Review Detail

Reader reviewed by LJK

Vince Luca has a pretty good life. His best friends are loyal, his family is involved and caring, and he does fine in school. The only drawback would appear to be in non-existent love life. Oh, and then there is the Family. Vince's father, Anthony Luca, is the vending machine business; actually, he the head of it, and even though he swears to keep his Life from interfering with Vince's, it just never quite works out that way. Vince's brother borrows Vince's car, and leaves an unconscious Jimmy Rat in the trunk. Vince is forced to quit the football team when opposing players are too scared to tackle him. And when Vince finally finds a girl that he likes. . . well, it turns out that her father works for the FBI and is, in fact, the very agent who is listening in at Vincent's house.

Son of the Mob is a breezy look at how life would be for AJ Soprano if he had a conscience and trouble with girls. Vince's troubles, however, run a little shallow, and his sudden interest in protecting Jimmy Rat's fingers doesn't quite ring true. Vince's great romance with Kendra, FBI Princess, also appears to be more a case of teenagers in lust than any true connection. Vince spends so much time lying to her that you wonder how well they really know each other.

Although I felt that this book overreached when Vince got sucked into his father's business, the idea of a teenager conflicted about his parent's line of work is an interesting one, and Vince displays an honesty about his love for his family that is refreshing in a time when adolescents usually pretend not to know there parents. Korman is a talented writer, and the story of Vince Luca has potential if he can just stay away from vending machines.