Son of the Mob by by Gordon Korman Seventeen-year-old Vince's life is constantly complicated by the fact that he is the son of a powerful Mafia boss, a relationship that threatens to destroy his romance with the daughter of an FBI agent.

Discussion

How does Vince Luca try to distance himself from the family business?

What would you do if you found yourself in a similar situation to Vince's, not necessarily with your family, but maybe with friends?

Anthony Luca, Vince's father, has the nickname, Honest Abe, because he is known for his fairness in business dealings. How does that match up with the fact that he orders others to be killed or beat up? Can there be honesty among thieves?

Anthony Luca loves his sons. Why does he let Tommy join his organization? Why does he respect Vince for not wanting to be a part of it?

Vince's mother cares about appearances. She wants to project to the outside world that her family is straight off the set of "Leave It to Beaver". Why does she do this? What has she done in the past that makes you realize that she is not at all the mild-mannered woman she pretends to be?

When one friend starts dating and the other doesn't, it can be difficult. What could Vince and his best friend, Alex, have done to make their friendship less antagonistic? Have you ever been in a similar situation?

Kendra's father, Agent Bite-Me, listens to every word that is spoken in the Luca household? What would it be like to live under constant monitoring?

What do you think her dad would think when he finds out that Kendra is dating Vince? What does Vince and Kendra's relationship have in common with Romeo and Juliet's?

What evidence is there that Vince may have compromised himself to some degree? What evidence is there that he will stay faithful to what he believes?

What do you think Vince will be doing in 5 years? What will his relationship be like with his family as he gets older?

Activity

Coded messages

Tommy, Vince's brother, takes bets on horse races on the website Iluvmycat.usa in the Meow Marketplace that Vince had developed for his New Media class.

Materials: Paper, pencils

What to Do:

Come up with your own website name. For what else could your website be used? Think outside the box, but it doesn"t have to be something criminal!

Next, make-up your own coded messages to decipher.

Trade messages and decode them. Write messages for each other's sites.

Recipe

Mini- Pizzas

Ingredients: "1 bagel per person, split (English muffins may be used, too) "1 jar of pizza or spaghetti sauce "1 package of shredded mozzarella cheese Other items: Spoons & knives Plates Baking sheet (or plate) Toaster oven (or microwave)

Preparation: Slice the bagels (English muffins) in half ahead of time. Spoon sauce onto the bagel and then spread it. Sprinkle the cheese on top of the bagel.