Well, we've (hopefully) reached the end of Swindle! Like a real book group, I've come up with a few conversation topics. Feel free to answer any or all of them in the comments and bring up questions/comments of your own. If you haven't finished yet, don't worry! Just don't read this post yet! Lots of spoilers inside, and I wouldn't want to ruin the book for anyone!
1. What did you like about the book?
2. What didn't you like about the book??
3. Do you think it's really possible for a group of middle schoolers, like yourselves, to pull off such a heist?
4. Did Ben's secret suprise you?
5. What would you have done, if you were in Griffin's situation?
6. If you were Mrs. Winnifred Rockford-Gates, who was the rightful owner of the card, what would you have done with it?
7. Did Darren Vader get what he deserved at the end?
I liked the character developments throughout the book. Griffin has a solid personality, as do Ben and the others. The addition of Luthor was clever, and him being adopted by Stephanie at the end was a great tie.I thought that Ben having narcolepsy was an interesting add-in. It didn't really add anything to the story, but it explained a lot about Ben's personality. Some of the things I didn't like about the book however, were the switching points of view. I think it would have been better if it had stayed squarely on the kids, rather than occasionally flipping to the inside workings of their plans (such as Palomino getting the tickets for the hockey game).
I'm not sure if I believe that kids could pull off such a heist --at least not in such a short amount of time. They only had a few days to put this together, and with the Darren Vader Problem, it was bound to be a catastrophe. If I had been in Griffin's situation, I probably would have done some research on the card first to find out how much it was worth. THEN, I would have made sure that no one could claim ownership on it.
If I were Mrs. Rockford-Bates, I would have given the card back to Griffen for finding it. I doubt very much that she knew Darren very well, or she would have known he was such a jerk. However, I think it was a good thing that his parents made him donate the money --with the stipulation for the skate park. In the end, I was glad that Griffin and his friends got the project that they had been lobbying for, that started the whole mess in the first place.
If you liked Swindle, Gordon Korman has an entire series dovoted to The Man With a Plan, all of which are available through MORE. If you're looking for some simliar stories, I suggest Robin Hood (call # J 398.2 PHIL), and NoveList came up with The Boys Start The War by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, and books by Jeff Kinney (Diary of a Wimpy Kid) and K. L. Going (Fat Kid Rules the World). Some movies I would suggest include Catch that Kid, and Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging.
If you can think of anything else, feel free to share. Join us next week for the beginning discussion of Fairest by Gail Carson Levine. Copies are available in the library. Ask at the front desk, or find them located on top of the magazines, in front of the J-Non-Fiction. There will also be copies of Swindle, Fairest, and our other two books for the summer if you're behind, or want to get ahead.
-Samma
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