Son of the Mob: Hollywood Hustle -- Gordon Korman

Son of the Mob, Part Deux

Actually, it was called Son of the Mob: Hollywood Hustle, but let's not split hairs. If you liked the first book, you'll like this book. If you haven't read the first book, then where the heck have you been? Go read it. Sheesh.

Back to the people who've been waiting and waiting for this one... It was pretty good. (I think that the first one was better, but take it into account that I LOVED the first book). And I liked this one well enough that I started and finished it last night. Vince, Alex and Kendra are all off to college. Vince and Kendra are in the L.A. area, and Alex is in Las Vegas. Vince (stupidly) assumes that being on the other coast will mean that Dad's business won't affect his life anymore. Of course, it doesn't take him long (4 pages) to realize otherwise:

I flip the clasps on my bag and throw the lid open. And slam it back down again.

This isn't my suitcase! I mean, the suitcase is mine, but the stuff isn't! This is full of--

I peek again, hoping against hope to see my mother's neat packing job, an engineering feat that borders on the Cartesian. The perfectly folded clothes, the shoes stuffed with tissue paper, the toiletries filling empty spaces with geometric precision...

Uh-uh.

My luggage is filled with hundred-dollar bills, thousands of them, bundled in rubber bands.

He gets to school, meets his roommate (coincidentally a congressman's son), and has a day or two to get settled into crazy college life. Then, his brother Tommy shows up. And it goes on from there. If you liked the first one, this book is totally worth reading. I was just a little disappointed that Vince's mom didn't make an appearance. Because, after all, she is the coolest.