The Cheat
Grade 6-8-Koss explores the ramifications of a school cheating scandal through the eyes of six students, who are involved in varying degrees. Some (Sarah, Dan, and Rob) cheat on their eighth-grade geography midterm and are caught outright. One (Katie) realizes that the answers she has been given couldn't possibly be correct, so she doesn't use them. Two (Jake and Ruby) are affected in more peripheral ways. In short, spare chapters, the narration bounces back and forth among the teens, and this device is confusing at times. As readers learn more about the characters' lives, the typical problems come to light-divorce, overbearing parents, etc. However, though the individual stories are not particularly unique or compelling, The Cheat does provide an excellent springboard to provocative discussion or debate about the moral and ethical questions that this issue raises.Ronni Krasnow, New York Public LibraryCopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.