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poppyjessica's review against another edition
4.0
From the very start of this Ocean's Eleven style con caper, I was drawn in by the fast-paced and witty narrative. Boone McReedy is a shady, narcissistic, unreliable narrator who, along with the kick-ass Darby West, needs to pull off enough cons to make up $15,000 of money scammed from his mum's business. I loved the originality to this idea as well as the colourful world Dinan has built around Boone's life - the weird and wonderful booth owners in Golden Mountain flea market (aka Garbage Mountain) along with Boone's friends, enemies and frenemies, were all characters who had distinct personalities and were a complete joy to read.
The zippy pace of the different cons kept me completely immersed in this book, rooting for Boone despite his obvious flaws. The fact I wanted him to succeed regardless of some of his unlikable tendencies (influenced by his jailed dad perhaps?) highlights how cleverly Dinan crafts Boone's character development. The fact he turns into some sort of Robin Hood/ Jigsaw vigilante, only scamming those who deserved it, at Darby's insistence, definitely helped his cause with the reader.
For me, this ended up being a 4 star read because I struggled to truly invest in saving Garbage Mountain. The stalls are lovably wacky but Boone continually admits that the building is dirty and off putting for customers in comparison to the luxury building across the road. I wanted to root for the underdog, and the stall holder's livelihoods, but I was baffled as to why Boone's mother wanted to buy what seems like a complete money pit and why their focus throughout is survival rather than improvement. Perhaps a prequel focusing on the beginnings here and Boone's dastardly dad is what we need next? I'd read it! Plus, any sequels Dinan fancies throwing our way.
Overall, this is a really fun read and I will definitely be recommending it to my school libraries. All in all, Dinan holds the reader at just the right amount of knowledge about each scam which is unfolding, ensuring there are plenty of surprises along the way. Don't trust everything you read... but enjoy the thrill of the ride as you do!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The zippy pace of the different cons kept me completely immersed in this book, rooting for Boone despite his obvious flaws. The fact I wanted him to succeed regardless of some of his unlikable tendencies (influenced by his jailed dad perhaps?) highlights how cleverly Dinan crafts Boone's character development. The fact he turns into some sort of Robin Hood/ Jigsaw vigilante, only scamming those who deserved it, at Darby's insistence, definitely helped his cause with the reader.
For me, this ended up being a 4 star read because I struggled to truly invest in saving Garbage Mountain. The stalls are lovably wacky but Boone continually admits that the building is dirty and off putting for customers in comparison to the luxury building across the road. I wanted to root for the underdog, and the stall holder's livelihoods, but I was baffled as to why Boone's mother wanted to buy what seems like a complete money pit and why their focus throughout is survival rather than improvement. Perhaps a prequel focusing on the beginnings here and Boone's dastardly dad is what we need next? I'd read it! Plus, any sequels Dinan fancies throwing our way.
Overall, this is a really fun read and I will definitely be recommending it to my school libraries. All in all, Dinan holds the reader at just the right amount of knowledge about each scam which is unfolding, ensuring there are plenty of surprises along the way. Don't trust everything you read... but enjoy the thrill of the ride as you do!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
resslesa's review against another edition
5.0
An awesome book -better even then Don’t Get Caught. I love Kurt’s work -funny with guys’ humor and strong/ great female characters who don’t let guys get away with things. Great scam artist set ups and loved the plot mysteries. An Ohio author, this is a must add to the collection for the sarcastic kid who just wants to laugh and is a bit down on his luck.
keerthana_n's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed reading this book!
I recommend this book to anyone who wants to read something lighthearted and hilarious .
the story pacing was just right with an entertaining plot and the characters are very engaging.
Thank you Netgalley and The publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review #thescamlist.
I recommend this book to anyone who wants to read something lighthearted and hilarious .
the story pacing was just right with an entertaining plot and the characters are very engaging.
Thank you Netgalley and The publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review #thescamlist.
chemwiz77's review against another edition
4.0
I received this as an ARC for my honest review. I am a fan of Dinan’s first book and I was pretty excited to read this one. In this really dark time, I have been trying to read lighter books. This one started pretty dark and I had a hard time getting into it. It’s got some heavy themes that I admit I struggled with at times. However I am so happy to have read this book. It ended in a very positive way that I thoroughly enjoyed. I really love a good underdog book. If you enjoy it too, you will like this one.
macaronoui's review against another edition
5.0
This was my first Kurt Dinan book. I got this book as an ARC on NetGalley. It was such a thrilling and exciting read. A teenager who wants to help his mom recover 15.000 dollars, through scams.
I know now, to never ever engage in a bar bet, so thank you Dinan.
It was such a funny and whitty book.
Darby is such an exciting female character. The absolute bad ass of this book, and I thought it was interesting to see how teenage hormones mixed with rage, but containment.
Read the book in two days, was a thrilling ride. I would absolutely recommend the book if you like unlikely characters, an adventure of sorts and stories about the underdog. In a way it reminded me of some of Carl Hiaasen's story telling (good guys, but also bad, bad guys who can always get worse). Can't wait to see what Kurt writes next.
I know now, to never ever engage in a bar bet, so thank you Dinan.
It was such a funny and whitty book.
Darby is such an exciting female character. The absolute bad ass of this book, and I thought it was interesting to see how teenage hormones mixed with rage, but containment.
Read the book in two days, was a thrilling ride. I would absolutely recommend the book if you like unlikely characters, an adventure of sorts and stories about the underdog. In a way it reminded me of some of Carl Hiaasen's story telling (good guys, but also bad, bad guys who can always get worse). Can't wait to see what Kurt writes next.
whatemsreadingx's review against another edition
5.0
Firstly thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the ARC of this book, I was immediately drawn in by the synopsis and knew that I would be in for a treat reading this.
I've never read anything like this book before, it was so different and I think that's why I loved it so much! From start to finish it was excellent.
We read this book from Boone's POV, the whole way through. It's written very cleverly and I felt as though we were looking at the world through Boone's eyes. The only disappointment with this is that it felt like we missed a couple of things because of how unobservant he is.
The plot itself was brilliant, and the work and writing that went into every chapter and scam was second to none. It was so engaging and would make even a reluctant reader want to keep turning the pages.
Throughout the book I was laughing out loud, it was so cheeky and lighthearted. Which was only enhanced by the interactions between Boone and Darby, I thought they worked perfectly together!
I really enjoyed watching Boone grow the book and his realisations, it added a "grown up" feel to the book, and it helped me really connect with Boone as a person.
The final scam made me SO EXCITED, it had this really excitable feel to it. It was as if the book was buzzing with excitement, I didn't want the book to end but I wanted to see what happened. I loved how everything seemed to wrap itself up too, and we got answers to everything.
On the whole, I absolutely loved this book. It was so lighthearted, cheeky and funny and I was sorely disappointed when it ended!
I've never read anything like this book before, it was so different and I think that's why I loved it so much! From start to finish it was excellent.
We read this book from Boone's POV, the whole way through. It's written very cleverly and I felt as though we were looking at the world through Boone's eyes. The only disappointment with this is that it felt like we missed a couple of things because of how unobservant he is.
The plot itself was brilliant, and the work and writing that went into every chapter and scam was second to none. It was so engaging and would make even a reluctant reader want to keep turning the pages.
Throughout the book I was laughing out loud, it was so cheeky and lighthearted. Which was only enhanced by the interactions between Boone and Darby, I thought they worked perfectly together!
I really enjoyed watching Boone grow the book and his realisations, it added a "grown up" feel to the book, and it helped me really connect with Boone as a person.
The final scam made me SO EXCITED, it had this really excitable feel to it. It was as if the book was buzzing with excitement, I didn't want the book to end but I wanted to see what happened. I loved how everything seemed to wrap itself up too, and we got answers to everything.
On the whole, I absolutely loved this book. It was so lighthearted, cheeky and funny and I was sorely disappointed when it ended!
kba76's review against another edition
3.0
Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the pleasure of a few hours with Boone McReedy...he isn’t the most scrupulous of characters, but boy was he entertaining.
From the outset we know Boone is not whiter than white. As the son of a man in prison for running cons, his reputation precedes him and Boone definitely enjoys the thrill that comes with running a successful con. However, when he has £15,000 dollars stolen from his car (because he was trying to hit on an attractive young girl) Boone realises he has to step up and play his part in helping to save his mother’s business.
What follows is dubious and definitely not to be encouraged, but it was entertaining. Done with a cheeky grin, and knowing he’s got one over the people who were trying to take advantage of his family, much against our better judgment we may side with Boone.
From the outset we know Boone is not whiter than white. As the son of a man in prison for running cons, his reputation precedes him and Boone definitely enjoys the thrill that comes with running a successful con. However, when he has £15,000 dollars stolen from his car (because he was trying to hit on an attractive young girl) Boone realises he has to step up and play his part in helping to save his mother’s business.
What follows is dubious and definitely not to be encouraged, but it was entertaining. Done with a cheeky grin, and knowing he’s got one over the people who were trying to take advantage of his family, much against our better judgment we may side with Boone.
obsessedmuch's review against another edition
4.0
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Warning: there are spoilers in my review
Rating: 4.5*
Plot: 3*
Characters: 5*
Before getting into the actual review, I just need to say that this book made me laugh so hard I almost cried. I adored our main character Boone and his voice was so refreshing and amusing at the same time. I loved how he handled everything with a healthy dose of sarcasm and his relationship with his mom (and even dad) was pretty touching. I think I highlighted almost all of his clever remarks and especially parts where he and Darby fought because it made me chuckle and I will definitely want to reread it. I enjoyed learning about different cons and actually seeing how they pull them off.
That brings me to the part of the story I didn’t exactly love. I loved the idea of Darby, I mean who wouldn’t want s badass fighter girl? But for me, Darby felt a little too preachy and some of her actions felt very abusive and not so funny (like the scene where she gets Boone to volunteer to teach girl self defence class and she encourages a little girl to kick him in the groin, while reading that I was pretty disgusted). Later in the books she addressed her anger issues and I liked that but I feel like she should’ve maybe also apologized to Boone because for the most of the book she was pretty rude to him. Also, I felt like Boone changed quite a lot for her but she didn’t do anything for him. All that talk through the book that he doesn’t deserve her or that she is too good for him just rubbed me the wrong way cause I didn’t see what’s so good about her, other than her so-so moral compass. But as I said, I started liking her more as the story progressed and I love how she let herself be vulnerable in the end. I wouldn’t mind reading more about Boone and her where they go to college and get themselves into more trouble.
Another part that felt a bit unconvincing for me was the ending, especially the part where they “convince” Parker not to show that girl's pictures by threating him with a beating from a little girl. That felt a bit too campy for me because the rest of the con was actually very clever and subtle and I love how it was pulled off. Actually I found myself wishing the last con was a lot longer because I loved watching Boone make Parker paranoid and see all boothers from Garbage Mountain working together. All in all, I would definitely recommend this book to everyone looking for a clever and funny main character, great snark and just all together a fun read.
Warning: there are spoilers in my review
Rating: 4.5*
Plot: 3*
Characters: 5*
Before getting into the actual review, I just need to say that this book made me laugh so hard I almost cried. I adored our main character Boone and his voice was so refreshing and amusing at the same time. I loved how he handled everything with a healthy dose of sarcasm and his relationship with his mom (and even dad) was pretty touching. I think I highlighted almost all of his clever remarks and especially parts where he and Darby fought because it made me chuckle and I will definitely want to reread it. I enjoyed learning about different cons and actually seeing how they pull them off.
That brings me to the part of the story I didn’t exactly love. I loved the idea of Darby, I mean who wouldn’t want s badass fighter girl? But for me, Darby felt a little too preachy and some of her actions felt very abusive and not so funny (like the scene where she gets Boone to volunteer to teach girl self defence class and she encourages a little girl to kick him in the groin, while reading that I was pretty disgusted). Later in the books she addressed her anger issues and I liked that but I feel like she should’ve maybe also apologized to Boone because for the most of the book she was pretty rude to him. Also, I felt like Boone changed quite a lot for her but she didn’t do anything for him. All that talk through the book that he doesn’t deserve her or that she is too good for him just rubbed me the wrong way cause I didn’t see what’s so good about her, other than her so-so moral compass. But as I said, I started liking her more as the story progressed and I love how she let herself be vulnerable in the end. I wouldn’t mind reading more about Boone and her where they go to college and get themselves into more trouble.
Another part that felt a bit unconvincing for me was the ending, especially the part where they “convince” Parker not to show that girl's pictures by threating him with a beating from a little girl. That felt a bit too campy for me because the rest of the con was actually very clever and subtle and I love how it was pulled off. Actually I found myself wishing the last con was a lot longer because I loved watching Boone make Parker paranoid and see all boothers from Garbage Mountain working together. All in all, I would definitely recommend this book to everyone looking for a clever and funny main character, great snark and just all together a fun read.