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Friday, August 28, 2015

Back to School Book Giveaway: Con Academy

I have FIVE free copies of Con Academy up for grabs! Score your free copy! To enter, post a comment on the blog. Include your first name, city, state and email contact. Deadline for posts is noon MST on September 10. Winners are chosen randomly by Randomizer. Winners will be notified on September 10. Please check you email on that date. Winners have 24 hours to respond to an email from me. Books will ship from New York. Good luck! Start posting!
 
School Library Journal says:
"This plot-driven narrative is entertaining and the characters are likable." ---School Library Journal
 
 
My review (from blog post on 7/27/15):


Once you pick up Con Academy, you won't put it down!  What a fun, conniving jaunt! This speedy read is all-out raucous, double and triple crosses abound, and readers will root for Will to come out on top.


Will Shea is a new transfer student at the  prestigious Connaughton Academy, a prep school that caters to America's ultra rich and fabulous. As a scholarship recipient, it is only natural that people want to know more about him, and Will has an extraordinary story to tell. His father and mother, missionaries on a small island in the Pacific, are  killed. After their death, Will's church collects money to send him to America to study.

Except that's not the real story. Will (Humbert) is the son of career cons. He's been a con artist since age eight. After his mother died, Will's father spirals out of control and Will runs away. In order to get into the Academy, Will fakes transcripts and breaks into computer files. His con seems to be working...until he meets Andrea. She recognizes a con when she sees one. That's because Andrea is a con herself.

....
I loved Con Academy. Teen readers will,  too! My one obstacle with this book is the cover. The stack of poker chips with devil horns and a tail does not do the book justice. This is one case that readers should NOT judge the book by its so-so cover.

Highly, highly recommended for anyone who loves a good con! Will is a loveable character with spunk and humor.  Fans of Ally Carter will love Will Shea.

Grade 7-up.

35 comments:

  1. What a great plot! My students would love this one!
    Chrissy
    Abilene, TX
    Christina.adkins@abileneisd.org

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sounds like a good book. Your reviews are the best!
    Ruth Ann
    Perryton, TX
    ranoe@perrytonisd.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. I saw that over the summer. I'd love to win this. :)
    Lynette
    Crystal River, FL
    mitchelll@citrus.k12.fl.us

    ReplyDelete
  4. This book sounds great.
    Patt
    Hopewell, VA
    pscanlan@hopewell.k12.va.us

    ReplyDelete
  5. Need this for my students! Daniela
    Spring, TX
    dlankford@kleinisd.net

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sounds like a great book for my students. Thanks!
    Susan
    Christiansburg VA
    books4susie@aol.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. Excited to hear about a book my boys will like as much as my girls like Gallagher Girls or Heist Society.
    Sandra
    Copperas Cove, TX
    sandracarswell@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sounds Wonderful!
    Michelle
    Gallatin, MO
    manthuis@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  9. This would be a great addition to my collection!
    Beth
    Westbrook, ME
    andersene@westbrook.k12.me.us

    ReplyDelete
  10. You always have such great books in your giveaways.
    David
    Oxford, CT
    bilmesd@oxfordpublicschools.net

    ReplyDelete
  11. I just got this from my public library, and I think my high school students would love it!
    Jane
    Cincinnati OH
    jray@mcnhs.org

    ReplyDelete
  12. That's one reason I'm so glad they ask for feedback on book covers through NetGalley. As long as you're giving your thoughts on the book, why shouldn't they hear that you feel the cover misses the mark?

    Suzanne
    Maryville, TN
    suzannercostner@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  13. Heist Society, The Great Greene Heist--this is a fun genre!
    Barb Gogan
    barbgogan @ gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  14. Sounds like a great addition to my high school collection!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Sounds perfect for our academy!

    Donna
    Chatham, VA
    cooperd@hargrave.edu

    ReplyDelete
  16. This sounds like a great book! I love capers!

    Cassie Hileman
    Houston, TX
    cassiehileman(at)hotmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  17. Sounds like a good one! Jennifer Independence MO Jennifer_epperson@isdschools.org

    ReplyDelete
  18. Sounds great! Thanks for the chance to win a book!
    Maggie Knapp
    Fort Worth, TX
    maggie.knapp@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  19. Sounds great!
    Kate Levesque
    Willington, CT
    klevesque@willingtonct.org

    ReplyDelete
  20. Looks awesome. I love books about teen con artists!

    Mary Zdrojewski
    Scio, NY
    mzdrojewski@scio.wnyric.org

    ReplyDelete
  21. This seems like a great addition to my aging fiction collection
    Monica
    Cincinnati, OH
    williamsmitchellmm@elderhs.net

    ReplyDelete
  22. This sounds great! I'd love to have it in my collection.
    Terri
    Vernon, NJ
    tyost(at)vtsd(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  23. Sounds fantastic!
    Kelly
    Kalkaska, MI
    ksandy@kpschools.com

    ReplyDelete
  24. Emily
    Kentland, IN
    peregrinee@newton.k12.in.us

    ReplyDelete
  25. I would love to win a copy!
    Brenda
    brlemon@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  26. Would be a great read for my junior high students.
    Brian Springdale, Arkansas
    bjohnson3@sdale.org

    ReplyDelete
  27. Would be a great read for my junior high students.
    Brian Springdale, Arkansas
    bjohnson3@sdale.org

    ReplyDelete
  28. Love this cover!
    Terrie
    Pasadena, TX
    thinojosa@pasadenaisd.org

    ReplyDelete
  29. Sounds awesome. Hillside JHS already loves Ally Carter...
    Gregory Taylor
    Hillside JHS
    3536 Hill Road
    Boise, ID 83703
    gregory.taylor@boiseschools.org

    ReplyDelete
  30. Terry
    Brewer, ME
    tholyoke@breweredu.org

    ReplyDelete
  31. Great review!
    Emilee
    Newton, NC
    emilee_hillman@catawbaschools.net

    ReplyDelete
  32. I enjoy reading your reviews and I use them to select the few books that $500 per year will purchase.

    Mindy
    Skiatook, Ok
    mlinthicum@skiatookschools.org

    ReplyDelete
  33. I enjoy reading your reviews and I use them to select the few books that $500 per year will purchase.

    Mindy
    Skiatook, Ok
    mlinthicum@skiatookschools.org

    ReplyDelete
  34. Con Academy looks like a really cute book for my students!
    My name is Marti and I'm in Blythewood, SC.
    martbrown@richland2.org

    ReplyDelete