Gordon Korman takes the win again!

Being the son of professional con man, Trey Whitfield III, I mean, Westham III… or was it Kirkwood III?

Well, whatever his name is is just promoted to full partner status (much to his younger sister’s annoyance) after a successful operation selling 500% of a Great Dane (the dog wasn't even theirs) to a bunch of rich snobs.

The next big fraud? The Big Kahuna aka El Captain. Who wouldn't want to buy shares in the newest car? A car that makes a Tesla look like an old coughing tractor.

Buuuuuut as Trey befriends locals and gets involved in restoring a gross pond he begins to rethink his future in swindling.

This book was another great Korman book! I wouldn't say it was one of my top favorites, but it's definitely up there. Korman crafts such a unique story once again with a solid cast of characters. Of course Trey's perspective was interesting as well which Korman always seems to nail.

This book didn't have anything questionable things that are in a lot of middle grade books now. Great read!

This was an eARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Gordon Korman is a favorite among my middle schoolers, and this book will be no exception! There are several twists and turns that will keep them engaged and guessing, and there is a great theme for them to learn from at the end. I also love that there are characters with very diverse personalities and interests for readers to connect to. I will definitely be getting this book for my classroom!

Gordon Korman. You’ve done it again. You’ve picked a clever and unique theme for your newest installment and wowed me with a great novel.

12-year-old Trey is the product of his gifted con artist father. Trey and his dad has perfected the con routine down to a science: enroll in a new, preferential an elite, school, make friends, introduce his father to his friends’ wealthy parents, and get out before their targets realize they’ve been scammed. And it appears younger sister Arianna is following along famously in their conniving footsteps. She may be even a bit more sinister.

Some past cons include: selling award winning high bred dogs over and over, fake insurance and now their current confidence game involves selling shares in a bogus electric car company. This time, Trey’s dad is finally bringing him in as a full-time partner, which aggravates Trey’s ambitious younger sister. The car is actually a well disguised Tesla claiming to get a thousand miles off one charge. Really? The two are now attending Boxelder Middle School in Tennessee, where contacts can be made through the children. That’s pretty bad right? Nevertheless, Trey is excited to help his father make what could be their Big Score, aka The Big Kahuna. Trey’s charisma and the bright red shiny car dubbed El Capitan causes Trey to become quite popular among the rich and not so rich at school. This includes socially conscious Kaylee and outgoing Logan. These new found friends have him reconsidering his previous disdain about settling down. One day Trey receives an anonymous message claiming “I know what you’re doing,” and he’s afraid the con is blown. it’s time to Houdini; code for fleeing with the money without a trace? But he wants to protect his family, hang onto his budding new life, yet without giving himself away? The family justifies their cons Robin Hood style because they plan to only swindle the filthy rich who can afford to lose a few thousand, but then that may not always be the case.

Korman’s characters navigate complex ethical issues surrounding right and wrong, responsibility, and actions and repercussions. “Suffer” along with Trey’s inner struggle to justify his family’s actions while seeking a more grounded life, all the while the drama is lightened by Korman’s signature humor.

The book does wrap up with a very tidy and most unlikely ending, but it sure made me feel good.

This was such a fun read for me because I used to enjoy watching shows about con artists. I never pictured a book with a family of con artists, and it was such a unique and fun story to see a kid living the con artist life. The main character Trey always knew that technically what his family did was stealing, but when he moves to a new town with new friends to target, life becomes extra complicated when his social studies teacher starts a unit on ethics. Even con artist kids go through normal middle school stuff like family fights, making new friends, cute crushes to impress, school projects that sometimes don’t go quite right. It’s all a part of life. But what happens when your world is turned upside down because of questions you’ve never faced head on before. How is Trey going to cope with this serious ethics problem? Isn’t the most important thing in his life family and them making a decent living?
Faker is a page turner that I couldn’t put down. I loved the story. But I loved Trey’s very real struggles more. From the everyday struggles of friendship to the life altering struggles. Faker is a book that readers will remember a long time after they finish the story. They will remember the way it made them feel and how they responded to Trey’s inner reflections.

Gordon Korman is one of the most popular writers to my 4th and 5th grade students so when I saw he had a new book coming, I was eager to read it! I wasn’t sure what to expect as I started and felt very conflicted along with Trey through much of the book but it was great and I can’t wait to be able to add it to our school library!

Korman delivers another great story for upper grade elementary and up. This was a fun read and one that I will be adding to my elementary school library collection for the students.

A unique story, one that I got drawn into. I couldnt wait to see what was going to happen to Trey, his little sister,and his dad. I enjoyed the fact that citizenship and ethics lessons were brought into play.

Thank you, Scholastic Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

Middle grade readers should definitely check out Gordon Korman. Faker is a quick read with a narrator you will be rooting for.

The was a fun and fast-paced story filled with humor and heart. I really enjoyed Trey's growth throughout the book. Fans of realistic fiction, humorous stories and Korman's other works will likely enjoy this one.

This was a fun new read from the always great Gordon Korman! The story flowed well and characters were flawed but likeable. I enjoyed seeing Trey's growth throughout the story as he realizes what his life is really about. This will be an engaging book for middle grade readers!

Faker is another winning middle grade novel from Gordon Korman. This story follows middle-schooler Trey, whose dad is a con artist. As a result, the family is constantly on the move, relocating to different communities to run new scams on unsuspecting neighbors. Up until now, Trey has loved the excitement of his unconventional life, but as the story opens, he’s beginning to have doubts about this type of life. In their latest home of Boxelder, Trey makes new friends and meets new teachers who make him further question the ethics of the life his family leads. I enjoyed watching Trey’s journey of self-discovery and the ultimate conclusion to the story. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Friendship, family, business, ethics, sibling rivalry, student activism, and crime, Faker by Gordon Korman is sure to be a hit with students. This story is told from the point of view of Trey, a middle school student who assists his father in the family business--the confidence game. Centering around the next big con, Trey befriends Logan and Kaylee, which changes everything for him. This book is sure to provoke discussion about morals, ethics, and personal choices. Once again, Gordon Korman does not disappoint.

Trey know how this goes, he goes to a new school, he makes new rich friends, his dad scams them out of a lot of money, when the people find out what Treys dad is doing Trey, his dad and sister Houdini (that means they are off on a vacation to a Caribbean island or someplace with no extradition. They stay on vacation until the heat is off and Trey’s dad thinks of a new scam.
I really liked this book and if you read it you’ll find out why you will end up cheering Trey on. The characters are so real and the story line so believable you will feel as though you are there and trying to help everyone. This is a really good book for kids of ALL ages, even reluctant readers will like this book too.

In Faker, 7th grader Trey is learning that his dad isn’t everything he thought he was. He knew his dad was a con-man, but he was always under the impression that they only swindled those with extra money to give, like Robin Hood stealing from the rich to give to the poor. The family would bounce around from town to town, working their dad’s schemes, until they had all been paid and it was time to escape before getting caught. As time goes on, Trey starts getting tired of having to always start over and make new friends, only to leave them in a few short weeks or months. So in the latest escapade, Trey decides to play the game differently.
As a huge Korman fan, this title didn’t satisfy me as others have. The humor wasn’t there, parts seemed very far-fetched, and the ending was not at all realistic. However, I know that this will be a fun read for a lot of middle grade readers.

Once again, Gordon Korman writes a winner of a book applicable for all ages. FAKER was entertaining and thought-provoking, with a very unique plot and characters that grab you right from the beginning. I read it fairly quickly, mostly because I was so invested in 12 year old Trey and wanted to see what kind of an ending he would get. This is a book for parents and children to read together, one that elicits discussion about right, wrong, and the shades of gray in the middle. I loved it!

Another awesome book by Gordon Korman. "Faker" would also make a great read-aloud. I can imagine the types of discussions that would take place as the book is read at home or in school. Who is morally right? Who is darn right wrong? Is there a right or wrong answer? Read the book to find out.
A must-have to all libraries and Gordon Korman collections.

Have you ever known a secret so big that if it got out, your whole life would change? Trey has grown up holding a secret like that in, and it is really starting to weigh heavy on him. His dad is a con man, convincing the rich people in whatever city they have landed in to invest in the next big thing. Trey has believed his father when he says no one is getting hurt, but this current con isn’t like the others. He’s convinced someone is going to get hurt, and it may be him.

Another true page turner from Gordon Korman. From the beginning, I was invested in Trey’s story. How could a kid be tasked with knowing a secret about his family so big it could change their lives forever?! Everything that happened in the story was believable, and I kept waiting for the secret to be exposed. I loved the friendships Trey developed in the book and was cheering him on the whole time. A few lessons were even hidden along the way.

Trey and his family have been making a living by conning rich people out of their money for years. Trey has never had a problem with the family business, but when he begins to see through his dad's half-truths and discovers his sister's deception, he is convinced they all need to leave the family business.

Gordon Korman has a knack for writing stories that appeal to middle grades. The characters were developed and the ethics lesson was a bonus. Middle-grade readers will flock to this book.

Reading 2024
Book 61: Faker by Gordon Korman

Found this book in the Read Now section of #NetGalley. Love Gordon Korman books and they were popular in my classroom library. Had to grab this one.

Synopsis: The story of a family of liars... and the son who wants to break the family tradition.

Review: This was a middle grade version of a con story. I do love con stories when done well, and this one was done well. This was a bit of a spin as the dad was the con artist and his kids were expected to help and keep the family secret. Trey, the oldest, finds this life may not be all that great after all when they move into a community where he makes friends. Really enjoyed this one, my rating 4⭐️.

I’ve read several of Gordon Korman’s books with my youngest kiddo, and we love him! I think this may be my favorite of his middle grade novels yet. It follows the story of middle schooler Trey, whose family makes a living by running cons in rich neighborhoods. Whenever the “jig is up”, the family uproots and changes their identities before settling into a new community and beginning again. Trey’s father has always assured him that the people they are scamming can afford to lose the money, but he begins to have doubts when he realizes that may not always be true.

The writing and plotting for this book are highly engaging and entertaining. Trey faces a real world ethical dilemma, and has to decide whether or not to do the right thing. It’s a truly sticky situation, and I didn’t know how he would get out of it! I read this aloud to my 10 year old, and he loved it- and that’s the best part, because he can be a tough critic. It led to some super great “what would you do?”conversations, but not in a preachy way. I would highly recommend it for tween readers!

Thank you to Netgalley and Scholastic Press for the ARC copy! This book will be available to buy July 2, 2024.

Unique circumstances!
Such an interesting story!
So much worth discussing!
Characters who are intriguing and make you want to follow along with their every move!
Korman just keeps on delivering quality stories that I want to share with and discuss with students, teachers, and other middle grade readers.