Hollywood Hustle

Son of the Mob #2

by Gordon Korman

The fast-paced, funny sequel to the best-selling Son of the Mob.

Vince Luca is in heaven . . . he's off to Los Angeles, to attend the University of Santa Monica's film school. College should be fantastic, but he is more thrilled about being 3,000 miles away from his mob family.

But as it turns out, college brings its own problems: from other film students moving in on his girl, to a kleptomaniac roommate, to having to get a job on campus to help pay tuition. It's a fair amount to handle, though nothing Vince couldn't easily manage - if he didn't keep finding himself with unexpected guests from the East Coast. It seems Vince's dad may just be ready to expand operations to L.A.

With the popularity of shows such as "The Sopranos," the mafia is a topic of intrigue for young adults. The fast-paced plot, hilarious dialogue and Korman's keen understanding of teen issues, made this a bestseller and a critical success.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Romance, Humor, Realistic Fiction, Teen, Contemporary

268 pages, Paperback

First published July 28, 2004

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

[Kendra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very sarcastic, very hysterical book. I laughed out loud on more than one occasion. You don't have to read the first book, Son of the Mob, in order to read this one. Just pick it up for a nice afternoon laugh.

[Sahib · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanna read it if i can find it, apperently this is the second one and the first one was AWESOME!

[Karin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vince Luca is back, and headed off to college in California, about as far away from his mob family as he can get. Kendra is in college only a half an hour away. However, things don't go as smoothly has he had expected, and not only because of college. He starts getting visitors from New York, his roommate's father is a US senator that his kleptomaniac son wants nothing to do with, and various and sundry other things. Life is never simply when your Dad is a don, even if you want nothing to do with that life.

This is another humorous novel by Gordon Korman, although I think the book by him we enjoyed the most was Schooled.

[Sha · Rating 3 out of 5]

08 Apr 2021

1. I liked a lot of this- the you can run and hide but you will never escape your family bits, the drama between the characters, the murder family also caring a lot for each other all of this is good stuff. And the climax was honestly ADORABLE as fuck.

2. I vehemently disliked the whole willow honeypot subplot because (a) eww, no and (b) it just makes a mockery out of so many relationships? I mean I was not too sold on the foundations for the main ship in the first place and I can't say this inspired any more confidence in me.

[Skyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Escaping Yourself
The book Son of the Mob was an interesting book; it touched me in some spots, and it really got to me. I thought it was a good book for someone who likes romance, humor, and action all put together. It had that little bit of romance to spice the book up just right, but not so much that the book wasn’t all about a love story. It had an epic father-son connection, one that kept me reading. Really in this book I just never knew what was going to occur until it happened.
The book is about a boy who is a freshman in college; his name is Vince. He is the son of one of the most powerful people in New York. His dad also owns a vending machine company, for a cover up to his mob activities. Vince has a girlfriend and a best friend. His girlfriend, Kendra, is a nice sweet girl, but her dad is the FBI agent who is supposed to bring down Vince’s dad. This adds a little bit of a conflict to their relationship. Vince’s best friend’s name is Alex. They went to different colleges so he’s not really in the book that much. I think I would like to have seen Alex in the book a little more. Vince also has a brother named Tommy, who is involved in the dad’s illegal dealings. He says he’s trying to get out of the Mob business, and that’s why he comes down by Vince and stays in his dorm room. It really did feel like he was trying to get out of the family business at first. However, once Vince and Tommy got into a fight in Vince’s dorm room, it changed everything. Vince has a lot of uncles, too many to name off, but they add a twist to the story. When it seemed like nothing was about to happen, bam they would do something ridiculous. As soon as you think you know what is going to happen, the book throws a curve ball at you. The place where this all goes down is Hollywood.
In the beginning of the book it talks about Vince, Alex, and Kendra. It goes on describing their lives and what might happen. I couldn’t really understand the love that Kendra had for Vince; it sort of sounded like she just had him to keep space in her life. One day, however, she said, “I know it’s been tough spending so much time apart. But Burnt Offering wraps next week. I promise we’ll be together then. It’ll be like before-you’ll see” (186). When she said that, it really showed her love for him, that even through bad times she still wants to be with him.
This book really emphasized how much Vince didn’t want to be a part of the family business, and how much he really didn’t like it. If my dad was the boss of a mob I would be pumped (late nights, parties, oh the works). Vince got mixed up in a kidnapping that he ends up wanting to know more about, because he thinks his father has something to do with it. When he tells a person, “I know Congressman Sutter. He would want to hear this. It’s about Ellis Rank” (154), he opens a whole new part to the book, something that you would never see coming. I don’t think I would want to get in the middle of a kidnapping, because it could get ugly, especially with the fact that your father could have been the guy who did the kidnapping. I have two reasons not to get involved in the kidnapping. One, you could get shot. Two, you could accidently end up sending your father to jail.
It was sticky when Vince finds a tape and thinks it’s his video project. It turned out to be a very important piece of evidence. Vince had been having a lot of trouble with his class all along. He didn’t really know what to do about it, but the last day he put together a film. On the day Vince was to show his video, he shows up to class late, and Mr.Baumgarther says, “Thank goodness you left your self plenty of time” (147). Vince ended up switching his film with the tape of Ellis Rank. Mr. Baumgarther thought from the beginning that the video Vince made was going to be wonderful. Imagine everyone’s surprise when they began to watch. Vince stopped the film and ran out the room to call his dad. I thought it was cute that they called each other on pay phones. This obviously gave us a clue that this story did not take place in 2012 where everyone has a cellphone.
The book Son of a Mob really made me think about a lot if things in the world. It was an extremely spicy book, I thought, because I never knew what was going to happen. This book taught me a couple of things. First, don’t wait until the last minute to do a big project. Only bad things can come from putting off the project to the last minute, really bad work. If Vince would have allowed himself time to preview his tape, he wouldn’t have found himself in that situation. Secondly, don’t cheat on your girlfriend. It’s not worth the trouble of explaining to her and trying to get her back. The most important thing that I learned from reading this book is to keep the ones you love close and never let them go, especially your father. You may back talk him or yell at him, but he’s your dad. He loves you and will do just about anything for you, regardless of what he does for a living.

[Jake · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book because i read the first book and i liked it. The genre of this book is realistic fiction. This book starts out in New York and then Vince and his Girlfriend Kendra move to California. The main Character is Vince Luca and he is kinda tall with brown hair. His Dad (Anthony Luca)is the boss of a mob and he says his buisness is vending machines. During the book Vince is going to college for filming and Kendra is also going to school but at a different and bigger college. Vince's roommates name is Trey sutter and his dad is a congressman. This kid that lives in the same building as Vince says that he is some big movie producer and wants to know were he can find actors. Vince tells him try the college were Kendra goes. Instead P-Rick gets kendra to act for him and vince thinks that Kendra is cheating on him. So vince gets mad and stops talking to her. Then Vince goes with trey to his dad's speech thing because Ellis Rank was kidnapped. Then Vinces family starts showing up and getting in his way so he suspects something. Then when he is making his first film he finds this tape of the kidnapping and accidently shows it to the class but gets it out before they see anything. His uncles and brother tommy starts staying at the Dorm with him but Trey thinks its cool. Then when Vinces dad shows up he thinks that they kidnapped Ellis rank but he finds out its Treys Dad. I really liked the book because it had stuff going on the whole time.

[Luke Sands · Rating 4 out of 5]

Son of the Mob is stuffed full of action in the first chapter... The main character is Vince Luca. His father is the boss of a vending machine business, but really he is the mob boss. Vince’s girlfriend is Kendra. Her father is, ironically, the lead investigator for the FBI trying to catch Vince’s father. Vince, Kendra, and Vince’s best friend, Alex, all travel across the country to go to college in LA. On their way, Vince realizes he has the wrong luggage, and the bag he has is filled with money. He goes to class for a couple days and gets kicked out of a frat.

Vince Luca didn't change much throughout the book. He did change a little though. In the beginning he was just a plain old high school kid with plenty of good friends. Then he adapts to fit in with the college crowd. He doesn't adapt as much as other students. Vince doesn't like to go to any frats like the rest of his friends do. He always just want to hang out with Kendra.

I would recommend Snakehead to 15-19 year old male students because they would relate the most.

I gave this book 2 stars because it is a boring book that ends the sequel on a bad note. There was almost no action after the first two chapters and climaxed in the first few pages. This book was not a great book.

[Tyler Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book because I like things about mobs and I also read the first one. This book takes place in California. Vince is still the main character. Decides to get away from his familie's business. Him and his girlfriend Kendra go to college near eachother but never see one another because Kendra is always busy. Vince has a roommate named Trey and he is dating a senior named Willow. She has the hots for Vince as he tought but she is working for the FBI and his dating Kendra's father "Agnt Bite-Me". Well Vince thought he could get far away from his father's "vending machine business" but it ends up he finds out the uncles, brother and father are in town to rescue a union boss. Vince thought they killed him but finds they were saving him from his roommate's father which is a congressman Sutter. My opinion to this book is that it is really good and I would recommend it to anyone.

[Courtney Buescher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a kid that is going to college and is from New York. His dad is the head of the mob. Vince, the main character, decides to go California so that he can get away from the mob. Vince's girlfriend's dad works for the FBI, so they have to watch what they say around him. This book has romance, college related stuff, action, and even a chance of some murder. To find out more read the book.

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

I absolutely love reading Gordon Korman books, either by myself or with one or more of my children. I have now read over 75 of his works. This story was originally published in 2004 by Scholastic Canada, and a different edition available in the United States. It has had reprints in 2006 and 2013. It has since been through several reprinting’s including editions from Hyperion an imprint of Disney Books, Scholastic, Turtleback, and the latest English edition from Little, Brown and Company.

As I have stated in reviews of several of Korman’s books over the last few years: mid 2022, Korman published his 100th book. Yes you read that correctly, his hundredth book, as of the summer of 2025 he is up to 209 volumes in print. My introduction to Korman��s works was the 39 Clues back in 2009. My son often reads these books to me or with me. I picked up this to read next because I am down to under 40 volumes left to read and they are all from series.

My son and I started reading Gordon Korman books together a few years ago, when he was given one as an end of year gift by his teacher. She gave the whole class the same Scholastic edition and wrote a note to each student in their copy of the book. Prior to that I had a read a few of his contributions to the 39 Clues series and had enjoyed them.

The description of this volume states:

“Vince Luca is in heaven . . . he's off to Los Angeles, to attend the University of Santa Monica's film school. College should be fantastic, and he is more thrilled about being 3,000 miles away from his mob family.

But as it turns out, college brings its own problems: from other film students moving in on his girl, to a kleptomaniac roommate, to having to get a job on campus to help pay tuition. It's a fair amount to handle, though nothing Vince couldn't easily manage ― if he didn't keep finding himself with unexpected guests from the East Coast. It seems Vince's dad may just be ready to expand operations to L.A.

With the popularity of shows such as "The Sopranos," the mafia is a topic of intrigue for young adults. The fast-paced plot, hilarious dialogue and Korman's keen understanding of teen issues, made this a bestseller and a critical success.”

This book and it’s predecessor was released during the height of The Sapranos popularity. And Films and TV shows focused on the mob go through cycles of popularity and wax and wane in popular culture and have for decades now. So the series written for teens, with a teen focus on life in the family and about the family business was sure to be a hit. On Goodreads book two has almost 1790 reviews and a 3.65 star average and 26 on Amazon and a 4.5 star average there at the writing of this review.

This story is for a more mature audience. There is some making out. University students, especially international students are scammed. Through it all Vince is trying to focus on school, get some time with his girlfriend, across town, and keep his family and friends out of trouble! That is not the easiest when all his fathers lieutenants seem to be working out of his dorm room. Or when his brother strong arms a fraternity; and when his roommate’s girlfriend keeps coming onto to him. Oh the problems of a freshman who moved clear across the country to get away from the Family Business.

I really enjoyed this second volume in this series, and am a little surprised Korman has not returned with a third offering.

Another really fun read from Korman!

[Gabrielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reader's Note: I made the mistake of reading this book first (second book in the SOTM series) instead of the first book of the series (Son of The Mob); Let's just say the cover art for both books are very similar. I plan to read the first book eventually. I must say though: Hollywood Hustle didn't read like a sequel. It actually read like it was the first book in a series. This makes me wonder if this is a companion book instead of a sequel (similar with Sharon Flake's "The Skin I'm In" and "The Life I'm In"). This is the 2nd book I have read for 2022. I read this book because I have book talks coming up and I need to book talk books for reluctant male readers. This book took me about four days to read. Normally books like this (shorter than 300 pages), I can read in one day, but the story was too dull for me. There wasn't enough action compared to some books I have read for reluctant readers in the past. The action was only interesting towards the end with the scene involving Vince and the Luca's at the shoot-out. I didn't care for any of the characters in the book - especially Kendra. Her role to me was miniscule compared to Willow's role in the entire story. Kendra was the most uninteresting character in this book. Wish the book focused more on the Uncles, the Ellis Rank character, and Anthony Luca. I would have loved a backstory to how they are all connected. I am aware that there is a sequel, but I will probably not read it because the book was simply a bore for me. I am looking forward to reading a book that truly is interesting for me. Overall, the book is written by Gordon Korman, so I believe that there will be students who will enjoy this book because they enjoy the author and his novels. Also, I have read better novels by Gordon Korman and Preston Norton in our Humor Genre section in the LC.

[Stacey Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vince has gone across the country to college to get as far away as possible from his family. But it didn't work. They've come to him. His college life takes a turn when his brother Tommy and some "uncles" come to "visit". Vince wants to see the good in people. He wants to think his family is good but they're the mob and he knows they do bad things. Vince trusts that his brother wants to change, to get out of the family business so he's willing to help him. Things get complicated quickly. Vince's roommate is the son of a TV hungry congressman who's involved in a union dispute. Union leaders have vanished, kidnapped or killed who knows? Vince and his roommate Trey get in the middle of it without wanting to. Trey hates his father and is willing to go to extremes to embarrass him. Vince loves his father but hates what his father does for a living. The two boys become friends but a girl comes between them. Vince is still dating Kendra but she's busy and at a different college so they don't see each other much. Trey falls for Willow, a wild woman with incredible looks and wit who commands attention everywhere she goes. Willow has all the college boys drooling even Vince but he keeps his distance....until she throws herself at him.... causing a big to do with Trey and Kendra too. Going to college near Kendra, away from his family, was supposed to be fun. Vince wonders when that fun is going to start.

[Caitlin Yousey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was honestly pretty boring for the first 80 pages and I almost gave up reading it but I like the author and the previous book so I kept reading it. For the most part of the book, when my friends asked what I was reading about, I couldn’t even pull together enough of a general plot to tell them.

This is the spoiler part: ⚠️

it made me very angry when Vince kissed Willow. He just acted like it wasn’t his fault because she was just so out of his league and attractive and a great kisser but thats not an excuse for cheating on his girlfriend. And then Kendra was just fine with the fact that he cheated with Willow because she was working with the FBI?? (At least I think that’s what happened, I didn’t fully understand some of the stuff that was happening.) I was glad that they got back together but I was expecting him making a grand gesture and apology not her just forgiving him.

Overall though, I really liked the book. However, if you’re looking for a book about a mob this book didn’t seem to talk much about it for a while. If you’re looking for a romance, that wasn’t really there either. Honestly, I don’t even know what topic this book was on, but I did like it.

[Maddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love love love this series. It's grown to be so soothing, hilarious, smart and quirky. I simply cannot get enough of Vince Luca. Although I was pissed off at him for cheating on Kendra while also appreciating his honesty about being attracted to the FBI agent, I suppose. There were some moments where I just couldn't deal with the hilarity, the author was killing me with his comedy. And some moments that are just so heartwarming, especially the one where my boy realizes that Anthony Luca, the man that he grew to despise, didn't think twice to take a bullet for him, literally. This is such a well-written, engaging, entertaining and yet intimate, and so personal to me. Which is what makes books irreplaceable to me. Vince's world was such a joy to be a part of, and I am so wonderfully glad I happened upon it. It was quite a tearful moment to come to the last page and to realize that that was it. To this book I have to say, I love you and now you're a part of me.

[Martin Link · Rating 4 out of 5]

Son of the Mob: Hollywood Hustle is a fictional book written by Gordon Korman. He has also written the prequel of this book, Son of The Mob. The title is very fitting as the book is about a boy named Vincent Luca, who goes by Vince, who is the son of Anthony Luca, a mob boss in New York. At the beginning of the book Vince, along with his girlfriend Kendra and his friend Alex, move to California. While Vince and Kendra go to college at Santa Monica, Alex tries to live the “good life” and goes to Las Vegas instead (4).
Once Vince arrived at Santa Monica he met his roommate Trey Sutter, son of Congressmen Sutter. Congressmen Sutter was involved in a union presidential election that went spiraling out of control after Ellis Rank, one of the candidates, went missing. As it turned out the mob was also involved in this situation, but not in the way you would think. Congressmen Sutter kidnapped Ellis Rank with help from the other candidate for union president, Pat McCracken to take control over the election. The mob was involved because they were trying to protect the union by rescuing Ellis Rank. All of this ‘family business’ unfolded in front of Vince’s eyes throughout the book, some of it without him even noticing.
From beginning to end Vince describes his interesting family. Everybody from his brother Tommy to his ‘uncles’ are all apart of the mob, except for himself. He says multiple times in a book that he wants nothing to do with the mob (12). He thinks that going to film school and Santa Monica is the best way to stay out of the mob. It does not work out in the slightest in this fast-paced, hilarious book.
Gordon Korman is a very humorous writer and portrays it through his characters. At one point in the book Vince says, “Maybe ‘my family’ is going clubbing after all. With real clubs” (222). Along with the humor, there is also a surprising amount of romance in this book. At some points there may actually be too much for some people to handle.
There is a diverse group of characters in this book, like Scooby, a foreign exchange student that speaks broken English (220). Vince is also an interesting character. He is the son of a mob boss in New York, and is dating Kendra, the daughter of the F.B.I. agent that is after his dad (7). Vince’s thoughts are sometimes written in an unique style during certain parts of the book. This adds a whole new layer to Vince because we get a see inside of his imagination. The style is similar to a movie script and is used when Vince is imaging his life as a movie (10). This fits perfectly in this book because Vince is going to school to be a film student near Hollywood.
This book was a lot better than the first book, Son of the Mob, because it had a better plot. Even though the plots are different, both stories had similar themes and main ideas. The main idea in this book is that you should be happy with what you have because it may be useful one day (238). Gordon Korman does a great job at portraying that idea in this book. Son of the Mob: Hollywood Hustle can be found at the Westfall High School library or on Amazon for less than $6. It is a really good and humorous book that pulls readers in and keeps them reading till the end. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone, unless they don’t like too much romance.

[Eli Amodt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m currently reading Son of the Mob Hollywood Hustle. The book was written by Gordon Korman and is the sequel to Son of the Mob. I’m liking this book so far because the main character Vincent Luca is direct. I like the way he thinks and says stuff like in the first book. His circumstances Make him an even more likeable character. An example of this is on page 22 when he gets scared that his dad’s associates will get caught by the FBI. I like the book because, it is Vince’s journey through college as the son of a mafia empire.

[Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first I was very disappointed with the book. The previous book was so interesting and action packed. It took a little while but eventually things started becoming a little bit more interesting. It was very disappointing because the first book was amazing. My favorite part was when Vince's suitcase full of clothes was swapped with a suitcase full of money. Vince had to drive to an airport and give it to one of the uncles so he could bring it to the right man. And when the uncle was escaping he accidentally stole Vince's car.

[David Erkale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crazy sequel. Vince goes to film school in Santa Monica and is roommates with the son of a congressman. But that's not the beginning of the craziness. His fishy uncles and brother, Tommy, come into his dormitory, leaving stuff around and causing discomfort for Vince. His relationship with Kendra gets complicated, and he hasn't got a clue why Ellis Rank is missing. The answer to all this is a crazy, comedic romantic fiction that incorporates some crime along with the normal mishaps of being a young adult. The wait took long, but it was a great book by all means.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vince Luca, son of an alleged NY mobster, and his girlfriend, son of the FBI agent trying to take down the alleged NY mobster, head to California for college. Somehow, Vince ends up with a dorm room full of "uncles" and his brother while trying to keep his roommate -- son of a politician -- our of trouble. Korman throws in all the classic plot elements of a great caper -- a femme fatale, union henchmen, mobsters on the lam, and even some paparazzi.

[DaShannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Son of the Mob series is easy to recommend to young adults. They are under 300 pages, funny, and quick reads. The first sets up Vince's story and the second continues his and his family's antics. Kendra is in this book too but Vince is trying to navigate college life. I love these books and recommend often.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

very good I suggest

[Sarah Thornton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boy goes to uni and the mob moves into his campus bedroom

[Emma Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book an exceptional sequel of the first book! Nice book of the vending machine business <3!!

[Nathalie Vidler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Entertaining. This book has a lot more mature content then I was hoping it would. Not suitable for young audiences.

[Wylie Glantz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the first one but still very good and entertaining.

[Zack]

good but not as good as the 1st one

[Ash · Rating 2 out of 5]

Atleast I finished the series. Not the best I thought it could be.

[A · Rating 1 out of 5]

Physical book

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast paced and fun. Reminds me of being carefree as I was when I first read it. Great drama

[Adel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as fun as the first one but still a good read