Jingle by Gordon Korman- a student book review by Arav

Out of the many, many Christmas tales that authors write nowadays, Jingle, by Gordan Korman is well written and articulate. Following with his usual formula for the Swindle series: a mystery, a plan or two, and a well-written climax that pulls most, if not all, concurrent plot threads, Korman manages to not only tell a good mystery, but add a nice Christmas twist the other books in the series needed. The plot is, in this manner, rather typical: an antique of over ten million dollars of value is stolen and Griffin and Co, due to their previous history of stealing, are suspected by the cops. In order to shift the blame off themselves, they implement one plan after another, with the story adding layers of difficulty as a result. Unlike other reviews, I do not really mind the fact that Korman did not include some of the new characters he introduced in the installment prior to this one - in fact, I think the book benefitted from the removal. As the subtitle states, the book is not a mainline Swindle tale but a so-called “Swindle Mystery”, focusing on another one of the group’s escapades as they try to uphold their sense of justice without getting yelled at by their parents or arrested by the police. It is meant to be a joyride with the beloved core characters of the series, and I think Jingle is, in that respect, a good book in the series.
        However, besides the well-written plot, Korman does stumble a bit in Jingle, though it is rather minimal in my opinion. Cigars, for instance, are referenced in the book a bit, especially with respect to Mr.Crenshaw, a biker-type character who debuts in this title. Additionally, the gang do end up going to a bar to “rescue” Luthor, their dog. Besides these references, which might make it unsuitable for a younger audience, the writing tends to make one character, Darren Vader, a little too caricatured. Unlike in the other installments, where Mr.Vader gets some character development, here he is nothing but one word: cruel. For example, he repeatedly kicks Ben Slovak during an elf rehearsal ( Did I mention that the group ended up landing jobs as Elves for a Christmas Spectacular? ), which just seems excessive after he spreads lies about the group to two other new characters - Tiffany and Russel. Besides these, admittedly minor, complaints, I have nothing else to say. Despite reading many, many mystery books in my time, I still get caught up by the way Korman manages to tie every plot thread together, from the dueling holidays at Ben Slovak’s house to Logan’s desire to land an acting job at a theatre troupe. In short, despite a few flubs, Korman manages to write up a book which can grip anyone, making it a really fun read.
     In terms of its usage among students, this book might be fun just as a simple Christmas tale. In an academic setting, it would be pretty fun to compare this tale with more traditional Christmas tales, especially with the interplay between the mystery aspects of the plot and the Christmas setting. The vocabulary, typical of a Korman novel, is descriptive but catered to a younger audience, allowing younger readers a chance to have fun reading a longer book without a great struggle. Additionally, the theme, following the classic Christmas message of selflessness, is well executed, as the group ends up helping one of their initial “suspects” with a dire financial situation and show their Christmas spirit.
    Altogether, the book is well-written and really engages the reader from beginning to end. While it might not be suitable for some audiences who are not familiar with the characters and/or are comfortable with the references to cigars in the book, it still is a very satisfying mystery that somehow manages to develop multiple subplots synchronously.