Thieving Weasels

Raised by a family of crooks who were always looking to cheat the system, Skip O’Rourke ran away from home four years ago to attend boarding school under the alias Cameron Smith, hoping to permanently rid himself of his past. In his senior year, he receives an acceptance letter from Princeton University, but his uncle—the conniving patriarch of the family—tracks him down to coerce him into a supposed final heist with a large payoff. Reader Daymond vocally conveys the dual nature of the story’s protagonist, using different tones of voice for when Smith is conversing with his boarding school friends and when he is dealing his family. Daymond performs these transitions impeccably, and equally important, he imbues Smith’s inner dialogue with sincerity and frustration that fits the teenage protagonist well. Daymond also works hard to create distinct voices for the large cast of secondary characters—some of which are on the verge of sounding slapstick. A Dial hardcover. Ages 12–up. (Sept.)