Review: If this were a Goodreads review, it would've been filled with reaction GIFs.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 6, 2013
That's because the book took me by surprise and I reeeally enjoyed reading it.Most books I try fall into the following categories:A. The first chapters are bad and I just can't go on.B. The first chapters are bad but reviews tell me to continue because the book or the sequel(s) get better.C. The first chapters are good but the rest are not.D. The first chapters are good and the quality remains the same or even improves.And because my previous experience with free YA ebooks usually fall on A, I didn't have high expectations for Heist School Freshmen...which was an unexpected D!Heist School Freshmen is what it sounds like: a high school heist, and more. The book, like all good heist movies, is fun and edge-of-your-seat exciting. But between the teenage dialogue and the random commentary for SAT words/an eBay purchase, it's also pretty darn hilarious.The book is filled with engaging, funny and yet convincing characters. There's Angelo: smart, witty, tries-his-hardest-to-be-PC, typical videogame-loving teenager but with a good sense of reality. His family: a stay-at-home dad, a football freak mom, a genius younger sister and a "goofy dad" older brother. The whole town is filled with them too: from each personality in his crew to the suicide hotline operator he occasionally talks to, even to the high school teacher with only two lines. I could go on describing each one because it's in the characters and their interactions that the book really shines, but you'll have to read it (please do).The novel ended in a way that it could be a stand-alone or part of a series and it wouldn't leave you hanging, but I'm excited that there's a sequel apparently! Hope to see Drew's problems get addressed, and maybe a future confrontation with The Saint too.I dare say that fans of Scott Westerfeld, Joe Schreiber, or even John Green might like it.p.s. Why oh why is it categorized under "Fantasy & Supernatural" and "Fantasy"?