Module 7: Son of the Mob: Hollywood Hustle by Gordon Korman

Bibliographic Citation: Korman, Gordon. Son of the Mob: Hollywood Hustle. New York: Hyperion Paperbacks, 2004. 

Plot Summary:

Vince is finally going to college and he makes sure to attend a college far from home, he mainly wants to distance himself from his father, a mobster, and the lifestyle his family lives.  However, leaving his that lifestyle doesn't look very easy, especially when his brother manages to switch one of his suitcases with one filled with cash.  When Vince gets to California, he checks out his dorm room and meets his new roommate, the son of an influential politician.  He soon learns that his roommate can't stand his father and Lucas doesn't understand why.  A politician makes a living in an honest way and people respect him, at least that's the way Lucas sees things.

One day, Lucas' brother arrives in California, as well as his father's friends.  So much for leaving that life behind him.  Lucas doesn't know why they would be in California.  Soon enough, Lucas learns why though.  Just when Lucas doubts his father and his people, Lucas learns that they are actually in California for a good reason and are trying to help a politician that recently went missing.  

My Impressions of the Book:

Ever wonder what the life of a mobster's son is like?  Well, this book attempts to portray just that.  I feel indifferent about this book, I don't think this book was very interesting and some of the events that took place just seemed too out there for me.  Nevertheless, I must admit I liked the ending of the book and the lesson learned.  So, Vince thought his father and his friends were the ones that were up to no good in Hollywood, but it turned out that a politician was the one that was up to no good.  Vince thought his roomate was lucky to have a politician for a father, a "regular" person that was decent.  Then Vince learns that his roomate hates his father and Vince can't figure out why, since he makes a decent living.  When the truth is revealed about Vince's dad and the politician, Vince learns a valuable lesson.  The lesson learned, don't always assume the worse of some people, just because they have done illegal things in the past doesn't mean they aren't capable of good deeds. 

Review(s) About the Book:

Amazon.com

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up–Vince Luca, from Son of the Mob (Hyperion, 2002), returns, and this time he tries to get away from his family and "The Life" by moving to Santa Monica to start college as a film major. His high school girlfriend, Kendra, the daughter of the FBI agent who is determined to nab Vince's mob-boss father, is attending a nearby college, but they hardly see one another. When Luca mobsters from New York show up claiming they're "on vacation," Vince knows something is up, but isn't quite sure what until he attends a local rally for the concrete workers' union at the request of his roommate, Trey, the son of a powerful congressman. When Vince sees the so-called "tourists" in the audience, he assumes that they are there to make trouble. Meanwhile, he almost throws away his relationship with Kendra when he kisses a beautiful girl who has set him up so that Kendra's father can take pictures of them. He must also deal with his visiting mobster brother, who cheats some foreign students out of money, and with Trey's kleptomania. The somewhat complicated plot lines eventually come full circle and there is humor throughout the narrative. The pace is quick enough to keep reluctant readers interested. Korman avoids stereotypical caricatures by concentrating on relationships, particularly between fathers and sons. In the end, Vince comes into his own in this funny and somewhat over-the-top story.–Karen Hoth, Marathon Middle/High School, FL
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0786809191/thebookreport01

Reviewandreact.com

Fiction
268 pages
Just as he thought he was escaping his fathers vending machine business, WHAM! It catches back up with him in Hollywood!

Vince Luca tries to get as far as he can from his Mob boss father and his family business. So he leaves New York for film school in California. His room mate happens to be a well known congressmans son. In this novel the candidate for the leader of the union dissapears and the New York mob is in L.A. sounds like a bad combo...

In this novel Vince Luca is the main character. Some other important characters are his room mate Trey Sutter and his father Congressman Sutter, along with The New York mob.

The theme is that you can't judge a book by its cover, sometimes the bad guys do good deeds and the good guys get mixed up in some bad stuff.

This book really hasn't reminded me of any other books or movies I have ever seen. I would recomend it to everyone, it's fast paced and easy to read.
- Reviewed by Tanner D
http://www.reviewandreact.com/store/pdetails1627.php

Use in Library Setting:

I'm not sure where I would place this book aside from the actual bookshelf it belongs in.  I would recommend this book to teens that want to read a good book, I think the mobster aspect of it might attract some teens. However, I dont think I would use this book in a book talk or for a book club.  Could be displayed with books that are part of a series.