Con Academy

New England’s elite Connaughton Academy sure does attract interesting students. Will Shea, for one, is on scholarship from the tiny Pacific island of Ebeye. Andrea Dufresne is a “poor scholarship student from a displaced village in the Balkans.” Problem is, none of that is true. They both faked identities and forged transcripts to get into Connaughton, and now, wary of detection, they develop a high-stakes contest: whoever cons a classmate into handing over ten thousand dollars gets to stay at Connaughton. Enter Brandt Rush, a rich wheeler-dealer who practically runs Connaughton, and the trio of unlikable characters is in place. Halfway through the novel, though, just when the story fairly sags with meanness and duplicity, it turns out there’s an “antidote” to the influence of such students -- a secret society called the Sigils into which a cute girl named Gatsby tries to recruit Will. (“‘We’re outsiders, Will…Like you.’ I just look back at her…I’m an outsider, all right. She has no idea.”) Though the setting is a stereotype of any wealthy boarding school, Schreiber’s plot is pure fun, deliciously convoluted and full of surprises, not the least of which is the possibility that Will might actually stay in school, stop running, and maybe even learn to play lacrosse. The lessons he learns are didactically drawn, but readers will enjoy the scams and appreciate the note of hope on which the novel concludes. dean schneider

Will Shea and Andrea Dufresne faked identities to win scholarships to New England's elite Connaughton Academy. Wary of detection, they develop a high-stakes contest: whoever cons a classmate out of ten thousand dollars stays. Enter Brandt Rush, a wheeler-dealer who practically runs Connaughton, and the trio of unlikable characters is in place. Schreiber's plot is pure fun, deliciously convoluted, and full of surprises.