reply

Responding to: 1. What are your thoughts on this book? Initial? Ending?

Thanks for getting the FAKER Book Club up and running, @Jade. And your Day One question is a great way to jump into the discussion.

My first impression of the book was based on the front cover tag line: It’s no fun being a son on the run. In addition to appreciating the poetry of the statement, my mind immediately brought up all the many ways GRK has tackled the father-son dynamic in earlier works. And more specifically, the conflict that arises when a son’s worldview parts company with his father’s outlook.

(In particular, I thought about SON OF INTERFLUX and A SEMESTER IN THE LIFE OF A GARBAGE BAG and THE TWINKIE SQUAD and NO MORE DEAD DOGS and SON OF THE MOB and BORN TO ROCK and RESTART and UNPLUGGED.)

What a cool topic to explore in different ways for middle grade and young adult readers, who are of the age when they’re recognizing “Dad” isn’t infallible. It’s likely a lot of readers from the target audience are in some stage of rebellion against their own fathers’ values, purpose, or parental expectations. 

So, I had some preconceptions about relationship dynamics when I first started reading. And I expected humor (c’mon, there was a beaglepuss on the front cover).

My impression after reading was that I was right about both of those expectations, but I was also completely surprised by the direction the story took. And I loved it. With Gordon Korman, you know you’re going to get an ending where the good guys prevail and the world is a slightly better place than it was when the story’s conflict began. But with that “given,” I’ll say the characters’ actions (and even the outcome) weren’t predictable in FAKER.

@Jade: Good points on the ethics and morality and characters’ (plural!) personal growth. And on the different approach to being a “friendship story.” That actually stood out to me as all-important: Trey’s feelings of friendship forced him to see the world in a different light.

@J.R. and @Logan: Nice insight about character likability. I like that Arianna was in the story, I appreciate her role, but I’m not in any hurry to make a friendship bracelet for her. @Jade, you seem more forgiving of Arianna’s quirks than you were of Shoshanna Weber’s (RESTART).

@E.W.: Two con artists in one little town?!? What a plot twist!

@Logan: Agreed on wishing that Trey could have reconnected with Rudy, but losing him was the impetus for so much great personal growth.

———-

@GRK: Your WordPress date/time settings are probably defaulted to GMT, making the timestamps “off” by 4 or 5 hours in EDT/EST. Your webmaster may be able to adjust the setting—but I know The Forum has been around for a while, so it’s also possible you’re stuck with old coding.