''Swindle'' is a 2008 children's novel by

Gordon Korman Gordon Korman (born October 23, 1963) is a Canadian American author. Korman has written 100 children's and young adult fiction books. Korman's books have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide over a career spanning four decades and have appe ...

. It is a

caper story The caper story is a subgenre of crime fiction. The typical caper story involves one or more crimes (especially thefts, swindles, or occasionally kidnappings) perpetrated by the main characters in full view of the reader. The actions of police or ...

about the retrieval of a valuable

baseball card A baseball card is a type of trading card relating to baseball, usually printed on cardboard, silk, or plastic. In the 1950s they came with a stick of gum and a limited number of cards. These cards feature one or more baseball players, teams, stad ...

. The book was the first of a series, followed by '' Zoobreak'', ''

Framed! ''Traces'' is a series of novels written by British author Malcolm Rose, about the adventures of Forensic Investigator Luke Harding and his Mobile Aid To Law And Crime, Malc. The first book, ''Framed!'', has been selected by the United States ...

'', ''Showoff'', '' Hideout'','' Jackpot'', ''Unleashed'', and ''Jingle''.Gordon Korman at Fantastic Fiction
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Plot

A smart, young boy named Griffin Bing decides to invite his entire class grade over for a sleepover in an old, abandoned house that is slated to be demolished after the town's plan for using as a new space in their town to make a skate park was thrown out because of their youth. However, on the night of the sleepover, only Griffin and his best friend Ben Slovak show up. Griffin finds a vintage baseball card. The card was a 1920 Babe Ruth trading card worth $974,000. S. Wendell Palomino, or Swindle as the boys call him, stiffed them and gave Griffin only 120 dollars for the card. Griffin gave half to Ben. The boys attempt to steal the card from a safe in Palomino's shop, but it has been moved. After discovering that it is in his house, they group up with a few other people and decide to steal the card back in an elaborate heist. The team consists of Griffin, Ben, Melissa, Savannah, and Pitch, but Darren blackmails them into letting him also join the team. They steal the card, but leave a little evidence to their identity, and they are caught. However, news of Swindle's swindling comes out in the newspaper, and he does not press charges-instead, he gets a dose of karma and his shop does not see many visitors anymore. The card goes on auction, selling for 974,000 dollars, with the money eventually going to a town museum and the skate park.

Characters

''Griffin Bing:'' a middle school student, and ringleader of the card heist. Nicknamed “The Man with the Plan”. ''Ben Slovak:'' a middle school student, Griffin’s best friend, and lookout of the card heist. Ben becomes a lookout after revealing to Griffin that he has

narcolepsy Narcolepsy is a long-term neurological disorder that involves a decreased ability to regulate sleep–wake cycles. Symptoms often include periods of excessive daytime sleepiness and brief involuntary sleep episodes. About 70% of those affect ...

. ''Savannah Drysdale:'' a middle school student. Savannah is great with animals and is brought onto the card heist to calm Swindle’s dog Luthor. ''Antonia “Pitch” Benson:'' a middle school student. Pitch is an expert climber and is brought onto the card heist to bring them onto the roof of Swindle’s building. ''Logan Kellerman:'' a middle school student. Logan is an actor who is trying to get into a commercial when he is brought onto the card heist to distract Swindle's neighbor. ''Melissa Dukakis'' a middle school student. Melissa is a shy girl who was brought into the plan when Griffin Bing wants a girl specialized in

computers A computer is a machine that can be programmed to carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as programs. These programs ...

Film

A TV movie ''

Swindle A swindle is a kind of fraud or confidence trick. Swindle may also refer to: People * Swindle (surname) Places * Swindle Island, British Columbia, Canada * 8690 Swindle, an asteroid Films * ''Il bidone'' (English titles ''The Swindle'' or ' ...

'' based on the novel was released on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

in 2013.

References

{{Reflist}
Author's page featuring

External links

2008 Canadian novels Novels by Gordon Korman 2008 children's books