Swindle (Swindle #1) (1)

Gordon Korman has been around for what? 30 years at least and the guy still knows how to write. SWINDLE comes across like an OCEAN'S ELEVEN or MISSION IMPOSSIBLE for kids. Griffin Bing is "The Man with a Plan," and his plans are often huge. The book starts off with Griffin's plan to spend a night with a bunch of his classmates in a creaky, old, rumored-to-be-haunted, ready-to-be-torn-down house, a plan that doesn't exactly come off with a bang. At least not the one he intended. The only person to show up is Ben Slovak, the runt of the sixth grade and Griffin's best friend. The first part of the book is intended to draw in youthful readers with gory tales and details of gruesome events that allegedly took place in the house. It works. I've read a few negative comments that the author endorses lying to one's parents and like sentiments. Korman doesn't endorse such behavior; he uses it to create characters. The book is not intended to be hagiography. Find me a child who's never lied to his/her parents. Find me a parent who's never lied to her/his child. Santa Claus, anyone? Anyway, without giving much of the plot away, Griffin finds something quite valuable in the house, but is quickly swindled out of it by a slimy "antiquities" dealer. So Griffin has to concoct another scheme to get his treasure back. Kudos to Korman for his pacing. With a hundred pages to go, the master plan is already being implemented. "How's he going to stretch this thing out that far?" I wondered. But he does, with surprises, twists, screwups, and backstabbings that pop up at breakneck speed throughout the long, climactic event. Of course, much of the overall premise is ludicrous, if you're going to get technical. Everything is timed to the second; missteps can be corrected within two pages, a bad guy's hands are within inches of a treasure right as the good guys steal it away with a Batman or James Bond like device. Real life isn't like this. But this is not written as a realistic crime thriller. It's written for kids and the main thing that will attract them is the fast-paced action in which kids outwit adults. Any of your typical bank heist movies could use whizzes like these. And in the end, good triumphs over evil, Griffin saves the day (though inadvertently), and kids have devoured an entertaining read. I did have some problems keeping all the characters apart at times, but Korman helps by assigning one or two distinctive traits/talents to each character, kind of like a baseball scorecard might assign positions to players. One girl is the climbing expert, another is an "animal whisperer," another has narcolepsy, etc. I also commend him for salting the early part of the story with details that will become important later on. So SWINDLE may not be chock full of vitamins for kids, but it is a very enjoyable bowl of popcorn, perfectly seasoned. If I had this book in sixth grade, I would have loved it.

Very engaging and kept the attention of my students. Gordon Korman books are very relevant to kids today. I highly recommend this book.

All of my children enjoy Gordon Korman's books and I'm told this one is great one to start with. Have also purchased this as a gift for my nephew.

I love this book for kids to read. I love this book for me to read! This book conjures up memories of the old "Hardy Boys" series where relationships and friendships were an important part of growing up. In an age where kids today interact more through social media then face-to-face contact, this book brings you back to the basics of friendship and family. The loyalty that Ben Slovak has for his friend and main character Griffin Bing, aka "The man with the Plan", is admirable. The plan that Griffin puts together to right the wrong that was done to him by an adult store owner is ingenious. Of course, keep in mind that this is a fiction/adventure story and you must take the leap of faith and enjoy the ride. Griffins understanding that, in order to carry out his rather elaborate plan, it would require a very special team. From his school acquaintances, he recruits the proper people for the jobs at hand; a "dog whisperer", a rock claiming expert and I especially liked the way he includes a high-tech, loner nerd girl. Her involvement was the first time she was ever a part of a team and this established a level of confidence and acceptance that she had never experienced before. Please remember that this is a fiction/adventure story and I do not advocate kids planning and carrying out major heists. But this book teaches the value of friendship, planning, team work and follow through of a plan as a valuable life lesson. Besides that, it was fun to read.

This book is part of a series written by Gordon Korman who writes many children's books for kids of many different ages. I recommend these for late elementary or early middle school. My fifth grader loved this series, and is now reading the fourth one which came out recently in hard cover. It is not written in babyish language nor is it written in that annoying tone that some writers seem to use for what they believe is preteen talk or teen talk. As in snappish, disrespectful etc. I am not saying there are no inappropriate words in the entire series, it is just one of the better group of books out there.

I did a book club for 5th graders with this book over the summer, and they loved the story! They rated it afterwards anywhere from an 8-10. Great for boys or girls.

Great book

I read this aloud to my boys. They both loved the story and really got into the book. It was a fun book to read together. We love Gordon Korman books!!

Fun easy read for 10 yo - he really liked this book and worked well for a book report.

I think this is a great author for adults as well as children. Go for it and buy all his books.

so I'm like over 50 and found this book such a great tool for stress relief and just a great belly laugh. Many belly laughs. I was enthralled with the pictures in my head of the actions of these 6 children, their pets and the obstacles they faced. I highly recommend this book to young children and adults. lots of good morals that all people of all ages should learn! It's better than Friday night movie night - so unplug those devices and read this series of books by Gordon Korman. Incredible. Super funny. Great story. May Gordon Korman think of many more adventures for the man with a plan!

I think a 1 star because it is so boring and I couldn't focus because of how it was written.

My 12 year old son loved this book. He has asked me to purchase the other Gordon Korman books which I have done.