The Son of the Mob

Korman, G.  (2002).  Son of the mob.  New York, NY:  Hyperion Books for Children.  Vince is seventeen and is the son of a mob king.  His mother tells him that he works at odd hours because his father has a vending machine business.  When he gets a date with Angela, his night is ruined when he finds a person in the trunk of his car.  His brother, Jimmy, was supposed to take care of him.  Vince is unable to get the grades he deserves because his teachers know who his father is, and he is unable to be involved in school activities because the other students are afraid of what his dad could do to them if they touched Vince.  Vince meets a girl name Kendra, but he tries to stay away from her because she is the daughter of the FBI agent who is trying to bring down Vince’s dad.  They are brought together when Vince notices that he has “moving” dandruff and so does Kendra.  Vince tries very hard to stay out of his father’s business but somehow he gets involved anyways.  It even gets to his class web site’s ads (iluvmycat.us).  Vince’s dad finds out that there is a mole in his business so Vince finds a way to find out who it is.  Kendra finds out that Vince’s father is the mob king and breaks up with him.  She takes him back at the end when she realizes Vince is good and is trying to stay out of his dad’s business.  I think this book is comical.  I think that this could be read by students in middle school and up.  It would not be a book that I would read aloud to the class.  I think the plot in this book is a bit predictable, but would be enjoyed by kids, especially with the humor involved in the story.