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 ...

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...

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 MISSING YEARS FROM THE GREATEST CRIME SAGA OF ALL TIMEThirty-five years ago, Mario Puzo’s great American tale, The Godfather, was published, and popular culture was indelibly changed. Now, in The Godfather Returns, acclaimed novelist Mark Winegardner continues the story–the years not covered in Puzo’s bestselling book or in Francis Ford Coppola’s classic films.It is 1955. Michael Corleone has won a bloody victory in the war among New York’s crime famil...