Hacking Harvard meets Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer in this book about scams, cons, and making it to the top. I adore books that involve smart kids. It’s so much fun to read a book that has kids doing things you typically only think adults capable of. Well, in this book, with a little help from adults, and a lot of scheming on his own part, Will Shea sets up and pulls off many things that I never would have thought possible. After reading Con Academy though, I can only imagine seeing the things that happen in this book on the National News.

If you are a kid (or an adult searching for a book for your child) looking for a good read that is relatively low in content, then listen up (and see below content detail)! This book might be just what you need to get you out of a reading slump. It’s a little bit of mystery, and a whole lot of drama, but I was never bored with it–far from it. I had a fine time trying to decide whether or not to believe the elaborate stories Will Shea told his classmates, and when he finally started to fit in and make friends, it was interesting to see how that worked out for him.

All in all, this book is a keeper. Joe Schreiber has the type of writing that will appeal to a vast age group. I know I would have loved this book when I was young, and now, at 21 I liked it just as well!

Review of an Advance Reader Copy provided by the publisher

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  5 mild obscenities.

Violence/Gore:  A minor reports his parents died; a bomb is mentioned to have been dropped on a populated area, people died from the radiation; a minor hires a hitman to injure a classmate (the character is slammed into a wall); death threats are made; a character destroys classmate’s instrument to retaliate against her; a character smacks a classmate; a man physically threatens a minor, tries to punch him; a minor is mentioned to have been kidnapped and her wrists tied; a minor girl is shot and injured, some blood is mentioned to be splattered; verbal threats are made.

Sex/Nudity:  Minors kiss briefly twice; a minor girl gives a boy she likes a peck on the cheek.

Mature Subject Matter:

Underage drinking, gambling, hazing, death.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

A man drinks whiskey; a man’s car smells of smoke, he is said to be smoking a cigarette; minors drink in secret at school in several instances; adults are mentioned to chain smoke.