(Cover picture courtesy of BookHound.)

Vince Luca is just like any other high-school guy…with one exception.  His father happens to be the head of a powerful crime organization.

While Vince’s family connections can be handy—like when teachers are afraid to give him a bad grade—they put a serious crimp in his dating life.  How is he supposed to explain to a girl what his father does for a living?  And when Vince finally meets one who seems to be worth the trouble, her family turns out to be the biggest problem of all.  Because her father is an FBI agent—the one who wants to put Vince’s father away for good.

Are you tired of angst-ridden, miserable YA books that revolve around magical creatures?  Well, Son of the Mob is certainly the novel for you!

In his first novel aimed at teens, Gordon Korman stays true to his over-the-top, laugh-out-loud sense of humour.  Vince Luca is the son of a mob boss and that puts a serious crimp in his dating life, especially when his date finds the unconscious body of Jimmy Rat (one of his father’s customers) in the trunk of Vince’s car.

The first chapter of this amazing novel certainly sets the tone well.  Gordon Korman’s signature humour is present throughout the novel, yet he balances it perfectly in the climax when all seems lost for Vince.  Readers will certainly enjoy the plot twists and turns as well as the three dimensional characters who are sometimes not all that they seem.

Son of the Mob tackles some heavy moral issues involved in organized crime as well as the issues of love and loyalty.  Vince doesn’t like how his father makes his money, yet he knows that if the cops found out, his father would go to jail and his family would lose everything.  He struggles with this moral dilemma throughout the novel, but finally comes to terms with it in the end.

I give this book 5/5 stars.

Amazon     Barnes and Noble