I really like how this book was structured. In the opening chapter, we find Ram Mohammed Thomas in jail for cheating on a quiz show. Did he cheat or was he just lucky? How could an orphan from the slums answer every question correctly? Then, the following chapters go through each question and tell us a story of how Ram Mohammed Thomas might know the answer.

What kind of name is Ram Mohammed Thomas anyway? He was actually named that to represent the three main religions of India. I thought it was funny how he used only one of his three names depending on the situation he was in. I enjoyed each story, but there were some horrific ones. Children should not have to go through such horrible acts. There were many differences in the book from the movie, which I also really enjoyed. The sights and sounds of India were just absolutely fantastic. Unfortunately, the slum scenes were also particularly effective.

One of the biggest changes from the book is that in the movie, Salim and Jamal (they changed his name) are brothers instead of just friends. I could see why that might make things easier, but I wasn’t sure how I felt about the character difference in Salim. I do think I prefer the relationship the two boys had in the book rather than the movie, but it didn’t stop my enjoyment of the film at all.

In the book, the quiz show winnings are $1 billion rupees, and in the movie, it’s only 20 million rupees. I’m not sure why they felt the need to change the prize and the title of the quiz show, but whatever. In addition, some of the quiz questions were changed to fit the plot of the movie rather than the book. I did miss the Australian chapter and the story about his lifeline call, but I do realize there was absolutely no way to fit everything into the movie. I enjoyed the movie for ‘the movie experience’ and seeing the sights and sounds of India, but I do think I preferred the plot of the book.