To Catch a Cheat

December 1, 2015

Gr 5-9-Jackson Greene claims to have sworn off heists once and for all, but he keeps getting blamed for them. When the school gets flooded, he and his friends are accused of pulling a prank. Soon after, a group of students from their school claim that they have proof that Jackson and his friends did it. In order to keep the video from being leaked to the principal, Jackson and his friends have to pull off the impossible: they must break into Mrs. Clark's room and steal a copy of her infamously hard end-of-term test. Will Jackson and his friends succeed or get caught red-handed? Who is blackmailing them? What is the blackmailer really after? This sequel is even better than the first book, The Great Greene Heist (Scholastic, 2014). It has more depth and character development, and the plot is complex and engaging. Although it is recommended that kids read the first one, this book can also be enjoyed as a stand-alone. VERDICT Those who enjoy realistic fiction with action, mystery, and humor will have a hard time putting this novel down.-Kira Moody, Whitmore Public Library, Salt Lake City, UT

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from October 15, 2015
A doctored video showing Jackson Greene and his eighth-grade friends sneaking in to clog Maplewood Middle School toilets pulls the former prankster and his crew into an elaborate set of strategies to catch the perpetrator and foil a couple of would-be cheaters in the process. When two classmates use the video to enlist them in their quest to obtain the answers to their history teacher's dreaded final exam, Jackson and best friend Charlie de la Cruz have to resolve simmering differences and cooperate to puzzle out the point of the scheme and nail the schemer. At the same time, Jackson is trying to work up the courage (and set an elaborate stage) to kiss Charlie's twin sister, Gaby, now formally Jackson's girlfriend. An intricate plot, fast-paced action, short chapters, and changing perspectives characterize this smartly structured tale, a follow-up to Johnson's original caper, The Great Greene Heist (2014). The author smoothly introduces the main characters and back story. With plentiful references to Star Wars and other movies, cartoons, and esoteric trivia (helpfully explained in the backmatter), as well as cutting-edge technology, he also offers a convincing portrayal of a likable and highly diverse group of geeky middle school students, eager to outwit the bad guys, authority, and sometimes one another. A satisfying stand-alone sequel; new readers and old friends will be hoping for further adventures. (Fiction. 10-15)

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January 1, 2016
After his crew succeeded at foiling a corrupt student council election in The Great Greene Heist (rev. 7/14), Jackson Greene retired from his con-man antics. Untilsomeone floods the Maplewood Middle School bathrooms and hallways, and a video surfaces incriminating Jackson and his diverse set of friends. Blackmail? Revenge? Who needs this distraction when things are going so well with Gaby de la Cruz, student council president and potential girlfriend? (Jackson, the master middle-school strategist, has yet to figure out the logistics of a first kiss.) To clear their names, Jackson and Gang Greene are back in action. The smart, complicated mystery caper, reminiscent of the Ocean's Eleven movies, Mission: Impossible, and The Westing Game (to which Johnson slyly alludes later in the tale), involves outwitting the school's ultra-high-tech security system, stealing a final exam, and defeating an unknown mastermind. Back matter explains the novel's various allusions to The Princess Bride, Star Wars, the Fantastic Four, Ocean's Twelve, and other pop-culture references to geek out about. Sheer fun. dean schneider

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