In Gordon Korman’s FAKER, Trey’s father is a scam artist & Trey serves as his partner. In this risky line of work, it means that the family is often on the move and must cut ties to avoid being caught. After settling in a small town in Tennessee to run another con, Trey begins to reconsider how he feels about the choices his father has made. With great characters and its depiction of the main character grappling with a big ethical dilemma, this clever and engaging book offers lots for readers to think about and enjoy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of the book to read and review.

Faker is an intriguing story of a boy whose dad is a savvy scammer. He always goes along with it because his dad only swindles the rich- they don’t miss the lost money anyway , so it’s not so bad, right?? RIGHT??
Then he finds out the truth- and is forced to face more hard truths in an ethics class- and now has to figure out how to stop his dad.

Prolific author Gordon Korman has a winner once again in this tale of a family of con artists. Middle schooler Trey has changed his last name more times than he can count, and could find himself uprooted to a new location at any moment. That’s what life is like when your dad is always planning phony investment schemes to part the rich from their money. Although Trey longs to be able to stay in one place and form lasting friendships, he doubts it will ever happen. When Trey takes Ethics class in his new middle school, he begins to look at the family business a little differently. Will he ever be able to help his family break the cycle of dishonesty and make an honest living? Find out in this latest offering from a favorite author.

Gordon Korman hit another home run with his latest book, Faker. The story of a single dad/con man, who makes little effort to hide his illegal crimes from his children. The dad uses the analogy of Robin Hood stealing from the rich to give to the poor to justify his crime-ridden lifestyle. His children start the story admiring their father’s gift of thievery, but as the story unfolds, the son begins to grapple with the ethical ideas of right and wrong. There are some well drawn characters and a nice subplot about caring for and recovering nature. There is an unexpected twist that illustrates the vulnerability of children of nefarious parents. Faker will be a hit with middle schoolers and an opportunity for a classroom read leading to ethics discussions. Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this prepub in exchange for an honest review.

I think my kids will find this one a bit confusing. The con-piece is a bit over their heads! I have loved Korman's books in the past but I don't think I will purchase this one for my kids.

Gordan Korman is a favorite among upper elementary and middle school students. Faker is up there with Restart. Not only is the story something that students will enjoy, but it also provokes rich discussion and debate, making it an excellent novel for teaching.

Following a 12-year-old confidence man running cons with his dad and sociopathic younger sister, the reader is transported into an ethical dilemma. The choice to frame that ethical dilemma through an ethics class was genius. While some of the twists were predictable, I am not sure that my students would catch those.

I am excited to add this to my library and try and convince our committee to add it to a future Battle of the Books list.

Thank you to Net Galley and Scholastic for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

This is another great adventure by Gordon Korman. Since their mother left when they were young, it has always been Trey and his sister and father, living one adventure after another. It is a life they know and enjoy. After many private schools, Trey finally enrolls in public school and his experiences there start to make him really stop and question his life and the “family business.” This is a book that students will enjoy but it will also make them think.

How many kids are considering ethics in middle school? My guess? Most of them. Questions about how you're going to show up in life and why are a big part of growing up, and they're not easy to answer. This is a fun story about one kid deciding considering his roles as a family member and friend, and what he wants to change. It's definitely in the voice and style of Gordon Korman. If you like his books, you'll like this one. If not, well, maybe his writing isn't your cup of tea. Thank you to NetGalley for sharing the eARC with me.

This author delivers again. I strongly encourage my students to read anything written by him. He understands that there are many layers to our younger students. This book was a reminder to always look at little deeper when caring for our students.

Gordon Korman takes the win again!

Being the son of professional con man, Trey Whitfield III, I mean, Westham III… or was it Kirkwood III?

Well, whatever his name is is just promoted to full partner status (much to his younger sister’s annoyance) after a successful operation selling 500% of a Great Dane (the dog wasn't even theirs) to a bunch of rich snobs.

The next big fraud? The Big Kahuna aka El Captain. Who wouldn't want to buy shares in the newest car? A car that makes a Tesla look like an old coughing tractor.

Buuuuuut as Trey befriends locals and gets involved in restoring a gross pond he begins to rethink his future in swindling.

This book was another great Korman book! I wouldn't say it was one of my top favorites, but it's definitely up there. Korman crafts such a unique story once again with a solid cast of characters. Of course Trey's perspective was interesting as well which Korman always seems to nail.

This book didn't have anything questionable things that are in a lot of middle grade books now. Great read!

This was an eARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Gordon Korman is a favorite among my middle schoolers, and this book will be no exception! There are several twists and turns that will keep them engaged and guessing, and there is a great theme for them to learn from at the end. I also love that there are characters with very diverse personalities and interests for readers to connect to. I will definitely be getting this book for my classroom!

Gordon Korman. You’ve done it again. You’ve picked a clever and unique theme for your newest installment and wowed me with a great novel.

12-year-old Trey is the product of his gifted con artist father. Trey and his dad has perfected the con routine down to a science: enroll in a new, preferential an elite, school, make friends, introduce his father to his friends’ wealthy parents, and get out before their targets realize they’ve been scammed. And it appears younger sister Arianna is following along famously in their conniving footsteps. She may be even a bit more sinister.

Some past cons include: selling award winning high bred dogs over and over, fake insurance and now their current confidence game involves selling shares in a bogus electric car company. This time, Trey’s dad is finally bringing him in as a full-time partner, which aggravates Trey’s ambitious younger sister. The car is actually a well disguised Tesla claiming to get a thousand miles off one charge. Really? The two are now attending Boxelder Middle School in Tennessee, where contacts can be made through the children. That’s pretty bad right? Nevertheless, Trey is excited to help his father make what could be their Big Score, aka The Big Kahuna. Trey’s charisma and the bright red shiny car dubbed El Capitan causes Trey to become quite popular among the rich and not so rich at school. This includes socially conscious Kaylee and outgoing Logan. These new found friends have him reconsidering his previous disdain about settling down. One day Trey receives an anonymous message claiming “I know what you’re doing,” and he’s afraid the con is blown. it’s time to Houdini; code for fleeing with the money without a trace? But he wants to protect his family, hang onto his budding new life, yet without giving himself away? The family justifies their cons Robin Hood style because they plan to only swindle the filthy rich who can afford to lose a few thousand, but then that may not always be the case.

Korman’s characters navigate complex ethical issues surrounding right and wrong, responsibility, and actions and repercussions. “Suffer” along with Trey’s inner struggle to justify his family’s actions while seeking a more grounded life, all the while the drama is lightened by Korman’s signature humor.

The book does wrap up with a very tidy and most unlikely ending, but it sure made me feel good.

This was such a fun read for me because I used to enjoy watching shows about con artists. I never pictured a book with a family of con artists, and it was such a unique and fun story to see a kid living the con artist life. The main character Trey always knew that technically what his family did was stealing, but when he moves to a new town with new friends to target, life becomes extra complicated when his social studies teacher starts a unit on ethics. Even con artist kids go through normal middle school stuff like family fights, making new friends, cute crushes to impress, school projects that sometimes don’t go quite right. It’s all a part of life. But what happens when your world is turned upside down because of questions you’ve never faced head on before. How is Trey going to cope with this serious ethics problem? Isn’t the most important thing in his life family and them making a decent living?
Faker is a page turner that I couldn’t put down. I loved the story. But I loved Trey’s very real struggles more. From the everyday struggles of friendship to the life altering struggles. Faker is a book that readers will remember a long time after they finish the story. They will remember the way it made them feel and how they responded to Trey’s inner reflections.

Gordon Korman is one of the most popular writers to my 4th and 5th grade students so when I saw he had a new book coming, I was eager to read it! I wasn’t sure what to expect as I started and felt very conflicted along with Trey through much of the book but it was great and I can’t wait to be able to add it to our school library!

Korman delivers another great story for upper grade elementary and up. This was a fun read and one that I will be adding to my elementary school library collection for the students.

A unique story, one that I got drawn into. I couldnt wait to see what was going to happen to Trey, his little sister,and his dad. I enjoyed the fact that citizenship and ethics lessons were brought into play.

Thank you, Scholastic Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

Middle grade readers should definitely check out Gordon Korman. Faker is a quick read with a narrator you will be rooting for.

The was a fun and fast-paced story filled with humor and heart. I really enjoyed Trey's growth throughout the book. Fans of realistic fiction, humorous stories and Korman's other works will likely enjoy this one.

This was a fun new read from the always great Gordon Korman! The story flowed well and characters were flawed but likeable. I enjoyed seeing Trey's growth throughout the story as he realizes what his life is really about. This will be an engaging book for middle grade readers!

Faker is another winning middle grade novel from Gordon Korman. This story follows middle-schooler Trey, whose dad is a con artist. As a result, the family is constantly on the move, relocating to different communities to run new scams on unsuspecting neighbors. Up until now, Trey has loved the excitement of his unconventional life, but as the story opens, he’s beginning to have doubts about this type of life. In their latest home of Boxelder, Trey makes new friends and meets new teachers who make him further question the ethics of the life his family leads. I enjoyed watching Trey’s journey of self-discovery and the ultimate conclusion to the story. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Friendship, family, business, ethics, sibling rivalry, student activism, and crime, Faker by Gordon Korman is sure to be a hit with students. This story is told from the point of view of Trey, a middle school student who assists his father in the family business--the confidence game. Centering around the next big con, Trey befriends Logan and Kaylee, which changes everything for him. This book is sure to provoke discussion about morals, ethics, and personal choices. Once again, Gordon Korman does not disappoint.