Great grifter dialogue, loopy dupes, and world-class conniving—not to mention more twists than a corkscrew and a truly...
Garcia, whose loony imagination previously conjured up herb-eating dinosaur private eyes (Casual Rex, 2001, etc.), now produces a pair of foible-rich bunco artists. Frankie, who wants to hit just one big score, is a bona fide slob. Roy, who’s thinking of maybe retiring, keeps his obsessive-compulsive disorder in check with pills from Dr. Mancuso—except that the doc has moved, and until Frankie gets Roy shrunk by Dr. Klein, he’s almost certifiable. Once stabilized, Roy still isn’t sure he wants to go along with Frankie’s big idea: to hustle Saif the importer’s forgeries of famous art forgers’ work. Roy, sad to say, wants to go straight. At the instigation of his new shrink, he’s found Angela, the teenage daughter he never knew he had—the result of his long-ago marriage to Heather, who left him when she was four months pregnant—and now he’s enamored of her, fatherhood, and legitimacy. Angela, however, wants to learn a few flimflams. To Frankie’s disgust, Roy reluctantly teaches her one or two. She adores them, particularly the 7-11, and the stage is now set for the author’s double con, which will leave Roy flummoxed twice, first by Saif flashing a badge and Angela firing a gun, then by Frankie gaily living off Roy’s Bahama-stashed millions with a certain scheming teen by his side.
Great grifter dialogue, loopy dupes, and world-class conniving—not to mention more twists than a corkscrew and a truly poignant character in Roy, soon to be played by Nicolas Cage in the forthcoming Ridley Scott film.Pub Date: Dec. 10, 2002
ISBN: 0-375-50522-9
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Villard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In his quest for easy moolah, Owen learns that the road to financial solvency can be rocky and fraught with work. Greene (Owen Foote, Soccer Star, 1998, etc.) touches upon the often-thorny issue of chores and allowances: Owen’s mom wants him to help out because he’s part of the family and not just for the money—while Owen wants the money without having to do tedious household chores. This universal dilemma leaves Owen without funds and eagerly searching for ways to make a quick buck. His madcap schemes range from original—a “free” toilet demonstration that costs 50 cents—to disastrous, as during the trial run of his children’s fishing video, Owen ends up hooking his ear instead of a trout. Enlisting the aid of his stalwart, if long-suffering, friend Joseph, the two form a dog-walking club that becomes vastly restricted in clientele after Owen has a close encounter with an incontinent, octogenarian canine. Ultimately, Owen learns a valuable lesson about work and money when an unselfish action is generously rewarded. These sudden riches motivate Owen to consider wiser investments for his money than plastic vomit. Greene’s crisp writing style and wry humor is on-target for young readers. Brief chapters revolving around a significant event or action and fast pacing are an effective draw for tentative readers. Weston’s (Space Guys!, p. 392, etc.) black-and-white illustrations, ranging in size from quarter- to full-page, deftly portray Owen’s humorous escapades. A wise, witty addition to Greene’s successful series. (Fiction. 8-10)
Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2000
ISBN: 0-618-02369-0
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2000
PLB 0-688-13166-2 King Midas And The Golden Touch ($16.00; PLB $15.63; Apr.; 32 pp.; 0-688-13165-4; PLB 0-688-13166-2): The familiar tale of King Midas gets the golden touch in the hands of Craft and Craft (Cupid and Psyche, 1996). The author takes her inspiration from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s retelling, capturing the essence of the tale with the use of pithy dialogue and colorful description. Enchanting in their own right, the illustrations summon the Middle Ages as a setting, and incorporate colors so lavish that when they are lost to the uniform gold spurred by King Midas’s touch, the point of the story is further burnished. (Picture book. 7-9)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-688-13165-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
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