Hey guys, Aidan here.

I was lucky enough to get an early copy of this fun-packed story, the perks of having an aunt who writes books, and devoured it in a couple of days. See below for, what I hope will be, the first of many reviews, this summer.

“Now wasn’t a time to be normal. Now was a time to be infamous,” states the clever and mischievous Jackson Greene, and so he goes on to prove in Varian Johnson’s new summer read, The Great Greene Heist.

Jackson Greene, an eighth grade pupil at Maplewood Middle School, is far from your ordinary student. With past misdemeanors, such as “ Blitz at the Fritz”, “Shakedown at Shimmering Hill” and “Mid-day PDA” we can only guess at some of the scrapes Greene has previously instigated, as well as wish we all had such a prankster at our school.

However, Jackson is a really likable character and, with his trademark red tie and a penchant for the good things in life, he cuts a dashing figure around campus. In fact, his mistrust of the cafeteria food is one of the standing jokes that run through the book.

We learn early that Greene has left his life of crime behind, but when Gaby de la Cruz’s run for student council president is derailed by the highly irregular, last minute nomination of Keith Sinclair, Jackson’s curiosity is raised.

Whereas Gaby is interested in having more computers, boosting spirit week participation and acquiring a larger selection of organic food,  it seems Sinclair has no platform of his own, and is only running in order to slash the budget to such organizations as the botany and tech club. When it looks like even the principal is  bent on deception, Jackson realizes it is time to come out of “retirement” and lend a helping hand.

The Great Greene Heist is a fabulous romp of a book with a wonderful diverse cast of characters, and not only the main protagonists, but also with references to peripheral characters such as Mrs Kai, Naomi, Marcelo and Manuel. I know from my cousins how important it is to read books where you can identify with the main characters, and I think this is one such book that will happily appeal to many.

This is a really fun summer read from a local Austin writer. Looking forward to the sequel if for no other reason than finding out what Greene’s father, brother and grand-father have been up to – allegedly.

Happy reading, folks.

Aidan Puddleton

Hi Guys! This is Aidan. As you all know I like to read. In fact I go through books so fast that my mom and dad have stopped buying them for me as we have run out of space.  This could be a problem if it wasn’t for the awesome library that is just at the top of my road.

The library is amazing. It’s not stuffy or old. No-one yells at you for talking too loud and they have all kinds of fun activities and author events. As you can imagine – I spend a LOT of time at the library!

Anyhow, Lissy asked if I would like to be part of her blog and so, of course, the natural thing for me to do is to recommend and  tell you about some of the books I’ve read lately. I’m going to start with my favorite from last summer – Wonder by R J Palacio.

This book is really amazing. I thought I wasn’t going to like it because the main character is a little different – well, a lot different really. But that’s the whole point of the book.

August, that’s the name of the main character, he doesn’t look like you and me, but it turns out it doesn’t matter because it’s what’s inside that counts.

August is finally going to school after being homeschooled all his life. As if that isn’t scary enough, but when you look like August its got to be terrifying. Anyhow, August is really brave and although there are a few false starts he finally finds some true friends.

I won’t spoil it for you, but you should really get this book. There are some really funny bits (little Tushies) and there are some sad bits as well, but by the end you are really routing for August and his friends. I think, really, it’s a book about kindness and acceptance – go read it and find out yourself. Feel free to drop me a line and tell me what you think below.