Showoff

Swindle #4

by Gordon Korman

The fourth SWINDLE book, centering around a dog show that goes horribly awry!
The heroes of SWINDLE, ZOOBREAK, and FRAMED are back - and this time, things have gone to the dogs! When Luthor goes berserk at a mall dog show, he's accused of ruining the career of the three-time best-in-show beagle. Griffin always knew that Luthor's viciousness was simmering just below the surface - so why does he feel bad enough to spring him from the pound?
Griffin and his team have a new plan. This one involves New York City, a sinister saboteur, a reclusive dog-trainer who's quit the business, an international dog show, and a whole lot of red dye. But if they pull it off, no one will even notice their sting operation...right?

Genres: Mystery, Middle Grade, Fiction, Adventure, Animals, Childrens, Realistic Fiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Gordon Korman is a Canadian author of children's and young adult fiction books. Korman's books have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide over a career spanning four decades and have appeared at number one on The New York Times Best Seller list.

Reviews

[Jenna O · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite books in the series so far.It’s a very good book

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so excited that the book finally came out, I just really wanted read it, knowing that this book HAD to good.


I loved this book so much I was speechless after I finished the book.


Was that the last one of the series?????? I really want to find out!

[Hunter Falish]

After completing Showoff, I can't wait to read the rest of the Swindle series. Griffin and his gang of friends were back to business as usual, after Savannah's dog Luthor goes wild at a dog show in the local mall. He injures one of the prize show dogs, and is taken from Savannah and put in the pound. Griffin bales Luthor out, but Savannah knows something or someone had set Luthor off, and that he didn't just randomly decide to attack a dog. This sparks a plan for Griffin and the gang which involves Luthor learning to be a show dog, and Griffin providing great advertising for his father's newest invention.

I really enjoyed all of the comical moments in this book, just like the rest of the Swindle series. The plans and actions the team carry out are always in the spur of the moment, and are hardly ever in preparation of the future which usually leads them to new conflicts. I also enjoyed learning about the dog show process, as this book went really in depth with the training process as the team was teaching Luthor how to perform for a show. The only down part to this book that I thought there was, is how half of the story is based around just the training of Luthor. For me these parts got boring, but if dog shows or handling is interesting for you, maybe it would then be enjoyable.

I would recommend this book to any young adult, anyone who likes a funny book, or anyone who enjoyed any of the other books in the Swindle series.

[Sha · Rating 3 out of 5]

08 Apr 2021

1. I think I may be growing tired of all the feel good books just a little. It's still fun, but it's not as fun as it used to be.

2. In this one Luthors' family faces a lawsuit because of him disrupting a dog show. This means he needs to go back to the pound. Griffin then hatches a truly ridiculous plan of him winning the dog show prize money, and recruits a retired dog whisperer to help him so it.

3. The dog whisperer is my favorite character, which is valid because (a) he is hilarious and (b) there is relatively little of the heist crew in this one. I figure Korman was trying out some new things, like proto romance and mystery solving instead of crime-doing, before he went back to the old formula in the next book.

[Caleb Jedlicka · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a good and easy quick read. The author does a good job of keeping you thinking while not going into a lot of detail. I didn't feel like it was bland at all. I really enjoyed the part when it was the final showdown for Best of Show at the global dog show, and Savannah showed up just in time to save Luthor. I also liked the part when Griffin and Ben first met Dimitri and had to convince him to come back into the dog business. I just love the way the author builds up to the climax. They do it in a way where it doesn't take long but it explains everything you need to know. My not so favorite part of the book was when Xerxes owner tried to cover Luthor with nair so his hair would go away but got Dimitri instead. Overall this is a really good book. I enjoyed reading it and couldn't put it down through the last few chapters.

[Hudson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for killing time. It got me hooked on the back summary.

[Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I generally liked this book. However, when they revealed the culprit, I thought that there was not enough time spent with the culprit to give us a real motive. Overall, this was a good and funny book.

[Payton Magdanz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Showoff is an exciting book with a lot of sad and happy moments. Savannah, Griffin, and Ben attempt to keep Luthor, Savannah's beloved dog, in their safety. They end up losing him, but they always find a way to get him back. Savannah loses Luthor after he attacked a grand prize show dog that had a chance to be the world champion show dog. They were pressed with a lawsuit of over 7.8 million dollars. Now Savannah is depressed and goes away to a cabin in the woods for a while. In the meantime Griffin and Ben attempt to turn Luthor into a prized show dog to win the global top show dog prize. Then they can make enough money to pay for the lawsuit and keep Luthor.

Griffin and Ben continued to train Luthor and enter dog shows but Luthor always seemed to get into trouble and get disqualified. Dimitri, the legendary dog handler, comes out of hiding. Dimitri trains Luthor into being an amazing show dog. It takes some time and a lot of hard work but he did it. Luthor became the best show dog in the world and won the top prize. He paid for the lawsuit and now Savannah gets to keep Luthor but Dimitri wants his end of the deal too. Dimitri gets his share of Luthor's winnings from all the dog shows he won. Now Luthor continues to dominate all the dogs shows he enters and is a world loved dog.

Griffin Bing's character is very outgoing and brilliant. He is very smart and can come up with great ideas in a heart beat. Griffin is "the man with the plan." He attempts to train luthor for the dog shows but isn't successful. He still does what he can for anybody and is a great friend. Griffin is faced with a hard decision, to either break out Luthor from the pound or just leave him there. He ended up breaking Luthor from the pound because he did it for Savannah and Savannah is Griffin's best friend. Griffin can handle all situations very well because he always has a back up plan if something doesn't work out. The reader is interested in Griffin because you never know what hes gonna do next.

This novel would be appropriate for younger audiences that love animals, fun, and excitement. You never know whats around the corner. There are no bad words or violent actions that take place in this book. It is a very laid back novel. It is a very fun novel that keeps you involved and interested throughout the book.

I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars. I liked reading and not knowing what was going to happen next and still wanting to read. It could be a little more interesting or have some more exciting turns. This is just a laid back book for laid back readers looking for a fun time reading.

[Thomas Magalski · Rating 5 out of 5]

The man with the plan has struck again. Griffin Bing and his best friend Ben Slovak live at Griffins house for the summer while his parents are out in Europe selling Mr. Slovaks inventions. They both promise to not do any major plans over the summer, but there is just one acceptation for their good friend Savannah.

They go to a local dog show where the famous Electra is appearing there. When they all get there they watch the great Electra preform her show. Then all of a sudden Luthor Savannah's dog goes berserk and breaks Electra's tail. Electra's owners then file a 7 million dollar law suit on Savannah. Savannah has to give Luthor to the pound and they go to their beach house.

Ben and Griffin then get Luthor out of the pound and make a plan to try to save Savannah's lawsuit by turning Luthor from a vicious Doberman into the Best In Show in the Global dog competition. They know that the only way to tame Luthor is go to the great Dmitri Trebevhoz he was the one who made Electra the great dog she was and so they knew if anybody could train Luthor it was him.

When they found him he agreed to come out of retirement to save Luthor's life. When he was petting Luthor he found a small dart in his side which they found out caused Luthor to hurt Electra. Dmitri trains Luthor for two weeks before the last chance to make it into Global's. Luthor ends up winning Best In Show of that competition and beat the great Xerxes which always came in second behind Electra.

After that competition they start receiving threats saying to get out of Global's but Dmitri still went in anyways. So then someone attacked Dmitri's house after Luthor and Dmitri tore his ACL chasing the attacker down. Since he tore he ACL so then Griffin had to lead Luthor in Global's.

Since someone was after Luthor they got extra help from their friends Pitch, Melissa, and Logan. They helped catch the culprit at Global's. Right before the last competition their was an attack on Luthor which got away and ran wild back to Savannah who showed up to see Luthor win Global's and they ended up catching Xerxes owners to be the one who caused Luthor to attack Electra and they released the charges from Savannah and she got Luthor back.

Dmitri then went to start his own competition where the dogs showed off their own style. Dmitri also adopted Xerxes who helped with the dog shows. Savannah instantly signed up for Dmitri's style show.

Thank you for reading my review! I hope if you read it you enjoy it as much as I did!

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the book "Showoff" because I love the series that Gordon Korman has been writing about Griffin as known as "Man with the plan" is what his town calls him because of all his plans and adventures. The book Showoff is about that Luther the dog goes into a dog show with his owner/ dog whisper Savannah. Luther went crazy for some reason and attacked the worlds best dog show dog named Electra. He breaks her tail and makes it so she cant preform anymore and win best in the show for her 4th year in a row. They fill a million dollar lawsuit on Luther's family. So they bring Luther to the pound and leave him there and leave for vacation to keep Savannahs mind of him. While they are gone Griffin goes and gets Luther and hides him in his garage. When he comes back the next day the garage is trash and his dads inventions are destroyed but his dads didn't patient one of the invention that were destroyed. So griffin gave it to messlia. They went to find the world famous Russian dog trainer. When they find them he accepts the challenge because he doesn't want his "brother"( he calls all dogs his brother) to get put down. When they win the first match they get qualified to be in the Global Kennel Society dog show. It is where the winner is claimed as the best dog on Earth. Griffin starts to receive threatens from a person saying to back out or there will be consequences. They went to were the Famous Russian dog owner lived and tried to hit Luther with hair remover but missed and hit the Russian because he jumped in the way to save his "brother". When at the dog show they leave Luther alone for a plan and waited for the person to strike. When they did they would get sprayed by his fathers invention at got fixed. When the person did they got sprayed with green goow. They ran over and stopped the person and found out the person was Xeroxes owner. Xeroxes was the second best dog in the world. The owners of Electra found out that is was them and removed the law suit from Luther and sued them. The reason was because they found a dart that makes u go crazy.
I would recommended this book to any that likes books. It is fun, entertaining, and it makes you want to finish reading it as soon as possible.

[Andrea Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a cute adventure! I love dogs, so this one was extra fun.

[Quentin Borremans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Showoff is an amazing book. It is written by my favorite author Gordon Korman. Showoff is about a dog that gets shot by a berserk dart and goes crazy at a very high ranked dog show.The dog, Luthor, jumps onto the stage with the high ranking dogs, even the expected to be top dog. When the dog jumps onto the stage, the stage broke and then injures the top dog. Luthor then is kicked out and is forced to go to the pound. Savannah, the dogs owner doesn't want to give up her dog. After a while, Savannah's parents decided that they should go on vacation to help forget about what happened. Griffin, the man with the plan, is staying at his friends house for a couple of weeks. Griffin and Ben didn't want to see Luthor get put down, so they end up adopting him. Ben and Griffin groom Luthor so that they can try to enter him into the dog shows to get the money that Savannah's family needs to pay off.

Griffin is the man with the plan. His plans are meant to help people, but sometimes they do not end up all that great in the end. In this book, Griffins mega plan actually went how it was supposed to go, with minor interruptions of course, and saved Savannah's family from all the money that they were going to need to pay. Griffin always has good intentions. His plans might not always work like intended, but he tries to help everyone in any way possible.

I think this book is great for any age group, preferably middle school students. I suggested middle school students because this book teaches a lot about working together to get things done. Any age would enjoy to read this book because it has a lot of humor along with adventure.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book because it has mysteries. The characters are Luther, Griffin and Emma. Luther is the dog and Griffin is the owner. The problem is Griffin trains Luther to bet a 3 gold medalist dog. But thats where things got a bit bad. At the dog show it got very very crowded. The police came and pushed the crowd back. Then something tried to attack the dog that was on the stage. At the very end Luther bet’s Electra the 3 gold medalist. I recommend this book. It’s funny and full of mysteries.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Luthor attacked a very precious dog. A very famous show dog. The Drysdale's had to pay a lot of money as a repayment. So, Luthor is now in the dog pound. But who comes to the rescue. Griffin and Ben. They try and turn Luthor into a champion show dog which did not turn out very well. They did manage to find the most famous dog handler. Dmitri Trebshov. Then he found out that a dart mark was found on Luthor. Someone had done it to him. He turned Luthor into a champion. While they did that they found out shot him. An opponent's owners had shot him.

[Vikram]

Showoff by Gordon Korman was a fantastic book. Griffin and Ben and Savannah and Luthor (dog) are at the looking at Electra, the world's most famous dog. Suddenly, Luthor goes bozo and attacks Electra.Under Savannah's control, Luthor is usually fine. Luthor must go to the pound,and Savannah's family must pay 7.8 million dollars lawsuit. Can Griffin and his team get back Luthor and train him to win a dog show? You'll find out in Showoff.

[Cooldancer]

Luthor is accused of ruining the career of a three time champion beagle at a dog show. Can the team get help from someone who'll train Luthor so he'll win the dog show ? He might not win but he might end up being more famous and well known than the poodle that actually won. With the right plan anything a possible...

[S · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much is happening in the book! I Love it!

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read over 90 books from Gordon Korman’s masterful pen. I did not read much when young because of a dual form of dyslexia, because of that I have a deep fondness for Middle Grade books, and books for tween and teens. Korman is one of the all-time masters. I set the goal of reading all his books about 2020. I have read books in all his series, and all of the standalone stories.

Not counting omnibus editions I believe that as of the summer of 2025 Korman has published 109 books. And one comes out early next year. As of the reading of this volume I am down to 18 unread books. With each that I read I am entertained and often challenged.

This book and was released originally in 202 and the last in the series to date in 2016. There are 13 editions of this volume currently listed on Goodreads, and it is available in French, English, Japanese, Chinese and Turkish.

The description of this volume states:

“The fourth SWINDLE book, centering around a dog show that goes horribly awry! The heroes of SWINDLE, ZOOBREAK, and FRAMED are back - and this time, things have gone to the dogs! When Luthor goes berserk at a mall dog show, he's accused of ruining the career of the three-time best-in-show beagle. Griffin always knew that Luthor's viciousness was simmering just below the surface - so why does he feel bad enough to spring him from the pound? Griffin and his team have a new plan. This one involves New York City, a sinister saboteur, a reclusive dog-trainer who's quit the business, an international dog show, and a whole lot of red dye. But if they pull it off, no one will even notice their sting operation...right?”

The about the author for this edition states:

“GORDON KORMAN’s first three books featuring Griffin Bing and his friends were Swindle, Zoobreak, and Framed. His other books include This Can’t Be Happening at Macdonald Hall (published when he was fourteen); The Toilet Paper Tigers; Radio Fifth Grade; the trilogies Island, Everest, Dive, Kidnapped, and Titanic; and the series On the Run. He lives in New York with his family and can be found on the Web at his website.”

I really did not know what to expect when I started this series. I left this series till the end for 2 main reasons. First it is the longest series to date by Korman. And Second, I am not a huge dog guy, and also not into anthropomorphic stories. I had never read the descriptions, and just kept skipping over it until it was the last series for me to start. That was my mistake, and a huge one at that. Once I started that first one I really did not want to put it down. And it took a lot of effort not to just jump to the next volume, or rip my way through the series. I read books in a number of series between books 3 and 4 in this series. Again, even though it had not been that long, it was a like a visit with old friends.

Book one is described as Ocean’s 11 with kids, it lived up to that statement, and to some extent even more with each new instalment. This fourth one has many of the gang facing their biggest fear, Luthor the Great Dane. In order to save the dog’s life and their friend’s heartbreak they pull out all the stops to try and turn their former attack dog into the best in show for the American Show championships at the Global Kennel Society Show in New York, at the Manhattan Coliseum.

This is another excellent story about friendship, about kids standing up, and about life in a small community. Griffin Bing is the man with a plan and that plan includes finding a dog trainer who has gone reclusive, reforming Luthor, and winning the show to save his friends family from a crushing lawsuit. A lot can go wrong, and it all needs to go right or things will be worse than when they started.

This is such a great story. It continues an amazing series. I can easily recommend it. It is an excellent read from the master of the school story! But watch out for green slime.

[Gabriel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hello students my name is Gabriel and today I will be telling you about a book I read called “Show Off”. I read this book in traditional paper. The main characters of this book are Ben, Griffin, and luthor. The setting of this book takes place in a dog where dogs are performing.

The plot of the Show off book is about the two main protagonists. The two main protagonists are Ben and Griffin. They’re both trying to get the dog Luthor to win a dog show. But Luthor isn’t such a great performer and is not ready for the dog shows. The dog Luthor isn’t good at dog shows and needs help. But Luthor gets help from Griffin by giving Luthor a dog trainer. A trainer that he needs in order for him to win the dog show. The main antagonist of the story is Xerxes. Xerxes is the one That is trying to make Luthor lose. He is the owner of the Mercedes Devlin. Xerxes was trying to hurt Luthor and make him get disqualified so he won't win the dog show. In order for the dog Luthor to win is to not get disqualified by Xerxes and try to win the dog show.

In the end of the story Show off they caught the person that was messing and making Luthor losing the dog show. When they caught Xerxes, the one that was messing with Luthor’s dog show. After Xerxes got caught and got arrested. But unfortunately Luthor didn’t win the dog show. Luthor got to go with his new owners, Savanna's parents. The showoff book didn't have a sequel. I believe that they should’ve done a sequel of how Luthor, Griffin and Ben are doing at the end of the story. Will they meet each other again? I hope they make another sequel to the book and see how these characters are doing.
I recommend this book for any dog lovers out there. This is best suited for boys and girls because of how lovely and king dogs can be. I believe this book is inappropriate for any schools because of how people and children love dogs. This book has such an amazing story and it shows how people can mean at times and people that can be helpful to animals and dogs. I hope this book can make your reading fun.

I believe that I could've done better in this marketing period. I hope i can get better at reading and writing in the next marking period. I will read more often to get better at reading and hope to find amazing books such as Captain underpants and Show Off.

[Burton Ford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Showoff

Griffin and his friends return in book four with another problem and solution. Griffin is required to think up another plan after large former guard dog goes psycho at a dog show. All of the show lovers accuse him of ruining the most import dog in the world's three time national champion award. Griffin and Ben never liked Luthor but smell something that's just not right. They feel sympathy toward Luthor and bail him out while Luthorś owners ( the Drysdales) take break in lake house in wonderful scenery. Still Savannah Drysdale is in a horrible and blue mood. The drysdales get for loads of money. The only way to fix things is to do the unthinkable...become the new champion. Can Griffin Bing bring this plan together? Read to find out because the whole world is itching to know.

Second, my review. I love this book because the quality is great and has tons of detail and explains things thoroughly. Also it defines characters great, and it is easy to know who is talking and there background. This book has a great and interesting plot and it sticks to it great. All opinions are let known and it keeps surprised every chapter on what they say. Griffin States this plan and sticks to it throughout the book, ¨Operation doggie rehab. Goal: For Luthor to win the global kennel society extravaganza in NY city.¨

Connections, My text to self connection. My connection is with my dog and our struggles. My dog is a border collie named Bo. He has a ton of energy and never stops running so he is hard to teach and discipline. To my advantage he is the smartest breed of dog in the world. Just like Bo, Luthor has a lot of energy and is very hard to teach but Luthor is also very viscous. After a while Bo is a great listener and is very loyal, and after not too long so is luthor.

My text to text. In ¨Showoff¨ they receive clues and threats. In ¨Harry Potter¨ they receive threats and warnings when Voldemort is trying to kill them with the basilisk snake. My text to world. Dog shows are real and people really put down tons of money on it and make huge deals about it just like in the book.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Show Off by Gordon Korman, Griffin Bing and his friends always find themselves in trouble, but he always has a plan to get them out of trouble and to get what they want. Savannah and her dog Luthor are more than best friends and she can’t live a day without her dog. The group of friends go out to the mall to hang out and there is a dog show going on. Hundreds of people are taking pictures of the returning grand champion in the dog show, Electra. All of the sudden Luthor, a trained former guard dog, snaps and starts chaos with all the show dogs. Electra ends up getting injured and can’t be in the next dog show championship where the winner gets several million dollars for winning. Savannah’s family gets sued for several million dollars but they can’t pay for it so they have to give luthor away to the pound. Savannah is devastated and cries all day, Griffin couldn’t stand her being so sad so he formed a plan. Griffin and the crew were going to have to enter Luthor into the dog show and win. But the problem is that Luthor likes nobody but Savannah. Can Griffin do it?
I liked this book for many reasons. One of those reasons is when Griffin made his plan. Everybody had their roles and if anything went slightly wrong the whole plan would fail and they would most likely go to Juvy. I liked the development of Savannah’s and Luthor’s relationship. Luthor was perfectly obedient to her and they were best friends. When Luthor couldn’t be with Savannah he would be very sad and whine. I also liked the struggle between Griffin and his friends with Luthor when Savannah was away. Those were some of the reasons I liked this book.

[Jason Wride · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, Showoff, is really interesting. Savannah, Griffin, Ben, and Savannah’s dog Luthor go to the mall to see the world famous dog, Electra, that has won best in show three times running. However, Luthor goes berserk and tries to attack Electra. Her tail gets broken and won’t be able to participate in the dog contest this year. Savannah’s family gets sued for a lot of money they don’t have. Griffin makes a plan to win the dog show to get the money they need.

Savannah has a ton of animals while Griffin doesn’t. Savannah is the best animal expert for miles. Griffin doesn’t know very much about animals. Making plans is one of Griffin’s favorite things to do. Savannah never makes plans. They are both proud of Luthor (at the end). They both always help each other and their other friends.

I really liked this book. It was very interesting. However, it didn’t make much sense that Dmitri could just magically tame and train Luthor in a week. What also doesn’t make sense is that Griffin thought he could train Luthor. Griffin is smart, surely he knew he couldn’t. The climax was pretty eventful and exciting with a lot of things going on at the same time. It was really gripping. Except for those weird parts, this book was amazing.

[Bryan Contreras · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before the info on the amazing adventures of Luther, Ben and that Man with the plan Griffin you guys should know the background of the big doberman himself. This is my favorite part before the dobermans great and fun life began his life revolved around a big accident that resulted in his original owner having to leave town because of it. Luthors original owner was a young girl named Savannah but during a festival for dogs a award winning dog named Electra got hurt when Luthor went crazy and got her hurt. Electras owner filed a lawsuit towards Luthor and Savannah along with her family causing them to leave. I really like this part because It explains how Luthor got to where he is at the end of the book. As I explained earlier it leads toward Giffin and friends to go train Luthor to become behaved so they could enter him into another contes like the on before when he hurt Electra. Luther went on to win the competition along with the help of his companions. I would recommend this book to The reader of the Swindle series by Gordon Korman because he already has several other books that I look forward to reading.

[Bob Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not sure whether I like this book or not my favorite character in the last book I read by this author which was Swindle the character was Griffin. Griffin isn’t in the part I am too in this book and I wasn't happy that he isn't in it a lot. I am really hoping that Griffin comes in and then makes a really good plan to steal the dog back. I really liked the part where Griffin’s house got broken into by a monkey and that I thought was pretty funny. I didn't like the part though when Savannah had to give the dog away or pay 7.8 million dollars. I thought it was bad that she had to either give the dog away pay that was dumb. I was questioning why the dog was on the front but I actually found out that the dogs name is Luthor and he was like very special. And I was also very surprised to find out the facts that they have dog competitions I thought that was dumb because they judge dogs. I also haven't heard much about Ben and I was very upset about that because I Liked his clumsiness. So far I like this book and the facts that I actually know what the dog has to do with the story.

[Alfredo Valle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book because the story was so engaging because you just wanted to know what was gonna happen next. For example when the dog, Luthor, broke Electra's tail and they got sued for 7 million dollars. So they entered Luthor into a dog show for a prize of millions of dollars. They wanted help for the best dog trainer so they could win but the dog trainer was no where to be found because no one has seen him for a couple of years. This kept me reading to see if they finally found them and they did. They found him at a abandoned chinese restaurant and at first the dog trainer didn't want to help but he finally did. After this they were winning and advancing towards the prize but one of their competitors was threatening Luthor and came up with a plan to catch him. When they finally caught the person who was threatening them the person lifted their law suit and didn't win the dog show but they were still all happy.

[Isabel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this book in fourth grade when I first got into this series. And although its been awhile, this book still holds up for me. Yes, I know I'm not really the target audience anymore-- but this book is still a fun mystery that is easy to get into. Showoff is one of the stronger books in this series, yet not to the tier of the first couple of books.

As a huge dog nerd, this book is quiet good. I have been to numerous dog shows, so I have a strong idea of this topic-- and it's easy enough to tell that the author did his research on dog shows, breed standards, etc. which really contributes to the book.

While none of the characters in this book drastically change-- except Luthor, the Doberman-- it was good to see Griffin and Ben work together without the rest of the characters to solve the mystery, since none of the other books do this. This allowed them to build on their friendship and characters strengths in a way they would never have expected.

[Tony Lobdell]

10/10/14
I started at page 30 and ended at page 75. In this part of the story, Griffin and Ben (main characters) save Luthor, a dog, from the pound because they felt bad for it, and so that they can pay for a fine that it caused for the Drysdales the previous owners of Luthor and friends of Griffin and Ben, which is a seven million dollar fine for injuring Electra (a dog that was going to win a dog contest). Griffin and Ben leave Luthor in Griffin's garage overnight so they can get some dog training books from the library. The next day, when Griffin and Ben return, they find out that Luthor had destroyed the garage and his fathers inventions. Luthor then ran out of the garage, though the street and to the Drysdales home, only to find that the Drysdales have left to get Savannah, Luthor's owner, out of town. While there, the meet up with Melissa who agreed to help fix Griffin's father's inventions.
Griffin and Ben then begin to train Luthor how to stack ( the way dogs have to stand while being judged). Luthor then gets banned from the park for jumping into the duck pond and getting people wet. A few seconds later, a car that looks like the Drysdales drives by and Luthor jumps onto the car, shocking the driver. The driver slammed the breaks and Luthor fly's off, landing in the duck pond and getting more people wet. A few days later, they wake up Luthor and get him ready for his first dog show.
A quote that I chose from the story was "I've never seen him like this. He's almost human-you know, in a dog sort of way." I chose this quote because it describes Luthor and tells what Griffin thinks of him. In show and movies I have watched, dogs have human like qualities, like Luthor is showing in this statement.

10/10/16
I started on page 107 and ended on page 178. In this part of the book, Griffin and Ben were going to find Dimitri Trebezhov, the world's best dog trainer and previous trainer of Electra, so he can train Luthor to be a show dog. They go to their friend, Melissa, to help find him. She finds out that Dimitri is living at an abandoned Chinese restaurant 20 miles away. Griffin and Ben get Luthor to come by using a pillowcase used by Savannah (Luthor's previous owner). When they get to the restruant, they find that a janitor is there, but claims he is not Dimitri. Griffin gets Dimitri outside by making Luthor attack Griffin by throwing away the pillowcase. Dimitri calms Luthor down and finds a dart in his fur. DImitri tells the boys that Luthor was shot with this dart to make him aggressive , which is why he attacked Electra. Dimitri then agrees to train Luthor. After Dimitri trains Luthor, Griffin thinks that they should enter a smaller dog show to warn up Luthor. They enter, and Luthor won best in class (Doberman), best in group (Doberman were in working group), and even went on to win the show.After the show, they get a threatening note saying to not enter the Global dog competition. Griffin throws the note away, thinking it doesn't matter. They then get another note, and wonder who left them. Later, Dimitri gets attacked by shaving cream and tears his ACL.
A quote I chose from the story was "He is a dog. And he will be a virtuoso, in spite of your efforts to traumatize him". I choose this quote because it tells that Dimitri cares about Luthor. In many things I watch, people care about animals.

Summary
I chose Showoff for the reading challenge. In the beginning of this story, Savannah Drysdale's dog, Luthor, attacks a famous dog named Electra, and the Drysdales have to pay a seven million dollar fine and must get rid of Luthor. Griffin Bing ( who has to stay at his friend's house for six weeks because of his parents) and his friend Ben her Luthor moaning at the pound and decide to free him. The next morning, Griffin and Ben get Luthor out and he runs to Savannah's house to find out that shh isn't there. Griffin and Ben fed Luthor and lock him in Griffin's garage where he breaks Griffin's father's inventions, and Griffin threatens to put him back in the pound. Griffin asks his friend Melissa to fix his father's inventions, and Griffin gets Luthor ready for his first dog show, which he fails.Griffin then asks for Melissa's help to find Dimitri Trebezhov, one of the world's best dog trainers. She tells them to go to an abandoned Chinese restaurant to find him, and they go to find Dimitri and he agrees to train Luthor. Dimitri and Luthor go to a smaller dog show and win. They find a ransom note threatening Luthor, but they ignore it. Griffin and Ben then find another note in the mail which they still ignore. Later, Dimitri gets injured by a man who wanted to attack Luthor and can not compete in the major dog competition, and tells Griffin he must do it. Griffin makes a plan with his father's invention to spray whoever comes into Luthor's kennel so they can see who was sending the notes. Griffin gets through the first part of the competition with no problem. In the middle of the competition, the machine goes off, Luthor tackles the guy who did it to see Savannah ( she came back to see Luthor), and Griffin and his friends learn that the man who did it was the owner of another big show dog ( Xerxes), and Luthor and the Xerxes got disqualified from the composition. In the end, Luthor came back to Savannah, Xerxes was adopted by Dimitri, and Griffin and his friends were happy once again.
A quote that I chose for this story was " Dogs should just be dogs, nothing more than that". I chose this quote because it shows that even great dog owners think their are flaws in the system, and that we should let things be natural, and only change them for the good.
I would recommend this book to fifth through eight grade because it has a nice story and easy to read words in it.

[Mason Laughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a dog who went berserk because of a dart that someone shot him with to sabotage the top dog show competitor. The owner got sued for 7 million for hurting the top dog. Her friend Griffin has to find help to train the dog to enter the dog show to win top prize and pay off the lawsuit. He finds the best trainer in the world who was a hermit. They enter the dog show but they still get sabotaged by someone but no one knows who. Read the book to find out if they win the competition.

[AMY · Rating 5 out of 5]

248 pages. Another great book in the Swindle series. I enjoyed reading about the kids who had a new challenge…how to make things right for Savannah’s doberman, Luther after something goes VERY wrong at the mall. Ben and Griffin work hard to figure something out in order to rescue Luther from the animal shelter he is forced to be removed from Savannah’s home. What plans and adventures! Plot moves along well and keeps a reader’s attention well. Lots of funny moments and dialog. I enjoyed this one very much. Kids will love it. Highly recommended for grades 4-5.