Son of the Mob by Gordan Korman

I gave this book a rating of four out of five. Vince's father is the head of a "vending business", but it's actually the mob. Vince doesn't want to become part of his father's business but finds it hard to separate it from his own. He becomes associated with a couple of people who are in trouble with his father's organization. He wants to stay out of the mob business, but he doesn't want to see these men get hurt. To complicate Vince's life even further, he falls for a girl at school who happens to be the daughter of the FBI agent trying to put his father in prison. Vince and Kendra become a modern day Romeo and Juliet.

This was an entertaining plot, and I enjoyed Vince's internal conflict between a nice guy and staying out of his father's business. He can't say he wants to stay out of it and then turn around and get involved. I also liked Vince and Kendra's relationship. Vince does everything he can to avoid her parents, but this makes Kendra suspicious of him. He tries to date Kendra like a normal couple, but he needs to avoid attention. He's very concerned about what might happen if either set of parents find out what's going on. Vince also discovers secrets about his mother and another man he respects. His mother's secret was very surprising.

Lexile level from lexile.com 690