Swindle

This book is the best book I read in 2012, with the non-stop action (toward the end of the book) My only complaint is it started out very slow. My conclusion is don't stop reading if you get bored and my favorite part was the heist (end of book) I REPEAT DO NOT STOP READING!

The Book Swindle by: Gordon Korman. To me this is a great adventure and action book even though some parts include baseball you didn’t need to know anything about baseball other than that the card this kid found when they were in this old mansion was worth more than you it was an original Babe Ruth card the most valuable baseball card in history he is also known as the Great Bambino.

This kid named Griffin and his friends are all dared to go to this old mansion that is known to be haunted Griffin finds this baseball card on the floor and turns his flash light on to see that it was The Legendary Babe Ruth’s card of course when he tells his friends the rumor spreads the Griffin goes to a pawn shop and shows the guy working there named Wendell nicknamed Swindle who tricks him into thinking the card is a fake and the guy says he would give Griffin only 20$ for it Griffin was indeed depressed it wasn’t real (even though it was) and sold it.

The kid a few days later see’s a sign on the pawn shop window saying that their is going to be an auction held in a week saying that the item up for auction is the Babe Ruth baseball car the same one that the kid sold to him. So Griffin fights with the man but the man denies tricking him so Griffin is a man with a plan and gets a group of friends and even 1 or 2 enemies and has to get the card but many things are standing in their way a menacing dog, a high tech security system, a very good hiding place and the fact that none of them are old enough to drive or can drive.

Definition of Swindle: to cheat, steal, trick, deceive, defraud, lie, rob, con, backstab, obtain dishonestly.

I really didn't like this book

Reader reviewed by Elise

I asked my friend for a book that has a fantastic beginning that would immediately pull me into the story, and SWITCH was what she placed in my hand. I was not disappointed. After the first paragraph I was transported to Claire's sunny and stormy beach town, and I was perfectly happy to be there.

SWITCH was a completely original idea and Carol Snow pulled off the believability aspect of it wonderfully. The narration of Claire's character is very easy to relate to. She has a bit of every girl's personality in her. She is a likable protagonist, despite the fact that her inner monologue sometimes seems whiny.

The overall theme of the book, to appreciate yourself for who you are, was excellently delivered throughout the novel. Carol Snow's writing creates the characters and situations in a way that the reader will completely empathize for them.

The ending was somewhat unsatisfactory for me. Claire resolved things to my contentment with some characters, but I think that others needed to know more of the truth. It might have changed the outcome. I find myself hoping that there will be a sequel to this story, because there is so much more I want to learn about the characters and their endings.