Can I See Your I.D.?

Gr 6—9—Barton invites readers to travel with some of the world's greatest hoaxers, con artists, counterfeiters, and other great imposters, taking them into their deceptive minds. Ten short chapters feature clever pretenders, such as the legendary Catch Me If You Can's Frank Abagnale, Jr., and his forays into identity theft. The chapters offer in-the-hot-seat details about these clever-minded imposters, including detailed dates and a "What Happened Next?" page. Told in a second person, the text places readers inside the fakers' minds. However, the constant use of the words "you" and "your" gets rather annoying. Readers, especially younger audiences, might have trouble distinguishing if the stories are indeed real or not. Each chapter opens with a graphic-novel-style illustration. The fascinating stories will provide hours of amusement for those who are interested in the subject. The bibliography features many newspaper and magazine articles on each imposter for readers who are interested in pursuing the topic.—Krista Welz, North Bergen Public Library, NJ