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The Ice Cream Con
When Jake Drake gets mugged twice in ten minutes, he comes up with a plan to con the criminals on his estate. With the help of his closest pals, he starts a rumour about a new gangster in town - the Big Baresi, the biggest, gangster that never was. The con works, but not for long, as events start snow-balling out of control.
- GenresRealistic FictionTeen
188 pages, Paperback
First published January 7, 2008
1 person is currently reading
64 people want to read
About the author
Jimmy Docherty
1 book5 followersJimmy Docherty is an award-winning copywriter and television commercial director. His first children's novel, The Global Art Grab, the first in a series of six novels centered around the Gadget Gang, was published in Nov 2003. Jimmy describes it as a book "inspired by a dream, and written in a 2 year rush of blood to the head." He has also written an adventure novel, The Ice Cream Con, published in June 2006.
Jimmy was born in Bellshill, Scotland on July 22, 1976, and as he recalls, it was a particularly long birth. He spent most of his childhood kicking cans around streets in Coatbridge, Scotland until eventually he decided to do something with his life, and bought himself a football. Having then established beyond all doubt that the object of the game was not to kick the football at cans around the streets of Coatbridge, Jimmy retired from the soccer scene altogether.
After leaving school, Jimmy studied Film, TV and Radio Production in Glasgow. Upon graduation he worked on a freelance basis for various broadcast companies before being asked to join Scotland's largest commercial radio station, Radio Clyde in 1997. Several TV commercials have also come from the pen of Jimmy. He also claims to have written many literary masterpieces which we can't name specifically, as the real authors might take legal action.
Jimmy Docherty lives with his wife and son in Coatbridge, Scotland.
Jimmy was born in Bellshill, Scotland on July 22, 1976, and as he recalls, it was a particularly long birth. He spent most of his childhood kicking cans around streets in Coatbridge, Scotland until eventually he decided to do something with his life, and bought himself a football. Having then established beyond all doubt that the object of the game was not to kick the football at cans around the streets of Coatbridge, Jimmy retired from the soccer scene altogether.
After leaving school, Jimmy studied Film, TV and Radio Production in Glasgow. Upon graduation he worked on a freelance basis for various broadcast companies before being asked to join Scotland's largest commercial radio station, Radio Clyde in 1997. Several TV commercials have also come from the pen of Jimmy. He also claims to have written many literary masterpieces which we can't name specifically, as the real authors might take legal action.
Jimmy Docherty lives with his wife and son in Coatbridge, Scotland.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
November 9, 2012
Reviewed by Tasha for TeensReadToo.com
Having the little money they have stolen from them is getting a little old for Jake and his buddies. The thing is, though, Jake and his gang aren't the toughest bunch of kids, so the only way to get back at these thugs is to outsmart them at their own game. To do this, the kids create a fake gangster, the Big Baresi, who soon becomes a lot more real then Jake ever anticipated.
When a stash of stolen diamonds goes missing, the community truly believes it's the Big Baresi, but as Jake and his friends know, it's not. While trying to clear Baresi's name and keeping his intimidation factor high, the kids go on quite an adventure that includes a stolen ice cream truck, sumo suits, corrupt cops, lots of mobsters, and lots of crime.
Overall, this was a good book. It was humorous and the plot was pretty darn creative. My only complaint is that the book was a real boy book (not that there's anything wrong with that!). From being kicked in the "goolies" to the talk about girlie pictures, the book was clearly meant for adolescent boys. While being a girl and not truly appreciating these topics, I did think the book was good. I found myself laughing aloud many a time and loving the adventures the kids went on.
The author definitely has a talent for making people laugh and I hope that his future novels will be just as funny. As mentioned before, I think that young teen boys will really get a kick out of this book. It would also be a great book for reluctant readers as it's not too long, but provides a substantial story.
Having the little money they have stolen from them is getting a little old for Jake and his buddies. The thing is, though, Jake and his gang aren't the toughest bunch of kids, so the only way to get back at these thugs is to outsmart them at their own game. To do this, the kids create a fake gangster, the Big Baresi, who soon becomes a lot more real then Jake ever anticipated.
When a stash of stolen diamonds goes missing, the community truly believes it's the Big Baresi, but as Jake and his friends know, it's not. While trying to clear Baresi's name and keeping his intimidation factor high, the kids go on quite an adventure that includes a stolen ice cream truck, sumo suits, corrupt cops, lots of mobsters, and lots of crime.
Overall, this was a good book. It was humorous and the plot was pretty darn creative. My only complaint is that the book was a real boy book (not that there's anything wrong with that!). From being kicked in the "goolies" to the talk about girlie pictures, the book was clearly meant for adolescent boys. While being a girl and not truly appreciating these topics, I did think the book was good. I found myself laughing aloud many a time and loving the adventures the kids went on.
The author definitely has a talent for making people laugh and I hope that his future novels will be just as funny. As mentioned before, I think that young teen boys will really get a kick out of this book. It would also be a great book for reluctant readers as it's not too long, but provides a substantial story.
March 23, 2015
It's a story about a boy living in the scottish equivalent to the us' projects who decides he can get back at the local mob boss by fabricating his own. Far-fetched? Totally. A couple of content issues (extensive scenes involving being kicked in the nuts, descriptions of girlie pictures). And yes, the character development and female characerization (the "bad" female characters are twins known as the "Dubble Ds") leave a lot to be desired. And maybe because of all of this, it took me several nights to get through this (compared to my usual 1 or 2 for something this size).
HOWEVER.
The plot kicks ass. Once you accept the premise (serious suspension of disbelief here), Docherty does a ridiculous job of writing the equivalent of a J heist book. Bubble gum factories, ice cream trucks, two crime families, two criminals, corrupt cops, sumo suits (yes, the ones that blow up), diamonds, wads of cash, and oh yeah, plain old bullies. It's all there. I'm planning to booktalk it to middle schoolers, and if this can't capture the attention of middle school boys, I'm not sure what can.
HOWEVER.
The plot kicks ass. Once you accept the premise (serious suspension of disbelief here), Docherty does a ridiculous job of writing the equivalent of a J heist book. Bubble gum factories, ice cream trucks, two crime families, two criminals, corrupt cops, sumo suits (yes, the ones that blow up), diamonds, wads of cash, and oh yeah, plain old bullies. It's all there. I'm planning to booktalk it to middle schoolers, and if this can't capture the attention of middle school boys, I'm not sure what can.
March 1, 2016
The Ice Cream Con by Jimmy Docherty, is a book about a 12 year old boy called Jake. Jake, gets mugged twice within 10 minutes and decides to ploy the criminals and gangs of his estate to believe a riotous new gangster is living in their tenement called the ‘Big Baresi’. Jake and his friends' plan run smoothly until a large number of events cause their plan to be exposed like the most iconic event of the book; where the teenagers decided to drive an ice cream truck. This story is set in Scotland in the Lochrannoch Estate. I would ideally recommend this book to children and teenagers, but there is a huge and repeated use of ‘border-line’ foul words and ideas which may not be accepted in many schools. I could relate with ‘Jake’ because I am in a similar age group. I found this book to be hysterical but found some of the ideas to be ‘far-fetched’. I am pretty sure the author was aiming for an ‘underdog’ children’s book but failed to meet my standards as under the children fiction genre.
March 16, 2008
Once in a while you need a book that's just fun, plain and simple. And one that begins with your hero getting kicked in the "goolies" right from the start? Well, it happens to fit the bill. This is a really and truly enjoyable book and I'll definitely be recommending it to any kid looking for gangsters, ex-cons, gunplay, and mint chocolate chip ice cream.
March 24, 2009
Three 12-year-olds attempt to outsmart the local organized crime boss. With extravagant police chases, vehicle theft and general pre-puberty buffonery, this novel is definitely for boys. It's humorous but entirely too far-fetched. This book is ridiculous beyond belief. And I don't appreciate the meshing of gun-violence, crime sprees and children's literature.
October 1, 2023
The book is fun enough for a children book. Quick read, fascinating enough plot.
However, there are things that the children in the book do that I find troublesome- some of which being driving recklessly, or messing too much with dangerous people.
However, there are things that the children in the book do that I find troublesome- some of which being driving recklessly, or messing too much with dangerous people.
March 7, 2016
The Ice-Cream Con by Jimmy Docherty
I loved this book sooo much. This book was one of the best books that I have ever read because the thought that was behind it was amazing; and the plot was complex. This story took place in a city named Lochranoch in Italy. The main character’s name was Jake Drake. The little thing that started it all was him being mugged for twenty pounds. This led him to the ‘overlord’ of the crimes that took place there. He tries to trick him into giving him his money back. It was in vain. So he comes up with a genius idea of scaring him out of town by spreading rumors of this supposedly huge thief in an attempt to scare him off. This made up thief idea gets him into a bunch of trouble and at one point he drives through a bubble gum factory and is being chased by police. I would most definitely recommend this book to EVERYONE, but if I had to choose, I would recommend this book to Ezekiel Ewulomi. The reason being is he loves reading stories with crimes and stealing.
I loved this book sooo much. This book was one of the best books that I have ever read because the thought that was behind it was amazing; and the plot was complex. This story took place in a city named Lochranoch in Italy. The main character’s name was Jake Drake. The little thing that started it all was him being mugged for twenty pounds. This led him to the ‘overlord’ of the crimes that took place there. He tries to trick him into giving him his money back. It was in vain. So he comes up with a genius idea of scaring him out of town by spreading rumors of this supposedly huge thief in an attempt to scare him off. This made up thief idea gets him into a bunch of trouble and at one point he drives through a bubble gum factory and is being chased by police. I would most definitely recommend this book to EVERYONE, but if I had to choose, I would recommend this book to Ezekiel Ewulomi. The reason being is he loves reading stories with crimes and stealing.
July 14, 2014
While the story was good and obviously aimed at older boys, I have to say that I personally found the language in this book absolutely appalling. I was reading it out-loud as a bedtime story to my children, under the impression that it was a "kid's" book, and found myself censoring a line or section just about every second page. I find it hard to believe that a book with such words as "asshole" being used so frequently is being openly marketed to young readers, even if it is meant for early-teen boys. Would have been a great book if someone had of just cleaned it up a little for a more general audience. I did enjoy the plot, sense of humour and characters. If your kid like his books a bit rough and tumble, and you don't mind them being exposed to blatant profanity and adult themes, then this may be the book for him. Not for my kids; it's going away... far far away.
March 10, 2010
Recommended for gr. 6-8. Boys will like this one. There are references to being kicked in the "goolies", inflatable sumo suits, setting up plots to defeat bullies - what's not for an adolescent boy to like? Jake, tired of life in the "projects" where everything is ruled by a crime boss, decides to take matters into his own hands by fabricating a new crime boss. This sets the scene for all kinds of mayhem and cartoon-style violence. Female characters are few: one of Jake's pals (a totally undeveloped character) and twins who work for a crime boss (stereotypically bad). Not a bad story, but not great either.
August 30, 2010
What boy doesn't want to get even with the bullies that harrass them, beat them up and take their money? And what boy doesn't want to drive a big rig through a bubble-gum factory? And steal and ice cream truck? And take untold risks but still be able to count on his best friends by his side? Totally unrealistic, but I couldn't help but laugh out loud. The audio book is capably read so that even with a thick Scottish accent, everything was easy to understand and the characters (particularly the evil Cortese) were voiced to perfection.
May 13, 2015
This book is called the ice cream con. The author is Jimmy Docherty. I like this book because it was funny and wierd at the funnest and bad moments. The setting took place around the city. The main character were Jake and Havery. The conflict was they had a ice cream truck job and there was stole jewlery in the ice cream and it was wanted by men in black suits. i would not recommend this book for my friend because they would not like it. The plot interested me because it had lot of comedy in the plot. The character were beleiveable because they were funny and dumb founded.
June 15, 2015
Jake and his friends live in the Projects - an area full of crime. One of the thugs in the area steals the only money Jake has for food for his family, so Jake decides to strike back.
Enter the Big Baresi. With little to no effort, the Big Baresi is terrifying the local crime lords into action, as Jake comes up with more and more seemingly impossible stunts.
The story moves along well, but takes place in Scotland which can be a little confusing for those not familiar with some of the slang.
Enter the Big Baresi. With little to no effort, the Big Baresi is terrifying the local crime lords into action, as Jake comes up with more and more seemingly impossible stunts.
The story moves along well, but takes place in Scotland which can be a little confusing for those not familiar with some of the slang.
April 13, 2009
Jake and his friends live in the projects and are constantly being bullied by gangsters and their goons. Jake gets so fed up that he creates and imaginary mobster "the Big Baresi." the convince the neighborhood and the gangsters that this is a real person, but destory a lot of things along the way.
August 8, 2008
Incredibly implausible, but absolutely hysterical!
November 13, 2012
Fun YA caper, especially for kids who don't like reading as much or who come from bad neighborhoods, like the kids in the book.
March 7, 2013
Hilarious but also gripping. There's trouble on the estate and our hero is unlikely to escape a kicking. Much daring does and gangsters.
February 23, 2014
Truyện sẽ thú vị và hấp dẫn hơn nếu không được viết theo kiểu "mì ăn liền" thế này. Mình thích mấy cái kế hoạch của lũ trẻ trong đây ~
April 9, 2016
Great book, the action and adventure are somehow pulled off by kids... even though it isn't expected
April 12, 2009
mAFIONOVEL FOR TEEN BOYS WITH SOME WIT.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews