Son of the Mob September 25, 2007

Korman, Gordon (2002). Son of the Mob. NY: Hyperion. 262 pages.

Vince Luca’s had a pretty sweet life – his dad’s a mob boss, so he’s enjoyed all the perks of life on the wrong side of the law. There’s only one problem: his dad is a MOB BOSS. And Vince wants nothing to do with the mob – especially when he falls in love with the daughter of the FBI agent who’s after his dad.

There’s a few reasons I read this book, and the number one reason is the author: Gordon Korman. A man who, without fail, writes totally hilarious books about people who do really stupid things. And makes it all somehow believable. And he certainly didn’t cut back on the humor in this book – Vince is a wry, sarcastic, funny narrator. He’s definitely a likable character, which is a good thing, because he stumbles pretty naively through most of the action (with a little help from his nice-guy mob mentor, Ray Vecchio Francione) and it would have gotten a little annoying otherwise. There are a few times where the story drifts into more dark, introspective themes of morality and law, which – if natural – does seem slightly out of place with the rest of the tone of the text.

ETA: There’s also a sequel, Son of the Mob: Hollywood Hustle, that I’ve only just heard of, and haven’t had a chance to read yet.  Expect more here once I’ve gotten my hands on it.

Booktalk Hook: Everyone’s probably wished at some point that their parents would just stay out of their life. But most people’s parents don’t have anything on Vince Luca’s mob boss father – who can’t even keep his, er, associates out of the trunk of Vince’s car, let alone out of his life.

And if you liked the book: You might also like My Boss My Hero, a Japanese series also about a guy in high school who has a mob boss for a father. The difference is that Makio is 27, not 17. Both the book and the series play the protagonists’ situation for comic effect, and both are chock full of wacky hijinks.