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The Stingy Minion
Educated by her imprisoned hacker father, and dumped on her grandparents’ doorstep by her distraught mother, sixteen-year-old Elizabeth Carson brings big problems to small-town Ellisville, Missouri. Rooted in a broken family and conflicted by her own awakening femininity, she fails to recognize that help is all around—a caring community, a musical prodigy named Jereme, and loving grandparents.
As if family problems were not enough, Elizabeth’s curious nature finds more trouble. She brings her father’s hacking program, the Stingy Minion, back to life, and soon finds herself staring at a highly classified NSA blog site used by the president of the United States. Trouble escalates to danger when a power-hungry investment firm tries to steal the Stingy Minion and threatens her life and the lives of newfound friends.
In over her head, Elizabeth continues to hack and discovers a plot to attack Iran’s nuclear development sites. The world is on the verge of nuclear war. With hired thugs on her tail, only time will tell how long she and her friends will remain safe.
Preview on author's website: http://stingyminion.com/preview.html
As if family problems were not enough, Elizabeth’s curious nature finds more trouble. She brings her father’s hacking program, the Stingy Minion, back to life, and soon finds herself staring at a highly classified NSA blog site used by the president of the United States. Trouble escalates to danger when a power-hungry investment firm tries to steal the Stingy Minion and threatens her life and the lives of newfound friends.
In over her head, Elizabeth continues to hack and discovers a plot to attack Iran’s nuclear development sites. The world is on the verge of nuclear war. With hired thugs on her tail, only time will tell how long she and her friends will remain safe.
Preview on author's website: http://stingyminion.com/preview.html
- GenresFiction
260 pages, Hardcover
First published August 5, 2013
About the author
H.M. Marson
2 books21 followersIn a small Missouri town, Hal Anderson and Marty Marshall met and became friends. Having followed different life paths, one as a retail chain CEO and the other as a computer services company CEO, their perspectives varied, but they shared one common goal: to write. Together, they publish under the pseudonym H. M. Marson.
Their first offering, The Stingy Minion: Hacked, now in its second edition, brings suspense and mystery to a small town as coming of age young adults hack into an intriguing website and want to know more.
Their second offering, Merlin’s Siege, finds the aging sorcerer languishing in central Florida where he has hit bottom, where his life no longer matters. Then two women find him, one is kind and caring, the other jealous and vindictive—and therein lies the rub.
Their first offering, The Stingy Minion: Hacked, now in its second edition, brings suspense and mystery to a small town as coming of age young adults hack into an intriguing website and want to know more.
Their second offering, Merlin’s Siege, finds the aging sorcerer languishing in central Florida where he has hit bottom, where his life no longer matters. Then two women find him, one is kind and caring, the other jealous and vindictive—and therein lies the rub.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
September 6, 2021
Was not for me.
September 11, 2021
This is an enjoyable YA intrigue that was a fun read. Although I am quite a bit old for this genre, this book really kept my interest. The subject matter of computer hacking is pertinent; Liz and Jereme are dealing with lots of angst but remain warm and interesting; there's an evil plot and some danger involved; the quirky side characters add charm to the story. It all adds up to an easy read that I'm happy to recommend.
I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway for this honest review.
I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway for this honest review.
August 26, 2013
The Stingy Minion by H.M. Marson
The Stingy Minion by H.M. Marson is about Liz who is a very intelligent girl that used to work with her father writing software codes for video games until her father started hacking bad guy’s computers and stealing money. Her dad ends up getting caught and goes to jail. Liz‘s mom leaves Liz at her grandparents’ house to live and go to school. Liz’s mom blames her for knowing what her father was doing and not stopping him. Liz feels confused and abandoned.
Liz finds a friend in her next door neighbor, Jereme. He almost runs her over with his bike the first time they meet because she is in the middle of the sidewalk. Jereme is a phenom when it comes to music and playing his guitar. When Liz listens to him, she’s transported to a different place in her mind. However, Liz’s grandfather doesn’t like all the noise Jereme makes playing his guitar.
At Christmas, Jereme gets a computer and Liz says she’ll set it up for him. Before she does he checks the school’s website because he wants to check his test grades and his access is denied. He gets upset and starts typing gibberish and ends up getting into a website that required two passwords. Liz and Jeremy decide they are going to try and figure out who the website belongs to.
Liz goes to visit her dad in prison after a cruise her grandparents take her on at Christmas. While there, she asks her dad if she can use the Stingy Minion program to hack into the site Jereme found. Her dad tells her no but then said it is her choice. When Liz gets home she uses the program and the site belongs to the National Security Agency. Liz thinks it looks like a corporate blog site and leaves a message. They wait a long time but end up getting a reply. Liz and Jereme go back and forth with “Alley Oop”.
Jereme’s laptop is stolen from the house. Liz and her Grandparents leave church to find out what happened and come clean about hacking into the website. The police get involved and Liz realizes that they aren’t going to be able to get the stingy minion to work so they would be coming back for her and Jereme. Liz and Jereme make up a plan to trap the bad guys and they let the police in on it. The plan does not go as they had mapped out but they did end up getting the bad guys.
Liz did figure out who Alley Oops was and both Liz and Jereme end up meeting Alley Oops when everything is all over. Even though what Liz and Jereme did was wrong, it ended up saving many people’s lives. Liz also gets a great happy ending with her father.
I do want to say that I loved her Grandparents. Anyone would be lucky to have grandparents like them. I really loved her Grandpa. He was hilarious. I loved how he spoke about the oddest and most random things. I also loved Liz and Jereme’s witty banter. It was just the right amount of funny.
The Stingy Minion is a little bit mystery, little bit comedy and just a whole lot of fun. This book was well written, with interesting and well thought out characters. It definitely is relevant to what is going on in today’s society. I think both young and old would enjoy this book.
4 Stars
*I won this book through Goodreads First Reads giveaway. In no way has this influenced my rating or opinion of this book.*
The Stingy Minion by H.M. Marson is about Liz who is a very intelligent girl that used to work with her father writing software codes for video games until her father started hacking bad guy’s computers and stealing money. Her dad ends up getting caught and goes to jail. Liz‘s mom leaves Liz at her grandparents’ house to live and go to school. Liz’s mom blames her for knowing what her father was doing and not stopping him. Liz feels confused and abandoned.
Liz finds a friend in her next door neighbor, Jereme. He almost runs her over with his bike the first time they meet because she is in the middle of the sidewalk. Jereme is a phenom when it comes to music and playing his guitar. When Liz listens to him, she’s transported to a different place in her mind. However, Liz’s grandfather doesn’t like all the noise Jereme makes playing his guitar.
At Christmas, Jereme gets a computer and Liz says she’ll set it up for him. Before she does he checks the school’s website because he wants to check his test grades and his access is denied. He gets upset and starts typing gibberish and ends up getting into a website that required two passwords. Liz and Jeremy decide they are going to try and figure out who the website belongs to.
Liz goes to visit her dad in prison after a cruise her grandparents take her on at Christmas. While there, she asks her dad if she can use the Stingy Minion program to hack into the site Jereme found. Her dad tells her no but then said it is her choice. When Liz gets home she uses the program and the site belongs to the National Security Agency. Liz thinks it looks like a corporate blog site and leaves a message. They wait a long time but end up getting a reply. Liz and Jereme go back and forth with “Alley Oop”.
Jereme’s laptop is stolen from the house. Liz and her Grandparents leave church to find out what happened and come clean about hacking into the website. The police get involved and Liz realizes that they aren’t going to be able to get the stingy minion to work so they would be coming back for her and Jereme. Liz and Jereme make up a plan to trap the bad guys and they let the police in on it. The plan does not go as they had mapped out but they did end up getting the bad guys.
Liz did figure out who Alley Oops was and both Liz and Jereme end up meeting Alley Oops when everything is all over. Even though what Liz and Jereme did was wrong, it ended up saving many people’s lives. Liz also gets a great happy ending with her father.
I do want to say that I loved her Grandparents. Anyone would be lucky to have grandparents like them. I really loved her Grandpa. He was hilarious. I loved how he spoke about the oddest and most random things. I also loved Liz and Jereme’s witty banter. It was just the right amount of funny.
The Stingy Minion is a little bit mystery, little bit comedy and just a whole lot of fun. This book was well written, with interesting and well thought out characters. It definitely is relevant to what is going on in today’s society. I think both young and old would enjoy this book.
4 Stars
*I won this book through Goodreads First Reads giveaway. In no way has this influenced my rating or opinion of this book.*
September 21, 2013
Depressed and standing alone in front of her grandparents’ house, sixteen-year-old Elizabeth Carson imagines dying from a lightning strike. Real thunder follows when an in-your-face eighteen-year-old boy yells at her for blocking the sidewalk. Snapping back from an imagined death, she defends her position and a loud, sarcastic conversation ensues. When this verbal altercation ends, a friendship springs to life, and so too, does the story of the Stingy Minion.
Elizabeth tells the whole story; a broken family tale filled with those all too familiar emotions – anger, fear, desire, and loneliness. Temptation, represented by the Stingy Minion, is overpowering, and lures her toward the dark side. In unfamiliar territory, Elizabeth stumbles and faces death in her search for the good life. What she discovers is the unexpected.
The story of the Stingy Minion is fictional, but it reminds that real life is full of hazards and, at times, deadly. It reminds that the good life is never easy to have, but worth the effort. It reminds that, when things look their worst, it may be time to laugh — and text a friend.
Elizabeth tells the whole story; a broken family tale filled with those all too familiar emotions – anger, fear, desire, and loneliness. Temptation, represented by the Stingy Minion, is overpowering, and lures her toward the dark side. In unfamiliar territory, Elizabeth stumbles and faces death in her search for the good life. What she discovers is the unexpected.
The story of the Stingy Minion is fictional, but it reminds that real life is full of hazards and, at times, deadly. It reminds that the good life is never easy to have, but worth the effort. It reminds that, when things look their worst, it may be time to laugh — and text a friend.
February 22, 2014
*3.5
I didn't really have any expectations when I started this book so I wasn't disapointed. I actually really enjoyed it. I wasn't a favorite, but I enjoyed it.
I hadn't read any books hacking. It was interseting, even though there were some of the "computer language" I didn't understand at all.
I liked the plot of this book, and I also liked the characters. This book was REALLY realistic and wasn' as I may say a "fake book". The character were really realistic as well. I have experienced in the books that there is this PERFECT boy, and the main girl is PERFECT as well but she doesn't know it. This wasn't the case at all. I really think this book was REAL!
This book is a YA novel. I wouldn't have placed it in this category, I think I would rather place it in the middle grade,or in some place between. I can see why it's a YA novel, but at some places it is some childish!
I didn't really have any expectations when I started this book so I wasn't disapointed. I actually really enjoyed it. I wasn't a favorite, but I enjoyed it.
I hadn't read any books hacking. It was interseting, even though there were some of the "computer language" I didn't understand at all.
I liked the plot of this book, and I also liked the characters. This book was REALLY realistic and wasn' as I may say a "fake book". The character were really realistic as well. I have experienced in the books that there is this PERFECT boy, and the main girl is PERFECT as well but she doesn't know it. This wasn't the case at all. I really think this book was REAL!
This book is a YA novel. I wouldn't have placed it in this category, I think I would rather place it in the middle grade,or in some place between. I can see why it's a YA novel, but at some places it is some childish!
October 16, 2013
A light, funny and entertaining book.
The book reads really smoothly and fast. The plot was interesting but I think that the blurb from the back cover gives away too much of the storyline, for instance it clearly states who uses the NSA blog which in the book is revealed rather slowly. I liked how the issue of right to privacy and government's spying on their citizens was mentioned and how it in a way kept resurfacing throughout the novel. The characters were really pleasant, the pace was well balanced ( neither too fast nor too slow) and I never got bored. Overall I enjoyed reading it, as it was very relaxing.
The book reads really smoothly and fast. The plot was interesting but I think that the blurb from the back cover gives away too much of the storyline, for instance it clearly states who uses the NSA blog which in the book is revealed rather slowly. I liked how the issue of right to privacy and government's spying on their citizens was mentioned and how it in a way kept resurfacing throughout the novel. The characters were really pleasant, the pace was well balanced ( neither too fast nor too slow) and I never got bored. Overall I enjoyed reading it, as it was very relaxing.
August 30, 2013
This book was amazing! I loved it! It was funny, heartwarming, and had reeled me in from the first page. The friendship Liz had with Jereme makes me wish I still had my best guy friend with me and the plot with the hacking an NSA blog site was super cool. I loved Liz's personality and her relationship with her grandparents. Her grandparents cracked me up, they were so funny! I recommend this book to anyone who loves heartwarming, laugh out loud books. =] I received this book through Goodreads First Reads.
December 2, 2013
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads
Fun light read.
Follow Elizabeth (Liz) through various important changes in her new life. Jereme with a (e) her new neighbor and best friend share is part of a lot of those changes.
Liz learned about programming and hacking from her dad and those skills will put Jereme and her life in danger.
Overall I really like the book even if it was really fast and could have been a bit more develop. Some of the elements in the book could have been carried a litle more through the book (school, friends, mom)
Fun light read.
Follow Elizabeth (Liz) through various important changes in her new life. Jereme with a (e) her new neighbor and best friend share is part of a lot of those changes.
Liz learned about programming and hacking from her dad and those skills will put Jereme and her life in danger.
Overall I really like the book even if it was really fast and could have been a bit more develop. Some of the elements in the book could have been carried a litle more through the book (school, friends, mom)
August 25, 2013
Really cute and engaging book. I was hooked right from the first pages. Just what I needed on a break from school. I highly recommend this book for some light, fun reading.
This had me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen. I hated putting it down when I had other things to do! And what a happy, wonderful ending.
I will probably read it again.
This had me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen. I hated putting it down when I had other things to do! And what a happy, wonderful ending.
I will probably read it again.
December 31, 2020
Warm Happy Read!
Today’s world is about sex and violence. This book manages to provide an interesting plot with quirky characters. The details of the small town make you feel like you are part of the story. Once you get the hang of this author’s unique style, you can truly appreciate the warm hearted story full of adventure and intrigue.
Today’s world is about sex and violence. This book manages to provide an interesting plot with quirky characters. The details of the small town make you feel like you are part of the story. Once you get the hang of this author’s unique style, you can truly appreciate the warm hearted story full of adventure and intrigue.
March 13, 2021
Goodreads Kindle Copy Win
New York thugs invades small town Missouri after teenage hackers. A computer whiz drags her friend in a world of greed and power. Using her father’s hacking software, The Stingy Minion, she drags her friend further into hacking world.
Computer whiz can she be trusted whose family life is a mess? A quirky set of characters that will amuse you.
New York thugs invades small town Missouri after teenage hackers. A computer whiz drags her friend in a world of greed and power. Using her father’s hacking software, The Stingy Minion, she drags her friend further into hacking world.
Computer whiz can she be trusted whose family life is a mess? A quirky set of characters that will amuse you.
Read
August 25, 2013Although the book was hard to follow at times it was a quick, funny read. Beware this may not be meant for the younger crowd.
August 28, 2013
I really didn't like this book to much. The main character Elizabeth annoyed me to much and the guy jereme was just a little to perfect sounding to believe.
October 16, 2013
A lovely and heart warming tale of a friendship between a boy and a girl. Definitely worth picking up. Think it could have done with another 50 pages to develop further but a lovely light read
April 3, 2021
Held my interest throughout
October 3, 2022
I really enjoyed this book
April 16, 2025
Teenagers hack into high level websites and cellphones. What can go wrong? Fun.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews