Zoobreak by Gordon Korman: Review

by Daniel Johnston on April 18, 2012 · 0 comments

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Zoobreak by Gordon Korman is the second book in the Swindle series, immediately following the wildly popular inaugural book Swindle. In Swindle, the main character Griffin Bing and his best friend, Ben Slovak, stumble upon a 1920 Babe Ruth baseball card while sleeping in an abandoned old house that’s about to be knocked down the next morning. Griffin’s family is having financial problems, and he doesn’t know much about baseball cards, but an original 1920 Babe Ruth in mint condition has to be a lot of money. So they take it a collector to see if it’s worth anything and the guy (S. Wendell Palomino; nicknamed Swindle) lies that it’s just a cheap knockoff and buys it for a pittance. It turns out the card is worth $974,000. What the guy did is unethical, it’s sleazy, but there’s no way to prove he lied. Swindle is going to get away with it.

But Griffin is the Man with the Plan, and he and his team of friends come up with a plan to steal the card back. It’s a very exciting and action-packed book, and one of the best fiction books I’ve read.

So what did Gordon did to follow up that success? He wrote Zoobreak, a book that, while good, is no match for the original Swindle. In Swindle, there was a million dollar baseball card. In Zoobreak, there’s a stolen pet monkey. When Griffin and the team steal the monkey back from a crooked zoo, they can’t help but take all the other maltreated animals with them. They intend to donate them to the local zoo, but their contact is delayed is Africa, and won’t be back in two weeks, while they’ve got over forty extra animals on their hands! It is helpful to note that these books can be read in any order. While I would advise beginning with the first book, it is possible to pick up the series anywhere.

This is a trailer video made by Scholastic for Zoobreak.

Summary

Savannah Drysdale, animal expert and member of the team, can’t believe it when her pet monkey Cleopatra disappears. Her dog Luthor can’t believe it either, who Cleopatra was best friends with. She knows “Cleo” couldn’t have run away; she loved it with Savannah and Luthor!

When Griffin and Ben go looking with Luthor to find Cleopatra and come back with a banana, Savannah is sure Cleopatra has been kidnapped. This evidence is of course not accepted by the police, however, and Cleo continues to be nowhere to be seen.

To make matters worse, Ben Slovak has narcolepsy, a disease which makes him susceptible to falling asleep at any time of the day. And his condition is getting worse. His parents can’t pass it up when they have the opportunity to send him to a boarding school in New Jersey (the adventures in the Swindle series take place in Cedarville, Long Island), where he’ll be separated from not only his family, but also his best friend! Even though Griffin’s dad tries to convince him this is the best thing for Ben, Griffin knows the only reason Ben is going is because he’s a kid, and his parents want him to go.

Some more time passes, and Cleopatra is still gone. It looks like Savannah will have to continue without her monkey. But when they go on a school trip to a floating zoo, they’ve finally found their animal. And Savannah was right; she’s been kidnapped! Cleo is right there, under the name of Eleanor. Savannah is sure of it. Even Darren Vader, Griffin’s arch nemesis, respects Savannah’s knowledge of animals. But to prove that it really is Cleopatra would take money, DNA testing, and probably over a year. Even though Cleo is depressed and sad, Savannah has to leave her there.

Actually, all the animals are depressed. There are poorly fed and malnourished. The owner of a zoo goes by the name of Mr. Nastase, who is quickly nicknamed “Mr. Nasty.” Even the teacher who takes them on the trip isn’t impressed. But there’s nothing they can do about it.

At least not if you’re the Man with the Plan. That zoo stole Savannah’s monkey, and just like they took back the million dollar baseball card in Swindle, this time they’re taking back something even more valuable.

But when they get to the zoo and see all the poor animals somehow they end up taking not one monkey, but forty animals. Savannah is sure they can just give them to a animal expert at a zoo she has contact with, but it turns out she is out of town-and she won’t be back for two weeks! Two weeks with forty animals!

And not only that, but Mr. Nasty is on the case-and he’s tracked them to Cedarville! How are they going to hide forty animals from not only him, but also their parents! Surely they can’t hide for two weeks. And what happens when people discover who has the animals? Will the Man with the Plan come up with a genius plan at the last minute? And will an animal shockingly save Ben from boarding school?

Although we have come to expect interesting moral dilemmas in Gordon’s books, this may be the most interesting push of moral barriers he has written yet, while still being quite morally strong.

Review

This book is easy to speed through at 230 pages with large font, written for kids around the age of 9-14. The writing is very good, although not quite as much as good as in other books by the author. This book could almost be said to be aimed for a lesser age audience than the rest of the book for its more simplistic writing, and could be read by anyone 7 years old and up. The plot was also less complex, with somewhat less twists than in the rest of the series and some of the plot being unrealistic.

I have stated in other places that this was the worst book in the series, although it was still quite interesting. Without being the least bit preachy, it respects the rights of animals, which also leads to respecting the rights of humans. There are many unexpected events and dangerous escapes, as well as being very exciting.

Overall, I give it a 2.75/5.0 because of the interesting story and exciting plot. I would give it a 3.75, but I take off half a point for the lesser writing and another half a point for the less complexity of the plot, twists and slightly unrealistic story.

This is the worst in the series, but is still a pretty good and interesting book that fans of the series should definitely pick up, especially for younger readers. Click here to buy the book Zoobreak by Gordon Korman.

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Framed by Gordon Korman (Swindle Series): Review

by Daniel Johnston on April 11, 2012 · 2 comments

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Framed is the third edition in the popular Swindle series written by best-selling author Gordon Korman, one of my personal favorite authors. This series features Griffin Bing (the main character) and their gang of friends. In Swindle, the inaugural book, Griffin and his best friend Ben Slovak discover a 1920 Babe Ruth baseball card while sleeping in abandoned old house that’s about to be knocked down. They take it to a collector to see if maybe it will solve Griffin’s financial problems, but the appraiser (S. Wendell Palomino; Swindle) tells that it’s just a cheap knockoff and buys it for $120. But actually, it’s worth $974,000. The only way to get the card is to steal it back.

After Zoobreak (which I believe to be the weakest of the four books so far), Framed is a very strong book that keeps the series rolling. In this book, Griffin and his friends go to a middle school with a principal (Dr. Egan; nicknamed Dr. Evil) who hates them because of their past. Griffin wants to get back at him, but after being threatened by the police at the end of Zoobreak, none of the team is eager to try another “plan.”

Note: These books can be read in any order. While I always recommend starting at the beginning, it is by no means necessary, as the plots are not very at all based on the proceeding adventures.

Below is a video trailer for the book made by Scholastic.

Summary

Until a 1968 Jets super bowl ring mysteriously disappears from the school. And Griffin’s retainer (which he had previously lost), was right where the ring used to be! Griffin didn’t do it, but neither Dr. Egan nor the police believe him. The judge who is assigned his case (Judge Koretsky) also does not buy his story and banishes him to the John F. Kennedy Alternative Education Center (JFK), infamously known as “Jail for Kids.”

Griffin and his friends pick several suspects: Darren Vader (a money grubber and a member of the Swindle and Zoobreak team), Cecilia White (a newspaper columnist who is trying to call attention to Griffin’s plots), Dr. Egan, and a kid by the name of Tony Bartholomew who is related to Art Blankenship (the owner of the ring) and wants to grab it for himself. But his sting operation doesn’t go as planned, and Judge Koretsky confines him to house arrest.

Now Griffin is convinced it’s Dr. Egan who stole the ring and framed him (he had a key to the safe where the ring was kept, after all). Griffin’s parents are distraught as they knew he lost his retainer beforehand and wasn’t guilty, but begin to lose their patience when Griffin’s sting operation on Egan lands him with an ankle-bracelet.

Things aren’t going well at JFK either. Griffin has accidentally “befriended” a bully named Shank who directs special attention towards Griffin as his “best friend.” But Shank isn’t as stupid as he seems. Could he have a special skill that proves to be an integral part of proving Griffin’s innocence?

Griffin has all but given up. All suspects lead to dead ends. There are many guesses, but no evidence that can land him out of juvie.

Until Savannah Drysdale (animal expert and member of team) comes across an idea that might lead to Griffin’s freedom. It sounds crazy, but can it be true? What if none of the original culprits are guilty? Could a rodent be the break Griffin has been waiting for?

Review

This book is easy to read at 234 pages with large font, meant for kids in the age group of 9-14. The writing is still superb and will expand the vocabulary of many a reader.

Korman’s books always bring readers to question the way society is run and does not fall into the preachiness that kids have come to be accustomed to reading, while being very morally strong overall (largely about dedication to the truth and friendship as is common in books by this author). This is a very exciting book and has frequently been said to appeal to even “reluctant readers.” It is very fast-paced and exciting (definitely in the action/adventure genre), while somewhat far-fetched. Even the characters cannot believe the turn of events that occur!

Overall, I give it a 3.5/5.0 because of the superb writing and exciting action. I would give it a 4.0, but take off of a half a point because of some of the implausibility of the story.

This is the best in the series other than Swindle, which is an absolute classic and has thus far proved to be untopable. This book comes close and captures the excitement of the original book, and is highly recommended. Click here to buy the book Framed by Gordon Korman!

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The 39 Clues: The Dead of Night by Peter Lerangis Review

March 15, 2012
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Recently, Scholastic released the newest book in the explosive The 39 Clues action series, The Dead of Night by Peter Lerangis. This has long been one of my all-time favorite series, and I usually finish the book the very day it comes out. For those who don’t know, The 39 Clues is a series about [...]

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Nobody Ever Dies by Ernest Hemingway: Review

March 7, 2012
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Most of Ernest Hemingway’s works are very well known and read by many people across the world. But today I am reviewing one of his lesser known stories, Nobody Ever Dies. In fact, Nobody Ever Dies is one of of only of few the famous author’s stories that is frequently left out of short story [...]

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Bartleby, the Scrivener by Herman Melville: Review

February 15, 2012
Bartleby, the Scirvener by Herman Melville

Herman Melville is most famous for the authorship of the absolute classic Moby-Dick. While I may review that later on this blog, today I am reviewing one of his short stories. Bartleby, the Scrivener, that I recently had the pleasure of reading. The novella is about an office worker named Bartleby, who works as a [...]

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Showoff by Gordon Korman (Swindle Series): Review

February 8, 2012
Showoff by Gordon Korman

Series Background Regular readers of this blog will know that Gordon Korman is one of my absolute favorite kids authors. The first book I read by him was Swindle, a book about Griffin Bing and his gang of friends to steal back a valuable 1920 Babe Ruth baseball card that is rightfully theirs; the owner [...]

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Six Books for Tweens that are Breathtakingly Awesome

January 30, 2012
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You want your tween to read, but you don’t want to give them a clunker? Here are some awesome books that both you and your kids can enjoy. 1. The 39 Clues This is still my favorite fiction book! None of these are actually just one book, but instead a series. This is still ongoing, [...]

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The War Prayer by Mark Twain: Review

November 23, 2011
The War Prayer by Mark Twain

I mentioned I would be mostly reviewing action/adventure fiction books on this blog (and I will be); but today I am doing something slightly different and reviewing a poem by Mark Twain, the famous author of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Note: I will have a review up of [...]

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