a very smart young lady. Very determined. Your aptitude test scores are off the charts. Yet you just barely squeaked by this marking period, and your grades show it. Can you please help me understand why you have missed twenty—two days of the school year with chronic, unexplained absences?” As she speaks, she does not take her eyes off mine. “Well?” she asks, waiting for me to answer.
I say nothing.
Ms. Martinez sighs. “River, every single student at this school matters to me. I don’t stop thinking about your well—being simply because it’s summer vacation. Do you understand that?”
“I guess—-yeah,” I say with a small laugh.
Ms. Martinez looks at me carefully. “Why are you laughing?”
I shrug a little.
“This isn’t funny,” she warns.
I cross my arms. I do not speak. If you are ever going to get out of a situation like this, you have to be ready to keep your mouth shut.
Ms. Martinez watches me.
I stare back.
“River, you need to be honest with me right now. This is serious,” she says, sounding stern. “When you don’t show up for school, that raises a lot of red flags.” She pauses. “Legally, your mom is responsible for getting you here. My sense is—-and I could be wrong—-that there is something going on. Is everything okay at home?”
“Yeah, totally,” I lie.
She puts her glasses back on, picks up a piece of paper, looks at it and then back at me. “I see you’ve moved quite a bit. Is that right?”
“Uh—huh.”
“You are currently living with your mom on Pitts Hill?”
I nod back at her. I shift in my seat.
“And your father?”
I don’t have one is never the answer I give. “Oh, um . . . yeah. He’s like—-he’s living in California,” I blurt out. “He’s a lawyer. I’m staying with him this summer. He has a pool!” A pool. Nice touch, I think as I force the corners of my lips into the tiniest smile. I am an excellent liar. I’ve done it a thousand times. I really know my lines.
Only—-
Ms. Martinez is looking across her desk at me like she doesn’t believe a word I’m saying. Now it’s suddenly very quiet. Besides a faint conversation on the other side of the door, the room is uncomfortably silent.
“River, I’m going to ask you this just once.” Ms. Martinez pauses and locks eyes with mine. “There is an extremely troubling rumor going around that you are living without a reliable adult at home. Is this true?”
“What? No!” I say quickly, and I add a light laugh as if it’s the craziest thing that I’ve ever heard and not totally the truth. “I live with my mom, and she just, like, whatever—-she works a lot.”
She nods. “Okay, so if I go to your house tonight at seven—-because I’m going to do it—-what am I going to see?”
“Nothing.” I shrug, like it’s no big deal. I’m really good at pretending things are normal when they’re not.
Ms. Martinez raises her eyebrows. “Good! That’s a great time for me to swing by then.”
“Wait, no!” I suddenly sit up straight. “I mean, uh, you can’t come by tonight because, um—-my mom, she’s working late,” I say, lying again.
Ms. Martinez does not miss a beat. “Then I’ll give her a call and she can make sure to join us.”
I feel my heart begin to pound.
More silence.
“You look very tired,” Ms. Martinez says, studying my face. “River, I’m going to ask you a question and I want the honest truth.” She waits. “Is your mom taking care of you and—-”
“Everything is fine, Ms. Martinez,” I cut her off. I work to make my voice sound light and convincing and try very hard to look at her like everything is fine. Even though everything isn’t. “Really,” I add, with a big fake smile. “It’s all good.”
“Well, great!” Ms. Martinez says. “Then it should all go smoothly when I stop by. And listen, I’m going to tell you the truth and I know it’s hard to hear it. If I see signs of neglect, I am mandated by law to report it. A social worker from Child and Family Services will be with me when I visit.”
“Wait, what? No, no, no, really, Ms. Martinez, we’re good. We’re fine,” I repeat. “Really. Look, it’s just—-I’m on top of it. I mean, my mom, she—-she works late and, like, we don’t have a lot of money and . . .” My voice trails off.
Ms. Martinez has gotten up and is standing in the now—open doorway to her office. “I’ll see you at seven o’clock—-and I will be there,” she says firmly.
I stand.
I exhale loudly and I’m pretty sure I roll my eyes. I’m not trying to be rude and I’m sorry if it seems that way. I’m just, God. I’m so pissed! With everything going on right now, I have to deal with this? I mean, like—-Why is she doing this to me! I can take care of myself.
I am halfway through the door when Ms. Martinez begins to turn away, but then she stops. “River,” she calls out.
I freeze.
We look at each other.
Ms. Martinez’s eyes brighten. “I want to see you happy and safe,” she tells me.
My throat feels like closing, but I don’t let myself show it. Instead I smile back and say, “I’m fine, Ms. Martinez. Really.”
“Well, you deserve to be cared for, River, and that’s part of my job to make sure you are.” She pauses. “It may not feel like it right now, but”—-her face softens as she looks right into my eyes—-“you can trust me. You don’t have to handle this alone.” Her eyes suddenly go wide, like she has an idea. “You know what?” she tells me. “Hold on one sec.”
I wait by the door while Ms. Martinez hurries back to her desk and returns a second later, handing me a small business card with a phone number written in blue ink below her name.
“That’s my cell. It goes directly to me.”
“Thanks,” I say. “I’m fine, though,” I lie, and shove the card into my pocket.
“River, it’s okay to ask for help,” she says.
I say nothing. I don’t even blink.
“If you’re in trouble—-”
“I’m not. I’m fine,” I repeat, and my throat tightens.
“Okay,” Ms. Martinez says. “Well, listen, if you ever are not fine, please call me, okay?” She pauses and gives me the slightest smile. “I promise. No matter how bad it is, we can figure things out together.”

Editorial Reviews

10/03/2022

Thirteen-year-old River Ryland’s life “has pretty much been chaos from day one”; her mother Sunny works late as a waitress and goes out on the weekends, and their trailer often lacks basic necessities. After a friend distances herself from River (“You always need rides. You never have any money”), the teen finds an eviction notice on the trailer’s front door, and a visit from the assistant principal results in the authorities being called. Taking matters into her own hands, River runs away, heading north from her Seattle-area home to Great Bear, a remote island in the fjords, where the maternal aunt she’s never met runs a lodge with few amenities. Posing as a 16-year-old summer worker, River gets to know her Norwegian and Tsimshian family’s history, and develops a deep connection to the spectacular nature around her. After her mother shows up to take her home, a sudden reversal of fortune offers River the chance to decide whom she is and where she belongs. Through River’s candid voice, Shull (Bounce) intersperses sometimes unbelievable plot twists with languorous descriptions of the natural world, organically exploring themes of environmentalism and human connection. Ages 10–14. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"LUMINOUS and FULL OF HEART, this book is a STUNNING GEM. I loved it. We need more entertaining, uplifting books like this!" —Meg Cabot, #1 New York Times best-selling author of the Princess Diaries and Airhead series

"A BRILLIANT NORTH STAR about the power of belonging—Billion Dollar Girl is purely IRRESISTIBLE. It is impossible to capture how much I loved it. I swam in the joy of this book!"
—Dr. Tina Payne Bryson, New York Times best-selling author of The Whole-Brain Child and No-Drama Discipline

"Billion Dollar HEART! A tale of wonder, courage, and the healing gifts of connection and nature. This book is a gorgeous, whip-smart balm for the soul." —Josann McGibbon, co-creator of Disney's Descendants trilogy
 
"ENCHANTING. SOULFUL. MAGICAL. There is an innocence permeating the pages of River’s journey that brought me to tears." —Kiana Madeira, star of Netflix’s Fear Street and Trinkets
 
"A LUSH and COURAGEOUS journey into the heart of what matters most. River Ryland is a heroine to cheer for!" —Alex Pritz, director of The Territory, National Geographic Documentary Films

"RARE and MESMERIZING. Hand this beautiful book to someone you love and BREATHE IN BRAVE with River Ryland." —Maureen Sherry, best-selling author of Opening Belle and Walls Within Walls
 
"A TIMELY, PROFOUND and INSPIRING story that breathes life into so many yearnings our hearts seek to know." —Emilee Gilpin, award-winning journalist, First Nations Forward

From the Publisher

2022-07-13
River’s bad day leads to a life-changing summer and brighter future.

Near the end of seventh grade, River has a terrible day. Her best friend, Emi, dumps her because of their socio-economic differences: Sunny, River’s single mom, is a bar waitress who often works nights, and River can’t afford to pay her way when she’s with Emi’s wealthy family. Then Principal Martinez, worried about River’s frequent absences, makes a home visit—but unreliable Sunny is a no-show. Fed up, River runs away. Although Sunny never discusses her family, she’s kept a letter sent from Great Bear Island, so River heads there. By unbelievable chance, when she arrives, she’s mistaken for Liv, a high school student who had accepted, then rejected, a job at the Great Bear Lodge run by Sunny’s sister, Jemma. To give herself time to assess her newfound family, River assumes Liv’s identity, saying she changed her mind about working there. No sooner has River come to love her relatives, their Norwegian and Tsimshian heritage, and the island, than Sunny shows up to drag her home. All seems lost until a lottery ticket given to River by a stranger wins! Descriptions of island life are captivating, and likable River narrates with spirit and honesty. Wishful thinkers will buy into her story despite the many times they must suspend disbelief, including the unconvincing change in Sunny after the windfall. Names cue some diversity in the cast.

Implausible but dreamy. (Fiction. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews