The Cheat. This item is unavailable.The Cheat

From the author of The Girls, this story captures the feelings and views of six eighth graders as they talk about their cheating ways and the unexpected consequences they faced as a result of it.

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 Library
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 5-8. "When it all began, I had no idea anything was beginning." What an understatement! Four eighth-graders get hold of the answers to the geography midterm; three decide to cheat. When their teacher turns them into the office, the trouble really starts. Do they reveal how they got the answers? Brief, fast-paced chapters told in several first-person narratives reveal the inevitable escalation of "innocent" cheating: disillusioned parents, disgusted friends, self-loathing, and, of course, noble rationalization. Koss tidily wraps up the messy situation, giving everyone an opportunity to save face, at least for the moment. The message is obvious, but not cloyingly so. This is an easy read that students and teachers will want to talk about. Frances Bradburn
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