Faker

Trey needs to make friends with kids at the fancy private schools his dad has him attend. Then Dad can meet the parents and make them offers they can’t refuse. This time, Dad is selling shares in a championship dog sure to win the big show and can be sold for big bucks as a breeder. But the dog is a well-trained rent-a-dog.

When the kids start talking, word gets around that lots of people have been sold high-percentage shares. Trey and his family leave the country, dump their phones and computers, and disappear to an island for a while. Then it’s on to the next place and the next grift, but this time Trey makes true friends, likes a girl, and ends up in an ethics class that changes his views. Trouble is brewing.

Gordon Korman has written a lot of middle-grade novels and knows how to put tension in every page, build great, believable characters, and has storytelling down to a science. This book does not disappoint… until it does. The ending is far too easy on the characters who have been perpetuating high-dollar scams, especially the Dad. Criminal behavior should have consequences. Otherwise, this is a terrific book.