Editorial Review Product Description Vince Luca's dad is a mobster - a big boss. Vince has got it made. Girls, cars, guns - whatever he wants he can have. Except he doesn't want it. Vince wants to be normal. He doesn't want to live in a house where he can't talk because the FBI have got the entire place bugged, where he finds his mom digging bullets out of his dad's mates in the bathroom, and where he gets dragged off by the police because his birthday present's stolen. But it's not easy going straight when your entire family thinks you're crazy.Amazon.com Review Vince Luca, 17, has a problem. His wealthy family runs the, uh, vending machine business in New York, and Vince is determined not to be part of it. Especially after a hot date is ruined when he finds that his older brother Tommy has conducted some business with Jimmy the Rat and hidden the messy and temporarily unconscious body in the trunk of Vince's car. His dad, the King of the Mob, is reasonable, sensible, lots of fun, gives great presents to his kids--and his name strikes the hearts of other mobsters to stone. Although Vince keeps a low profile at school, his family connection brings him unwanted advantages, like the birthday Porsche that gets him arrested on stolen vehicle charges, or the football game in which he makes touchdown after touchdown because word has gotten around and nobody is willing to tackle him. Even private conversations at home have to be carried on in the basement because the FBI has bugged the house and an agent is always listening. Vince's life is inextricably tangled up with the family business, no matter how hard he tries to stay out of it. How can he show them he's serious? Then he meets Kendra, and when she innocently reveals that her father's an FBI agent--that FBI agent--it's a match made in heaven. He thinks. Gordon Korman, author of (No More Dead Dogs) and over 30 other witty YA novels, is at his best in this Sopranos-style spoof about a teen's home life with the Mob. (Ages 12 and older) --Patty Campbell ... Read more Customer Reviews (100)
Son of the Mob
I would recommend this book to a friend because once you get past the slow start, the book is very captivating.The author surprises you with events that you would never even think of happening, to make the story interesting.For example on his first real date he went to grab some blankets from the trunk only to find them wrapped around a beaten body!"I pop the trunk, reach in, and freeze.I almost choke on my lungs, which have leaped up the back of my throat.There's the blanket alright - wrapped around the unconscious body of some guy!"
Another thing that made this a great book was the believable and realistic characters , which makes it easier to visualize.For example, the main character, Vince, is just an average high school guy who is trying to stay away from his father's "Vending Machine Business", which was just the front for his mob.Another believable character is Kendra, his girlfriend, who has a Father in the FBI agency.This causes problems in the future for Vince, which you will have to read the book to figure out.
Son of the Mob
I would recommend this book to a friend because once you get past the slow start, the book is very captivating.The author surprises you with events that you would never even think of happening, to make the story interesting.For example on his first real date he went to grab some blankets from the trunk only to find them wrapped around a beaten body!"I pop the trunk, reach in, and freeze.I almost choke on my lugs, which have leaped up the back of my throat.There's the blanket alright - wrapped around the unconscious body of some guy!"
Another thing that made this a great book was the believable and realistic characters , which makes it easier to visualize.For example, the main character, Vince, is just an average high school guy who is trying to stay away from his father's "Vending Machine Business", which was just the front for his mob.Another believable character is Kendra, his girlfriend, who has a Father in the FBI agency.This causes problems in the future for Vince, which you will have to read the book to figure out.
Just what I ordered!
It was sent within the time frame indicated and in perfect condition. I am glad I can add it to my collection.
Good Story, Good Writing, Good Fun
Just like any other seventeen-year-old, Vince Luca has problems. His best friend Alex can't get a date so he lives his love life vicariously through Vince. The problem is, Vince isn't doing so well in the date department either. Problem number two? Vince's older brother Tommy is a hothead and a real pain in Vince's neck. Even when he means well, Tommy tends to screw up Vince's life.
Tommy opted to drop out of high school and join their father's `vending machine business.' His father's business - that's Vince's biggest problem and it's a not-so-normal one. Anthony "Honest Abe" Luca is the president of Brothers Vending Machine - and one of the most powerful Mob bosses in New York. Vince loves his dad, but he hates what `Honest Abe' does for a living.
Even though Vince's dad respects his decision to keep out of the vending machine business, that business has a way of intruding on every aspect of Vince's life. So even though Alex keeps reminding him that, "it's my love life too," Vince doesn't think it's worth it to explain his father's life style (or to try and keep it a secret) just to take some girl out on a date.
All that changes when Vince meets Kendra Bightly. He feels a connection to Kendra that he's never felt with anyone else. There's just one tiny problem: Kendra's dad is the FBI agent in charge of the ongoing investigation into Vince's dad. Trying to date Kendra without her dad hearing about it on a wire-tap, let alone trying to keep the family business a secret from her, may be the biggest problem Vince has ever faced.
Amazing
Just Amazing, no words. I haven't been able to find a good mafia fiction book, and this is even better than anything I could find, as it is about kids/teens/young adults, and takes place NOW, and holds much truth in it.
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