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Middle Grade Sidekick Super Review: No Purchase Necessary by Maria Marianayagum
- Oct 10
- 7 min read
Updated: Oct 23
The Basics
Page Length: 256
Audiobook Length: ~5.5 hours
Grade Level: 3+
Goodreads Score: 3.98 out of 5
Buy it HERE
Setting: A contemporary, mostly white suburban community
Genre: Middle Grade, Coming of Age, Realistic Fiction
Topics: Middle School, Bullies, Immigrant experience, Lying, Moral dilemma, Friendship, Parental Expectations
Plot: Ajay Anthonipillai is struggling to make friends at his new school. His family has moved around a lot since his parents immigrated from Sri Lanka. They have very high expectations of him—he must earn top grades, finish his homework right after school, and is only allowed one hour of TV a day. Ajay is worried about two things: fitting in and becoming 8th grade Student of the Year.
Both have been difficult lately. His poetry analysis unit at school has him stressed, and Jacob and his goons have been icing him out. At lunch, he often sits alone or goes hungry after his “friends” make him throw away the fragrant Sri Lankan food his mom lovingly prepares for him. Desperate to belong, Ajay is convinced by Jacob to go across the street to the convenience store and steal a candy bar for him. Succumbing to peer pressure, he takes a bar but immediately regrets it and wishes he could undo what he’s done. Frustrated, he tears into the bar and finds something unexpected—he has won the Mercury Bar sweepstakes. By accident, he’s stolen the bar that contains the grand prize. One. Million. Dollars.
The rest of the story follows Ajay’s journey as he wrestles with what to do next. What begins as one small lie soon spirals into a tangled web he can’t escape. Ajay must confront his parents, his faith, and his own moral compass as he decides whether to keep the million dollars to help his immigrant family or tell the truth. Will the friends he makes along the way stand by him when the truth comes out? Will he ever be able to tell his parents what he’s done—and share his dreams for the future? And most importantly, will he end up with the million dollars?
Themes: Identity and belonging, immigrant experience, family obligation and expectations, what is fair vs. what is honest, morality and ethics, social peer pressure vs. acceptance, forgiveness and redemption.
You might like this book if you like:
Debate club--this book is filled with moral debate questions!
Marital arts-Ajay's solace is karate. It's often where he thinks through his moral dilemmas
Movies like Turning Red, Wonder, and Are You There God, It's Me, Margaret.
TV shows like The Healing Powers of Dude, Andi Mack, The Wonder Years (2021 reboot).
Books like some of the movies listed above PLUS Front Desk, New Kid, and Red, White, and Whole.
Other books written by this author: This is a debut middle-grade novel for this author, but she has written a few children's books, and baby books. Check those out here.
Teaching No Purchase Necessary As a Full-Class Unit
Content
Language: none
Sex: none
Violence/Scariness: two boys get into a fist fight
Drinking/Smoking/Drugs: none
Class Novel-ability: I think this would be a great choice for a full-class novel study. It’s incredibly relatable for middle school students, with a strong premise and meaningful themes that are important for kids to explore. The book is age-appropriate and free of any major content triggers, making it a safe and engaging option for classroom use. One note for educators: the story does include references to Christianity. Ajay and his family are Catholic—they attend church together a few times, and Ajay even goes to confession. While these moments are handled thoughtfully and serve to deepen Ajay’s character, it's something to be aware of, especially in schools with guidelines around teaching books that include religious themes.
The Star Qualities
I really appreciated the representation of the immigrant experience in this story. I loved getting an inside look at the Anthonipillai family and their culture. Reading about their experience in America was eye-opening. Ajay’s descriptions of his parents and their struggles were especially moving—they work incredibly hard, expect a lot, and give everything they have to their children. They often go without so their kids can have the world. The balance between Ajay’s immigrant parents’ expectations and his own American middle school experience creates a compelling and constant tightrope he has to walk. It’s this tension that makes his journey so relatable and powerful.
One of my favorite parts of the book is the list of Anthonipillai family rules on the last page. Throughout the novel, Ajay shares some of these family rules, and by the end, you get to see the full list—complete with new addendums. It perfectly captures the blend of his parents’ traditional expectations and the kids’ desire to fit into their new American identity.
The back of the book also includes a fantastic set of discussion questions. They’re well-suited for middle-grade readers and would be incredibly useful for classroom conversations. These questions really help bring out the deeper themes in the book and make it a great choice for teaching.
Book Talk Read Aloud Section
If you have the physical book, read pages 1-4.
If you don't, read pages1-4 in the Kindle reading sample here.
"Reading Like a Writer" Mentor Texts
This passage is jam-packed with stylistic moves for students to analyze and imitate. It uses inner monologue to reveal the narrator’s emotional state, and fragmented sentences and paragraph breaks to emphasize his breathing and pounding heart. The sensory detail — like the heart pounding and bashing — creates a vivid, physical sense of anxiety. All of this builds to a dramatically heightened portrayal of inner conflict, making it a rich example of how to show, not tell, a character’s emotional struggle.
This passage is an excellent example of tone and tension. It uses figurative language, short one-word sentences, paragraph breaks, and repetition--all emphasizing the discomfort of the scene. You can literally feel the awkward silence and uneasiness of the characters. I think students would have a lot of fun and produce hilarious results when they try to imitate this style.
This passage has a lot of cool stylistic moves too. It uses short, emotional, declarative sentences, repetition, and parallel structure with paragraph breaks to build momentum and reinforce the narrator’s growth. Together, these techniques emphasize the narrator’s strength and hope moving forward.
Sentences for Combining and Imitation
Sentence sets for combining:
"I walked in our building, feeling hot and cold at the same time--my neck burning and my hands icy." (No Purchase Necessary, p. 205)
I walked in our building.
I was feeling hot.
I was feeling cold at the same time.
My neck was burning.
My hands were icy.
"All through last-period science, I bounced in my seat, fidgeting with my pencil, my pen, my highlighter, my notebook." (p. 54)
Science was my last period.
All through last period, I bounced in my seat.
I was fidgeting with my pencil.
I was fidgeting with my pen.
I was fidgeting with my highlighter.
I was fidgeting with my notebook.
"Something caught my eye behind the front counter, mounted in the opposite corner of the camera, hidden away: a screen." (p. 56)
Something caught my eye.
It was behind the front counter.
It was mounted in the opposite corner of the camera.
It was hidden away.
It was a screen.
"I took a deep, meditative breath, the type that calmed my mind and body before sparring, and pushed the jingly door into Scary Al's convenience." (p. 102)
I took a breath.
It was a deep, meditative breath.
It was the type that calmed my mind and body before sparring.
Then I pushed the door into Scary Al's convenience.
The door was jingly.
"I jumped up and down, reaching my arm as far as possible, but I wasn't tall enough." (p.137)
I jumped up and down.
I was reaching my arm up.
I was reaching as far as possible
But, I wasn't tall enough.
"I turned around to leave, feeling good about my plan, but then I bumped into something hard, and it dropped me back into reality." (p. 41)
I turned around to leave.
I was feeling good about my plan.
Then I bumped into something hard.
It dropped me back into reality.
Sentences for Imitation:
"And I'm not sure if it was because I was upset about Mindy, or mad about how I couldn't redeem the prize, or frustrated that this was my luck in the first place, or if I was just finally fed up with the way Jacob treated me, but I punched him." (p.138)
I like this sentence for its rhythm. It flows really well and grows gradually more intense, perfectly reflecting the narrator’s mental spiral. And it ends with a punch — literally. The sentence builds to both an emotional and physical breaking point. I think students would enjoy this sentence and have fun trying to imitate its style.
"The streets were scattered with the people of Bridge Creek--a mom with a stroller, an elderly couple holding hands, a high schooler listening to music, all going about their day, not a care in the world." (p. 205)
This is a great example of descriptive imagery. It's simple, it's clear — a perfect snapshot of the scene. It uses an em dash stylistically and includes a strong example of listing with commas. It's a solid, basic descriptive sentence that will help your students learn how to set a scene.
"But I was done running, done running from the truth, done running from the fear that they'd never forgive me." (p. 205)
I like this one for two main reasons. First, it starts with the word but — a so-called forbidden move in academic writing, yet one that’s used ALL the time in creative writing to signal a shift in tone or thought. Second, I really like the repetition. It creates emphasis and rhythm, highlighting the narrator’s emotional resolve to change his situation.
Used this book in your classroom? Tell us how in the comments!
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