Swindle
by Gordon Korman
Scholastic Press, New York, 2008. 252 pages.
My homeschoolers’ book club chose to read Swindle because they like Gordon Korman books. This book is fun reading with some serious underlying issues.
When Griffin Bing finds an old baseball card in a house about to be torn down, he naturally brings it to the local shop for collectibles, run by S. Wendell Palomino. Palomino tells him it’s a fake and pays him $120, but soon after Griffin sees him on TV talking about the million dollar card he found in an estate sale — and it’s the card Griffin sold him.
It’s doesn’t seem right that S. Wendell should be able to swindle a kid and get away with it. Meanwhile, his parents have sunk all their money in Griffin’s Dad’s invention, and they are going to have to move. Griffin comes up with a daring but complicated plan involving a team of friends to steal the card back.
Stories of a daring heist are always fun. This one happens to involve a group of kids, stealing back something they believe is rightfully theirs. Again, Gordon Korman delivers a funny, absorbing story that will draw in both boys and girls.
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