Brock has it made. He's only in the sixth grade but he's great at speaking in front of people and throws in jokes for laughs. If only he had brothers instead of sisters and the school bully would leave him alone.

BooksGoSocial and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you). It has been published and you can get a copy now.

Brock loves playing video games, so he gets his little sister to clean up his room, plays music to make them think he's practicing his saxophone, and uses his friend's math homework to get his done. He's supposed to be walking a lady's dog, but he goes to the cemetery and meets his buddy and they smoke cigarettes. Soon everything topples down around him.

He took the easy way out and copied an article from the internet to make his speech in front of his class. His teacher figures out he did and calls his mother in and then tells Brock that was unacceptable. Things go downhill from there. The old lady learns he's not walking her dog like she thought, his friend doesn't want him copying his answers anymore, he gets in trouble for not cleaning his own room, and then he's grounded for a month and can't play video games. Taking the easy way out is not allowed anymore.

Then Brock has this dream and the man in it says he'll help him. He listens to him but he's not sure he's right.

Brock has some growing up to do...

I received an electronic copy from BooksGoSocial through NetGalley.
A middle grade book that readers will appreciate. Brock has his challenges and is not perfect (some concern about his meanness). His actions demonstrate ways to not do things and when he tries to change and make amends, it's not easy. Readers will relate to the challenges and reality that you have to work to change your life and your reputation if you have made different choices previously.

Deceit and the many form deception can take, is the cautionary tale the story tells.

Brock is a middle-grader who has everything going for him. He is funny, plays to his strengths and his classmates really enjoy listening to him talk. However, he also has a mean streak and an almost callousness to which he uses it. While this makes Brock an unlikeable protagonist, I also think it aids to make him realistic.

He doesn't realise why copying his friend's homework or lying about practising the saxophone or cleaning his room is wrong. This story quite good when it comes to showing the reader exactly why what Brock does is wrong and I love how when Brock learns what needs to be done to make amends and making those amends isn't easy for him.

While I did not particularly enjoy the inclusion of the character "Always" as a voice of reason, I did like the way it helped Brock almost listen to reason.