It's summer vacation and Jordan O'Blenis is extremely bored. His parents are in Belize on an archaeological dig. Jordan's older sister is finishing her engineering thesis at the local college. This leaves plenty of time for Jordan and his best friend Helen to get into trouble. Jordan is a computer genius and decides to create a virtual super computer that acts like a virus. When the wrong people find out about the program they'll do anything to get their hands on it. Jordan and Helen are faced with some ethical dilemmas when the Cassandra Virus begins reading e-mails and other personal documents. Things really get crazy when Jordan realizes that his super computer is developing it's own personality and starts acting independently. While not the most well-written novel, this book has some funny moments as well as lots of action. Most sci-fi fans will enjoy the quick read of this slightly futuristic beginning to a series (The Drone War is the second part).
Faker By Gordon Korman New York: Scholastic Press, 2024. Fiction. 214 pages. 12-year-old Trey is used to starting over at a new school -- he has the routine perfectly memorized: make new friends, introduce his dad to the wealthy parents of his new friends, and "Houdini" themselves out of there before they get caught running their latest scam. Trey's dad is a master con artist, and Trey has just been promoted to full-partner. Their new scheme for the next big score brings them to the affluent suburb of Boxelder, TN where Trey's dad has cooked up a fake electric car company for investors to buy into. The only problem is that Trey is starting to grow tired of moving around and never putting down roots, especially after forming a fast friendship with Logan and developing a crush on Kaylee, a socially conscious girl in his class. As Trey longs for a normal life, is there any way he can convince his dad to get out of the family business? Gordon Korman is a perennial favorit...
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