Hoax for Hire by Laura Martin

My name is Grayson, and I don't want to be part of the family hoaxing business anymore. I'd love to attend a private academy to learn photography, but I need to complete a project to possibly get a scholarship. However, I know we may lose our home if we can't finish an impossible hoaxing job by next Tuesday. Four huge hoaxes in four locations around the world. I'm not sure what my brother and I are going to do now, since our dad and grandpa have gone missing. A rival hoaxing family is behind it, and I'm not sure how we can possibly finish the last hoax and save our dad and grandpa. I can't miss another day of school, and my project is due on Wednesday. I want to pursue photography, but I'm slowly understanding the importance of continuing our hoaxes. What am I going to do?

I never knew there was a career in tricking people to believe in the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot and other creatures from folklore. Like Grayson, I wasn't crazy about a family business based on breaking the law, so that may be the reason I had a hard time getting into the story. The brothers made an interesting team. Grayson was the one taking the biggest risks even though his heart wasn't into it. His brother loved the business and kept telling Grayson about how important it was to the family. Grayson had a big internal conflict, as he struggled to separate himself from the family's hoaxing business that had existed for generations. The tension amped up when the competing hoaxers entered the story. Their efforts created life and death situations, and it was unclear what two brothers could do about it. Grayson's school life was a subplot, but a classmate created an unexpected twist later in the story. Overall, I enjoyed how the book was resolved, and the premise of the plot was novel (pun intended). Give it a shot.