A reluctant Mafia prince . . .Vince Luca is just like any other high school guy. His best friend, Alex, is trying to score vicariously through him; his brother is a giant pain; and his father keeps bugging him to get motivated. There is just one thing that really sets him apart for other kids - his father happens to be the head of a powerful crime organization.Needless to say, while Vince's family's connections can be handy for certain things (like when teachers are afraid t...

In this entertaining and insightful essay, Mario Puzo chronicles his rise from struggling writer to overnight success after the publication of The Godfather.With equal parts cynicism and humor, Puzo recounts the book deal and his experiences in Hollywood while writing the screenplay for the movie. Francis Ford Coppola, Robert Evans, Peter Bart, Marlon Brando, and Al Pacino all make appearances-as does Frank Sinatra, in his famous and disastrous encounter w...

Tyler Stewart knows he’s going to be a television star. He’s funny, and his uncle Pete is a writer for the most popular show on TV. Best of all, Tyler’s parents have just sent him to visit Pete in Hollywood. Talk about luck—no more of his mom’s worrying and his dad’s instructions, for the rest of his summer vacation. Everyone in show business needs a break, and Tyler is sure this is going to be his.Now Tyler has two weeks to land an audition and impress the sitcom’s moody ...

Gordon Korman is an award-winning young adult author with over 50 titles to his credit. Told in an electrifying, hard-edged style, The Juvie Three follows a trio of young delinquents who are granted a very special opportunity in New York City. Accessory to robbery, grand theft auto, driving without a license-these boys did it all, and now they're doing hard time in various juvenile detention centers. Then, however, a mysterious stranger visits each of them, offering to pull them out of "ja...

Pop delivers suspense, humor, sports action, and a compelling look at the damage those "pop"s in football can causeGordon Korman's books appeal to a wide range of kids and adults and can pull in even reluctant readers. Share Pop in your home or classroom; sports fans in particular won't be able to put it down.When Marcus moves to a new town in the dead of summer, he doesn't know a soul. While practicing football for impending tryouts, he s...

Leo Caraway-high school senior, president of the Young Republicans club, 4.0 GPA, future Harvard student-had his entire future perfectly planned out. That was, until the X factor. As in Marion X. McMurphy, aka King Maggot, the lead singer of Purge, the most popular, most destructive band punk rock has ever seen. He's also Leo's biological father.When Leo discovers that his real father is a punk rock legend, he is disgusted. Not only is Leo not a punk rock fan, but he believes the X...

Teens and pre-teens flock to any new offering from New York Times best-selling author Gordon Korman. Told through multiple viewpoints, Ungifted follows Donovan Curtis and his year at a magnet school for gifted and talented kids. Thanks to an administrative foul-up, the decidedly mediocre student Donovan finds himself enrolled in the Academy of Scholastic Distinction. Out of place and out of luck, Donovan joins the robotics team. And while he learns a few lessons from his gifted classmates,...

HIDEOUT: a place to escape detection, especially when being chased by someone determined to have revenge …When Griffin Bing and his friends first met Luthor, he was a vicious attack dog working for the slimy S. Wendell Palomino—also known as Swindle. The kids rescued Luthor, and never thought they’d see Swindle again.But now Swindle’s returned. And he wants his dog back.Swindle has manipulated the law so that there’s no way for Savannah Drysdale to keep Luthor in he...

IN A FAMILY OF LIARS, WHO CAN YOU TRUST?Trey knows how the trick works: His dad gets him into a school full of kids with rich parents. Trey makes friends, and his dad makes connections. Soon, there’s the con, where Trey’s dad suckers the other parents into giving him money for one of his schemes.Once the money’s in the bank, Trey, his sister, and their dad go on the run … until they set up somewhere else and start again.Trey believes his father when he says no one’s ...

SHOWOFF: someone who is given to bragging, having a swelled head, boasting, swaggering, knowing it all …Griffin Bing and his friends are back—and this time, things have gone to the dogs!After former attack dog Luthor goes berserk at a dog show, he’s accused of ruining the career of the three-time national champion. Griffin has always wondered whether you could teach such a vicious dog new tricks … but he also smells a setup of some kind. He feels bad for Luthor—bad enough t...

The morning after Hurricane Leo rips through their town, Evan, Jason, Mitchell, and C.J. find a total mess outside, with downed branches and uprooted trees everywhere. They know they should stay indoors—but they want to go exploring, even if it means having a new kid, Ricky, tag along.Ricky’s the first one to discover a strange trapdoor in the middle of the woods—the door to an old bomb shelter, unearthed by the hurricane. Inside, the boys find a completely intact underground lair,...

From bestselling author Gordon Korman, the thrilling conclusion to the adventure aboard the unluckiest ship of all. The Titanic was supposed to be unsinkable - the largest passenger steamship in the world, one of the biggest and most luxurious ships ever to operate. For Paddy, Sophie, Juliana, and Alfie, the Titanic is full of mysteries - whether they're to be found in the opulent first-class cabins and promenade decks or the shadows in the underbelly of the ship. Secrets...