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Swindle

(Swindle #1)

Gordon Korman

3.94 · Rating details · 15,822 ratings · 1,248 reviews

Ocean's 11 . . . with 11-year-olds, in a super stand-alone heist caper from Gordon Korman!

After a mean collector named Swindle cons him out of his most valuable baseball card, Griffin Bing must put together a band of misfits to break into Swindle's compound and recapture the card. There are many things standing in their way -- a menacing guard dog, a high-tech security sys ...more

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Kindle Edition, 268 pages

Published January 1st 2012 by Scholastic, Inc. (first published March 1st 2008)

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3.94 ·

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· 15,822 ratings · 1,248 reviews

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Dec 30, 2008 Jackie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommended to Jackie by: Tyler A. and Maggie S.

Shelves: adventure, children-fiction, good-vs-evil, baseball, 5012, bluestem-2012

When Griffin Bing surprisingly finds an old Babe Ruth baseball card in the about-to-be demolished Rockford Mansion, his first instinct is to determine its worth. That brings him to Palomino's Emphorium of Collectibles and Memorabilia. After Griffin and his friend, Ben make a deal for the card and sell it to S. Wendell (sounds deceptively like swindle, eh?) Palomino for a cool $120, they are disappointed it wasn't worth more.

That's when the reality of the situation sets in and Griffin and Ben fi ...more

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May 02, 2008 ♥ Indu rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Swindle is a really good book. I really like Griffin because he's "the man with the plan."

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May 14, 2016 Paul rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

A very great book! This book has a lot of author's craft that makes you want to keep reading it! This book is a little bit about crime. A gang of kids try to break in to a person ripped them off (Swindle)'s house. Griffin must be a risk taker. He's the one who took a risk of breaking into a person's house!

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Nov 08, 2017 Libby May rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Beside the haunted house tale in the beginning, this book was pretty cool. Haunted houses an other such things are something I'm personally really strict about in my reading, so it may not really influence your idea of the book.

The story was really fun! It played on my nerves, which is just because this is not my normal genre. (view spoiler) Beside the haunted house tale in the beginning, this book was pretty cool. Haunted houses an other such things are something I'm personally really strict about in my reading, so it may not really influence your idea of the book.

The story was really fun! It played on my nerves, which is just because this is not my normal genre. (view spoiler)

I really enjoyed this story over all, but there were a couple of things that I didn't love. If I was the author I would have made Ben to be the main character all the way through. It's actually written to be a third person from Griffin's POV. Griffin is a sensitive bossy dude, which sort of throws me off. I guess it's a fresh way to write a book, because there are not very many other books where you aren't supposed to love the main character. But I think there is a reason for that. After all, the main character is there to portray the story to you, you should like him. Maybe you do, but for me he was too much of a sissy, too sensitive to be the ring leader. Like a spoiled little kid who throws fits when things don't go his way, "You're not my friend anymore!"

Beside that. The story was really fast moving, almost so fast that I got hung behind. It was stressful, because there were so many components, and no hints for the readers themselves to be able to find out. Not like interactive. No hints. No relief. You have to sit back and watch Griffin do everything, because you have no way of knowing what's gonna happen or how to solve it. (view spoiler)

That's pretty much it. I would recommend reading this book. I'm excited to get into the next couple books. Thanks to a friend who recommended the series. :) ...more

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Dec 27, 2012 Hannah rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: childhood-pleasures

Oh, Gordon Korman... where have the halcyon days gone when you wrote hilarious books with quirky characters, genuinely novel and unlikely yet somehow believable situations, and witty dialogue? Have you lost your inspiration? Did you get involved with the Mafia for real, and now are duty/honor bound to pay off some ridiculous sum, forcing you to shove as many books out of your pen/computer as humanly possible? Did you, in fact, die, and are this very instant not only rolling but rotating in your ...more

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May 01, 2014 Jeremy Shrewsbury rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

My Book Review
Book title and author: Swindle by Gordon Korman
Title of review: Reviewing Swindle
Number of stars (1 to 5): 5

Introduction
The book I am going to be reviewing is Swindle it is written by Gordon Korman. This story is awesome they start off in a house where they was going to stay to prove that they should get a skate park. Well they do and one of the kids find a card they is like a miss print
Description and summary of content
Then they go to a store to see if it is worth anything which ...more

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Dec 29, 2018 Sha rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: humour, male-mc, middle-grade, no-romance, realistic-fiction

The first in Korman's Swindle series stars Griffin "Man with the Plan" Bing and ensemble cast of unlikely heroes. When Griffin is swindled out of a million dollar baseball card by shady antique shop owner S. Wendell Palomino, he plans out a heist that will either save his parents' home ... or land him in all kinds of trouble.

This book is all kinds of humour and action/adventure rolled up in one. Griffin is a young boy who loves to create plans that get adults to listen to what kids want. (ex: a ...more

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Jul 17, 2017 Kristine Hansen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kids-humor, kids-adventure

There's a certain tone you get with any Gordon Korman book (or at least this theory holds true in every one I've read so far) that is the voice of pained reason. The sidekick telling the story for the most part of a kid who's a schemer, a plotter, a planner. The Zack Morris (sorry if I'm dating myself) of the middle school crowd. The Man With a Plan.

This particular mastermind is after a Babe Ruth card - one that's been stolen from him, that he has no problem with stealing back. Regardless of how ...more

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Nov 09, 2016 Yahir Estrada rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I think think this book was amazing. It had a lot of descriptive areas and it also had various types of conflicts. The best thing about this book in my mind is that it had real facts about the Babe Ruth card and the Honus Wager one. This book is amazing.

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Sep 12, 2016 Conor rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This book is a very quick read and it is also pretty funny. I read 70 pages in less then an hour that is how good it is! I think you guys should read it.

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Feb 17, 2009 Claire rated it liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: 4th grade and up- mystery, kids detectives outsmart the grownups

Recommended to Claire by: Roz, she says kids are loving this title

Shelves: 9-to-11-year-old-readers, 10-to-12-year-old-readers, a-7th-and-8th-grade-middle-school-t

Yeah, a book for the 9 year old and up. A classic heist, I can easily see it as a movie, the smart kids in the class band together to teach a cheating collectibles dealer a well deserved lesson.

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Aug 26, 2018 Chan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
The book I am going to write a summary about is “Swindle”. The author is Gordon Korman. I think the genre of the book is mystery and action because the 2 dogs had a fight during the heist. The problem took place in Palomino’s Emporium. It took place in Cedervill, New york. Time is unknown
Meet Griffin Bing and Ben Slovak. The two 6 grade boys. Griffin is a stubborn boy that never changes his mind. Even an earthquake would not change his mind. But on the other side stood Ben. He is always nervous
The book I am going to write a summary about is “Swindle”. The author is Gordon Korman. I think the genre of the book is mystery and action because the 2 dogs had a fight during the heist. The problem took place in Palomino’s Emporium. It took place in Cedervill, New york. Time is unknown
Meet Griffin Bing and Ben Slovak. The two 6 grade boys. Griffin is a stubborn boy that never changes his mind. Even an earthquake would not change his mind. But on the other side stood Ben. He is always nervous and worried about getting into trouble. But when they stick together, nothing is impossible. These brave best friends have friends made a team with talented with young adults named Antonia “ Pitch” Benson, Savannah Drysdale the animal whisperer, Logan Kellerman the actor, Melissa Dukakis the technician and last but not least Darren Vader, Griffin Bing’s enemy.
Griffin Bing’s parents play a small role of the book. They scolded Griffin Bing for all the things he had done. For example, He “stole” back the baseball card. But they were just making Griffin a better person.
It all started in the Rocksford house when Griffin and Ben spent a night there. Griffin Bing found a rare Babe Ruth baseball card. Griffin was low on money and he had to get the money from selling the baseball card. So they went to sell it (the baseball card) in the Palomino’s Emporium. But the owner, S. Wardell Palomino took it for 120 bucks because he knows Griffin Bing doesn’t know anything about collectibles. But it was actually worth about $1 million. Palomino was shown on television and Griffin saw it with rage and it all began. Griffin and wanted to steal it back but like I said, Ben was worried about getting caught by the police and getting sent to jail. But nothing can change Griffin from starting a heist..
The heist started with Griffin and Ben. Planning and figuring out how to sneak in without Palomino and his guard dog, Luthor.started out and the heist began. Griffin sent Ben in a box as a package for the owner and Ben will sneak in the store and get the card. Easy as pie. But Palomino was a block ahead of him as he took the card with him and the dog home. After they realized that, they started planning again like how to get in and studying the inside of the house. Forming the team and convincing them to join the heist team didn’t take them long after they heard the amount of money they were going to get. Positioning took long and after all of that, the heist began. Logan was the guy distracting the security guard, Savannah was the person interacting with the guard dog, Luthor. Ben was the lookout, Griffin was the blow torch guy, Melissa was the technician with disabling the alarm and hacking into Palomino’s gmail account, Pitch was the member that helped everyone climb up the house but was injured, and Darren was nothing but a snitch.
A new guard dog arrived not long ago before.The rent-a-beast was a bad idea because it attacked other people. At last Griffin Bing found the card but not long after, Darren ran away with it but the heist team got it back with the smartpick, a creation by Griffin’s dad. The security guard called the police and Palomino got back home after the police reported that the card went missing. The police accused Griffin who stole it after Pitch and Darren was reported to come down to the principal's office.
The police sneaked up on Griffin and watched him until he took out the baseball card out of the mailbox. But he was not sent to jail because he was just going to have to sign the paper telling that he found the baseball card and was going back to the original owner, The oldest Rocksford member. Darren Vader is the youngest owner of the Rocksford family so the card was given to him by the owner and they got the money. Darren’s parents made him donate to the museum and Griffin’s family didn’t have to move out anymore because the smartpick everyone heard about became popular and companies wanted Griffin’s dad to collaborate with them.

I really liked the book and I hope everyone likes it too because spending time to read it was totally worth it. Friendship and teamwork were the words I chose for the book I selected. This book would be suitable for people who likes action.
...more

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Sep 27, 2018 Bob Ryan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This book is very good for how much I have read, it's very well thought out with the character being one of each like movie character or like dumb one, or funny one, smart one, and yea. My favorite character is Griffin because of how smart he is. My favorite moment of him is his plan to get the card back from Swindle. Now Swindle he is the guy that stole the card or coned Griffin of the card I am not a fan of Swindle but he sure does play an important part in the book. I don't like Swindle becau ...more

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May 14, 2017 Faiz Minhajuddin added it · review of another edition

A boy named Griffin was planning to have a sleepover with his friends, until a person named Wendell swindles him into a very rare Babe Ruth card. Wendell tries to sell the card for a very high price. The book is called Swindle and it is by Gordan Korman. This book is about three friends named Griffin, Darren and Ben trying to get the card back from a person named Wendell. The story takes place in New York. The book is based around how people can swindle you for things that you posses. And they c ...more

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Oct 03, 2017 Dolly rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: older elementary school-age children

Shelves: 2017, childrens, education-school, humor, mystery, money, audiobook

This is the first book in the Swindle series by Gordon Korman. The story details how a group of children come together to right a wrong, planning their stealthy operation with precise steps and thinking of most of the contingencies.

The leader, Griffin, creates his team focusing on the talents each child possesses. And together, they are able to work around most obstacles But, as expected, their plan goes awry, and the team gets caught up in a big mess.

The narrative is short and engaging and I r ...more

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May 30, 2017 Paige Doherty added it · review of another edition

This book theme was that not everything is what you think it is. This is best shown by two boys who stay a night in a building to protest not putting up a skate park. While they were in the house they found a valuable card and since there family is tight on money they decide to see a specialist in cards. He told the kids that the card was only worth 120 dollars when it was really worth 2 million dollars. They made plans to try to get the card back. Lets just say that didn't work out to good. In ...more

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Feb 24, 2018 Tyler rated it liked it · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 03, 2019 Tobyn Brennan added it · review of another edition

I love this book. It was very fun to read. I didn't finish it this time but I read it a long time ago. The worst part of the book was when Swindle cheated them. That part made me angry. My favorite part was when they broke into the store and it wasn't there. That part was frustrating though. I thought this book was better than the last book I read. I want to read the whole series because I like the plans he makes and how detailed they are. I like the characters as well, my favorite is Melissa be ...more

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May 23, 2017 Jesse Lieser rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I think this book was a very good book. My favorite part of this book is when they had the heist on Swindles house. I would say the character that I relate to the most is Ben because I like to sleep. I would reccemmond this book to anyone that likes a mystery with a bit of comedy.

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Apr 26, 2018 Angela Juline rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: elementary-library

This book never gets checked out from my library even though it is a popular children's book, and the series was always in demand at another elementary library where I first worked. I'm glad I read it, because now I can honestly recommend it to my students!

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Sep 22, 2017 Andrew rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I thought this book was very interesting. All of the characters had different personalities which made them all unique. I liked the way the author wrote the book. Swindle had many plot twist and I got addicted to the book since I needed to know what happend next.

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Jan 07, 2019 Dustin Kaschmitter rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

It's a great book and it's fun to read.

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Jan 08, 2019 William K added it · review of another edition

Great book I recommend it.

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May 18, 2018 Zach added it · review of another edition

I think that this book was really good for a shorter book. When I started reading the book I didn't really understand where the book was going but once it started to talk about the baseball card I was glued to it.

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Feb 14, 2018 Caleb Jedlicka added it · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Oct 19, 2016 Logan added it · review of another edition

Personal Response: Swindle was a quick and easy read. However, that did not take away from the enjoyability of the story. I had a feeling of innocence throughout the book as the main characters were kids. Even though the kids had committed a crime, I thought the reason for their actions was a justifiable one. I was able to sympathize with the feelings Ben and Griffin were experiencing. At some point, all kids have felt as though they were being treated with less respect than they deserved. I a Personal Response: Swindle was a quick and easy read. However, that did not take away from the enjoyability of the story. I had a feeling of innocence throughout the book as the main characters were kids. Even though the kids had committed a crime, I thought the reason for their actions was a justifiable one. I was able to sympathize with the feelings Ben and Griffin were experiencing. At some point, all kids have felt as though they were being treated with less respect than they deserved. I admired the fact that Griffin did not stand for that mistreatment and fought back.

Plot: Griffin Bing was a young, motivated boy. His motivation could have been misplaced on occasion, but he was motivated nonetheless. There was an old abandoned house that was soon to be demolished, and the grounds were to be the site of a new museum. Griffin and his friend, Ben, had an idea to put a skate park where the house had been. When they went to present their idea, the city council would not give them their time, simply because they were kids. To stick it to the adults, Griffin had set up an overnight stay at this abandoned house. When rifling through some drawers, he had found a very old baseball card. The player on that card was Babe Ruth. Griffin had a feeling this card was worth a great amount of money. The two friends went to a pawn shop to sell their prize. The man working told them the card was a fake but that he would give them 200 dollars for it. The boys were disappointed, but when they turned on their television, they saw the same store owner with their card. He was holding a press conference and stated the card could be worth millions. This infuriated Griffin, yet again they had been taken advantage of because of their age. He began putting together a plan to steal the card back from this crook. He gathered a specific set of people who had unique skill sets. Together they executed a plan to get back at the slimy store owner.

Characterization: Griffin Bing was a young sixth grader growing up in a family with money troubles. He was known as “The man with a plan” because of his constant ideas. In whatever Griffin did, he wrote down exactly what he wanted to do and how he was going to do it. Even with this trait of maturity, Griffin was still just a twelve year old boy. He did not like being disrespected by adults, and he did not like to hear his parents argue. Griffin always said he was going to find a way to get rid of his family’s money troubles. He was filled with an amount of care and passion that you just do not see in young kids.

Setting: Swindle took in a small town environment. It was the kind of place where words spread very quickly. Griffin Bing and his friends were growing up near an old house that was soon to be demolished and rebuilt into a museum. This old house may be the most important part of the story. Because of the house’s upcoming demolition, the boys had come up with an idea to replace it with a skate park. They were disrespected by the adults; to get back at them, the boys decided to stay a night in the house. This was the night Griffin found the baseball card. The old house was vital to the story because without it, Griffin and Ben never would have felt the need to “stick it to the man”. They would never have stumbled upon this card. The story also took place in a time of need for Griffin’s family. Their constant struggles with money motivated Griffin to take action. If his family was not battling to make ends meet, he would not have felt the need to help his parents pay their bills.

Theme: I found karma to be an important theme in Swindle. The owner of the pawn shop had taken advantage of Griffin and Ben. This wrongdoing eventually came back around to hurt him. Another example of karma in Swindle happened when the kids stole back the card. Even though they were committing a crime, they were doing it for the correct reasons. This put karma on their side when the police came after them.

Recommendation: I would recommend this book to young boys, aged 10-14, who enjoy being creative and thinking outside the box. They would connect well with Griffin and his friends.
...more

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Sep 12, 2013 Brayden Marker rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I think it’s a really good book. In the beginning there were two kids Griffin and Ben that set up a plan to stay in the abandoned Rockford house for a night to get back on the adults. One night before there was a city council meeting to see what to put up after the Rockford house goes down. The kid named Griffin got a plan to put up a skate park in the land. When that night came up the adults wouldn't let the kids come in to show there idea. Griffin wanted to get back on the parents by go to the I think it’s a really good book. In the beginning there were two kids Griffin and Ben that set up a plan to stay in the abandoned Rockford house for a night to get back on the adults. One night before there was a city council meeting to see what to put up after the Rockford house goes down. The kid named Griffin got a plan to put up a skate park in the land. When that night came up the adults wouldn't let the kids come in to show there idea. Griffin wanted to get back on the parents by go to the old Rockford house and to sleep in it overnight.
When the night came nobody showed up but Griffin and his friend Ben. They went into the house and spent the night there. When they were in there griffin couldn't fall asleep so he explored the house. When exploring Griffin found a dresser in the house. He found a secret compartment inside the dresser in it was a babe Ruth baseball card. Then he fell asleep and woke up the next morning over slept and was in there dirng the demolition to take down the house. They got out of there as fast as they could.
After they got out of there they went to a pawn shop to get the card looked at. The person that looked at the card swindled them he told the kids that the card was not worth anything and gave them 100 dollars for the card. Griffin split the money with Ben then went home. When Griffin was at home he overheard his parents talking about how they might have to move to a more affordable neighborhood. Griffin was watching TV and an ad came up to for the swindles shop for a rare baseball card that Griffin found. Griffin got a plan to steal the card back but when they did the card wasn't there. They found out that the card was at the swindles house.
Griffin got a team together to break into the house. They got the card when the cops came to figured out that griffin stole the card by following Griffin to where he sent the card. Griffin didn't get in trouble with the police. When he asked his dad if they were going to have to move he said no he got people to look at his invention and give him money for the invention. All the money from the card being sold went to some lady that was one of the last Rockford persons alive. They didn't have to move and Griffin stayed there in the end.
Griffin is the main character he is the brains of every operation he always has a well thought out plan. In the book Griffin is called the man with a plan almost every idea he has there is a plan for it. He is passionate for his family to stay where he lives so he can stay at his school with his friends. When griffin heard the news that he might have to move he was devastated. When he heard the news at the end that he wasn't moving he was so happy that he could stay at his school with his friends.
I recommend this book the boys and girls 12 that like action and crime. I recommended that because there is criminal activity in this book, there is harmful action, and there is a disease that you must understand.
The reason why I gave it five stars was that it was I thought it was just going to be another boring book. This book drew me in and I wanted to read it so much. When I finished the book I thought it was a great ending for the book and that they got what they wanted. ...more

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Apr 10, 2013 Jaina Rose rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

This review is also on my blog.
This is a fun book that I first read years ago. Since then both I and my middle school brother have read the rest of the books, more or less in order. I wouldn't call this one of my favorite books from the series, but because it's the first it's definintely fun to see where everything began. This is where the team comes together for the first time: it's their first crazy adventure, and coming back to it there's a bit of nostalgia in the air - or at least to me ther This review is also on my blog.
This is a fun book that I first read years ago. Since then both I and my middle school brother have read the rest of the books, more or less in order. I wouldn't call this one of my favorite books from the series, but because it's the first it's definintely fun to see where everything began. This is where the team comes together for the first time: it's their first crazy adventure, and coming back to it there's a bit of nostalgia in the air - or at least to me there is.

This is a Middle Grade series that is a lot of fun. My middle school-aged brother always sucks these books in as fast as I get ahold of them. He isn't obsessed with them or anything, but he likes them enough he'll drop a less interesting read for a day or two to read a new one. I do still get them when they ccome out, for my own reading enjoyment (I was reading them before he was!), but I don't go out of my way to snag a copy of the new books or even remember when there is a new one half the time - they just sort of pop up every now and then, and I check them out to read them.

As for this book in particular, I'm sorry I can't remember more details. I set out to review this almost a year ago after re-reading it, and forgot to actually do the writing part of writing a review. Now I, slightly neurotic, am trying to clear out my draft pile (which right now is filled with "spam-posts" that I started and never finished a long time ago). Some would point out that I could just throw out all those old half-posts by hitting the "delete" button. But nay, that would be cheating!

So here we go. Characters, lets talk about characters. I love Korman's characters. Just, you know, in general. He comes up with the funnest MCs and supporters. The Swindle books really put his talent in the best light as he draws each unique, unrealistic but oh-so-realistic character in the group. There's Logan, the aspiring actor, Savannah the animal lover, Melissa the shy computer genius, Ben the ever present sidekick, and Griffin, known as The Man with the Plan. The villains are interesting if not incredibly three-dimensional. There's the school bully who forces himself in on the plan and of course there's swindle himself who jerked Griffin out of a valuable baseball card that could save his family from having to move away.

If you like Middle Grade books, then check out this series. If you don't have time to read the entire series, then I would recommend starting with some of Korman's other books: this is a very good series, but it gets better as it goes along. If you're looking for good, funny Middle Grade book either for yourself or for a middle schooler you know, Korman is probably the best Middle Grade author I've ever read. If you have read this series and are looking for more books by him, an excellent place to start would be with Ungifted, No More Dead Dogs, or Schooled (the links go to Goodreads). You can read my review of Ungifted here. ...more

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Jan 18, 2012 Tyler Sullivan is currently reading it · review of another edition

Tyler Sullivan
Mr. Rich
English 2
18 January 2011
Book Review E

Korman, Gordon. Swindle. New York: Scholastic Inc., 2008.

When there are daunting tasks ahead, the best way to overcome these large challenges is the use of teamwork and trust. In Swindle, by Gordon Korman, these two values are essential when Griffin Bing is cheated out of a million dollar baseball card and he and his friends must plan and carry out an elaborate heist in order to reclaim it. As it is impossible for Griffin to navigate pa Tyler Sullivan
Mr. Rich
English 2
18 January 2011
Book Review E

Korman, Gordon. Swindle. New York: Scholastic Inc., 2008.

When there are daunting tasks ahead, the best way to overcome these large challenges is the use of teamwork and trust. In Swindle, by Gordon Korman, these two values are essential when Griffin Bing is cheated out of a million dollar baseball card and he and his friends must plan and carry out an elaborate heist in order to reclaim it. As it is impossible for Griffin to navigate past the complicated security system alone, he must rely on many others to help him. But after breaking the mission down into manageable parts, and putting his trust in his team of friends, Griffin soon realizes that with teamwork leading the way, success is possible.
At the beginning of the novel, times are very tough for Griffin and the Bing family. With the family struggling financially, nothing is looking up until Griffin finds a rare, highly valuable Babe Ruth baseball card. Unfortunately, before Griffin realizes the true value of the card, a deceitful collector tricks him into handing over the card, saying that it is a cheap replica. After discovering the truth of what happened, Griffin feels betrayed and disgusted. “Griffin felt his blood boil. That liar, that cheat! He said it was a fake…” (Korman 33). With the lying collector planning to sell the card for thousands of dollars, Griffin channels his anger into a plan to reclaim the card. He knows that his scheme will not be simple, but soon learns that with sheer determination, friendship, and trust, success is possible.
Griffin soon finds himself surrounded by a group of six friends, motivated to regain the card and share the profits with his team. In addition to Griffin, Ben, Logan, Antonia, Savannah, Melissa, and Darren form the tight group, unified as one team. Together, they feel ready to take on anything. “I know it sounds crazy. And I know it sounds dangerous. But if you break it down into everybody doing their job, you’ll see that no single part is impossible” (Korman 126). The trust they have in each other and the teamwork between them has them extremely prepared and confident, very big keys to success. Heading into the heist, Griffin and the team have all the keys, and all they have to do is go in and unlock the prize.
Swindle revolves around a crime, and in any book where the main protagonists are committing a crime, it is very hard to relate to them as good guys. But in Swindle, Gordon Korman skillfully avoids any problem by writing the book about the main characters reclaiming a baseball card that they were wrongfully cheated out of. Instead of committing any crime, they are using teamwork to restore what is just and proper. This realization allows readers to sympathize with the characters and in the end, enjoy the book more. Korman crafts a story of teamwork, justice, and doing what is right, all the while infusing a thrilling robbery plotline, making the book tremendously entertaining to read.
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Feb 27, 2017 Giordano Presotto rated it liked it · review of another edition

After a mean collector named Swindle cons griffin out of his most valuable Babe Ruth baseball card, Griffin must put together a team of friends and enimeys to break into swindles compound. There are many things standing in their way a menacing guard dog, a high-tech security system, a very secret hiding place, and none of them can drive but Griffin and his team are going to get back what's rightfully his.

I would recommend this book for people in grades 4,5,and 6 graders.

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About Gordon Korman

Gordon Korman

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Korman wrote his first book, "This Can't be Happening at Macdonald Hall", when he was 12 years old, for a coach who suddenly found himself teaching 7th grade English. He later took that episode and created a book out of it, as well, in "The Sixth Grade Nickname Game", wherein Mr. Huge was based on that 7th grade teacher.

Korman moved to New York City, where he studied film and film writing. While i ...more