What do you think?
Rate this book
Cheater
Karl Petrofsky has spent his years in school trying to hide the As on his papers. He sees himself more as a shy maverick than a geek. When the smoothest guy in high school asks him to aid and abet a ring of hightech cheaters, Karl flatly refuses. But then the tyrannical assistant principal makes an example of a hapless student-and threatens anyone caught cheating with expulsion and an indelible stain on their permanent records. This means war! With a droll narrator and a delightfully intricate plot, this satire of school pressures and modern-day ethics will provide welcome laughs between exams.
224 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2008
5 people are currently reading
50 people want to read
About the author
Michael Laser
18 books5 followersI write novels for adults and younger readers.
I live in New Jersey, just a few miles west of Manhattan, where I spent my bachelor years.
2 kids... 1 wife... 2 cats... and 1 goldfish (still going strong, since 2008!) (The goldfish, that is.)
For more biographical details, including childhood photos, favorite books, and assorted odds & ends, come visit me at my website, michaellaser.com.
P.S. If you write me a note, I'll answer it -- send email to michael@michaellaser.com.
I live in New Jersey, just a few miles west of Manhattan, where I spent my bachelor years.
2 kids... 1 wife... 2 cats... and 1 goldfish (still going strong, since 2008!) (The goldfish, that is.)
For more biographical details, including childhood photos, favorite books, and assorted odds & ends, come visit me at my website, michaellaser.com.
P.S. If you write me a note, I'll answer it -- send email to michael@michaellaser.com.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
March 6, 2019
Name: Josh Halat
Book title: Cheater
What I think: The book Cheater is a great book that shows good characterization. The book is able to show great detail so the reader can understand. In the book, there are parts that are hard to understand but if you go back and reread the text you will have no problem understanding what the author is trying to explain.
Plot: Cheater starts off with a test that the main cheater, Karl, is taking. Karl is a straight A student and is one of many kids that does not cheat. He finds a group of cheaters and they peer pressure him to join and to cheat for them so they can get good grades and in a great college. Over the course of the book, Karl is trying to get out of the cheater gang (the Confederacy) so he can hang out with his old friends that have replaced him due to what he was doing. In the end, Karl gets out and everything goes back to normal with some few twists.
Recommendations: I recommend this book to anyone who likes to learn what can happen to cheaters or books about school. I also recommend this book to people who like it when people don't get what they want.
Book title: Cheater
What I think: The book Cheater is a great book that shows good characterization. The book is able to show great detail so the reader can understand. In the book, there are parts that are hard to understand but if you go back and reread the text you will have no problem understanding what the author is trying to explain.
Plot: Cheater starts off with a test that the main cheater, Karl, is taking. Karl is a straight A student and is one of many kids that does not cheat. He finds a group of cheaters and they peer pressure him to join and to cheat for them so they can get good grades and in a great college. Over the course of the book, Karl is trying to get out of the cheater gang (the Confederacy) so he can hang out with his old friends that have replaced him due to what he was doing. In the end, Karl gets out and everything goes back to normal with some few twists.
Recommendations: I recommend this book to anyone who likes to learn what can happen to cheaters or books about school. I also recommend this book to people who like it when people don't get what they want.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 10, 2016
Personal Response: This book showed me that cheating not just on your work but in life it self could hurt you in the long run. Also have alot of friends that can cover for anything that you do from trying to lie from just telling a super cool story. If your going to cheat do it on your girl friend then on your homework.
Plot Summary:
It starts out like every book with a main character but this character is special because Karl brown eyes and hair very strong kid is not good at test or his homework so he decides to cheat. So Karl says that he will cheat as long as he does not get caught but because he has connection about what is going on in the class and people that will give him the answers over the phone. That is probably why we as student s can even have are phones out but its the stupidest think to cheat over the phone because you can get caught and show your phone messages like are friend and character of this book the cheater realized that he was not the smartest person to do it over the phone when he gets caught.
Recommendation:
This book had lots of good points about how you cant trust everyone and there cheats only your own. This book I would have to say was very different but understandable like when karl had went with the team leader and then was getting yelled at then he was just fine and they went out for lunch. Finally if you are into kids getting caught cheating and they get called out by there teachers you will probably want to read this book just as i did.
Plot Summary:
It starts out like every book with a main character but this character is special because Karl brown eyes and hair very strong kid is not good at test or his homework so he decides to cheat. So Karl says that he will cheat as long as he does not get caught but because he has connection about what is going on in the class and people that will give him the answers over the phone. That is probably why we as student s can even have are phones out but its the stupidest think to cheat over the phone because you can get caught and show your phone messages like are friend and character of this book the cheater realized that he was not the smartest person to do it over the phone when he gets caught.
Recommendation:
This book had lots of good points about how you cant trust everyone and there cheats only your own. This book I would have to say was very different but understandable like when karl had went with the team leader and then was getting yelled at then he was just fine and they went out for lunch. Finally if you are into kids getting caught cheating and they get called out by there teachers you will probably want to read this book just as i did.
May 25, 2018
I think Michael Laser does a good job at developing the main character as a shy kid who seems like he wants to avoid these large popular kids, but when presented with an opportunity to become engaged with them, he decides to take a shot at it because i think that he likes the idea of being friends with them. After they "befriend" him, they need his help. They want him to cheat and watching as Karl develops into a person who hates the idea of being caught, but possibly likes the risk factor in doing something interesting to try to become more of a possibly fun person, is interesting to watch as it unfolds. I like that Karl also has a side project that he's working on and going to attempt to use as a buy into MIT. Overall, i enjoyed this book and would likely recommend it to a friend, if i actually did that although i never do.
October 11, 2017
This book "Cheater" by Michael Laser, tells a novel about a group of kids cheating, while asking a genius named Karl to help them cheat. Throughout this story, I could connect Mr. Klimchock to my kindergarten teacher. Stubborn, careless, and unfair. For example, when Mr. Klimchock calls random people out even though they didn't cheat. This was like our old teacher, calling out people even though they didn't do it. I could also connect this scene to the short story "Eleven" about the red jacket.
November 15, 2012
Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com
Karl Petrofsky keeps a low profile as the brightest guy in his class. He has a group of misfit friends that are definitely NOT part of the popular crowd. But one day in class, he thinks he catches Blaine Shore, one of the "It" kids, cheating on a test.
Later, Blaine approaches Karl, and invites him to the local hang out for lunch with fellow "It" kids. There, Blaine presents Karl with the option of joining their little "Confederacy" of cheaters. Blaine explains to him that, unlike Karl who is blessed with being smart, the rest of them are simply lazy. They have at their disposal the latest gadgets to assist them in all manners of cheating. Karl is dumbstruck at their proposal, but is adamant in his refusal to help.
But the next day, the assistant principal is on a crusade to ferret out cheaters, and has made an example of a student. Anyone caught cheating will from then on have a permanent mark placed in their record for all future colleges to see. Karl is disgruntled and, lured by the gorgeous Cara, agrees to join Blaine and his band of cheaters.
It doesn't take long for Karl to regret his decision. Cara is caught and is expelled from school. Karl wants out, but is being blackmailed from many sides and the walls are slowly closing in. Karl is alone and unable to go to his parents for help. His former friends have deserted him, ashamed that he's joined the cheaters. The cheaters don't want to let him go, needing his smarts to keep their grades up.
Mr. Laser writes a fast-paced story that is fascinating to read. The technology that is used to create new ways to cheat just boggles the mind -- though is probably a reality. This is a convincing story of a boy caught up in the thrill of being popular, for even a small moment in time. The consequences make for an intriguing story of how Karl deals with all the twists and turns that come from cheating and how he tries to come out on top.
Karl Petrofsky keeps a low profile as the brightest guy in his class. He has a group of misfit friends that are definitely NOT part of the popular crowd. But one day in class, he thinks he catches Blaine Shore, one of the "It" kids, cheating on a test.
Later, Blaine approaches Karl, and invites him to the local hang out for lunch with fellow "It" kids. There, Blaine presents Karl with the option of joining their little "Confederacy" of cheaters. Blaine explains to him that, unlike Karl who is blessed with being smart, the rest of them are simply lazy. They have at their disposal the latest gadgets to assist them in all manners of cheating. Karl is dumbstruck at their proposal, but is adamant in his refusal to help.
But the next day, the assistant principal is on a crusade to ferret out cheaters, and has made an example of a student. Anyone caught cheating will from then on have a permanent mark placed in their record for all future colleges to see. Karl is disgruntled and, lured by the gorgeous Cara, agrees to join Blaine and his band of cheaters.
It doesn't take long for Karl to regret his decision. Cara is caught and is expelled from school. Karl wants out, but is being blackmailed from many sides and the walls are slowly closing in. Karl is alone and unable to go to his parents for help. His former friends have deserted him, ashamed that he's joined the cheaters. The cheaters don't want to let him go, needing his smarts to keep their grades up.
Mr. Laser writes a fast-paced story that is fascinating to read. The technology that is used to create new ways to cheat just boggles the mind -- though is probably a reality. This is a convincing story of a boy caught up in the thrill of being popular, for even a small moment in time. The consequences make for an intriguing story of how Karl deals with all the twists and turns that come from cheating and how he tries to come out on top.
November 12, 2008
Karl Pertofsky is one of those kids where grades come easy, and everyone seems to despise him for it. He is a junior and getting ready for college. One day in school, he notices one of the popular guys cheating in class but says nothing, even after another student is sent to the principal's office after getting caught cheating on an exam.
It is this action that brings Karl into the center of a plot of intrigue because the cool kids, who all seem to be cheating, bring him in on their schemes to ge the grades they need. Karl is doubtful of whether or not he wants to do this until Mr. Klimchock, the upright vice principal who has set in motion means to punish students for cheating with notes on their permanent records. Karl feels the need to stand up for fairness since that is a bit of an overreaction. Of course, it doesn't hurt that one of the hottest girls in school has started flirting with him because of the possibility of his help.
His regular friends feel put off has he gets involved with the new cool friends, and they even warn him of the dangers of what he is doing.
As the story progresses, he is drawn deeper into the cheating underground, which highlights the fact that everyone seems to cheat in the adult world of America. In fact, cheating is highlighted as being the right thing to do.
This was a pretty well-written novel, but I had trouble connecting to the characters because none of them, other than Karl's original friends, really have any integrity. This also applies to all of the adult characters. I have a feeling the novel was meant to be satire, but it comes across as a diatribe as to why it is ok to cheat ... and even provides some really good suggestions for kids to use if they want to cheat.
It is this action that brings Karl into the center of a plot of intrigue because the cool kids, who all seem to be cheating, bring him in on their schemes to ge the grades they need. Karl is doubtful of whether or not he wants to do this until Mr. Klimchock, the upright vice principal who has set in motion means to punish students for cheating with notes on their permanent records. Karl feels the need to stand up for fairness since that is a bit of an overreaction. Of course, it doesn't hurt that one of the hottest girls in school has started flirting with him because of the possibility of his help.
His regular friends feel put off has he gets involved with the new cool friends, and they even warn him of the dangers of what he is doing.
As the story progresses, he is drawn deeper into the cheating underground, which highlights the fact that everyone seems to cheat in the adult world of America. In fact, cheating is highlighted as being the right thing to do.
This was a pretty well-written novel, but I had trouble connecting to the characters because none of them, other than Karl's original friends, really have any integrity. This also applies to all of the adult characters. I have a feeling the novel was meant to be satire, but it comes across as a diatribe as to why it is ok to cheat ... and even provides some really good suggestions for kids to use if they want to cheat.
January 9, 2012
Cheater was only an above average book. This book could be read by anyone at any age. This book takes you inside of one of the kids who always got good grades without really ever having to try. Eventually always being the nerd got to him and he decided to help the popular kids cheat.
This book did have some things that i liked and disliked. One of the things that i liked was how accurate the book is. Lots of things that happen in this book happen in real life as well like creative ways to cheat yourself through the big test or nerdy kids willing to do anything to get a taste of popularity. What i disliked about this book was that it never gave me the feeling that cheating is bad. At some points in the book it even seemed to endorse it.
Overall this was an enjoyable read. Even though i thought it does not teach a lesson that teaching is wrong it still showed some of the negative implications that come through cheating. My final recommendation is for you to read this book if there is nothing else that you really want to read at the time
This book did have some things that i liked and disliked. One of the things that i liked was how accurate the book is. Lots of things that happen in this book happen in real life as well like creative ways to cheat yourself through the big test or nerdy kids willing to do anything to get a taste of popularity. What i disliked about this book was that it never gave me the feeling that cheating is bad. At some points in the book it even seemed to endorse it.
Overall this was an enjoyable read. Even though i thought it does not teach a lesson that teaching is wrong it still showed some of the negative implications that come through cheating. My final recommendation is for you to read this book if there is nothing else that you really want to read at the time
January 31, 2020
10/04/2017: Apparently I read this once, about 6 and a half years ago.
I do not remember it.
Not a thing. Not the names, or the writing, or the rules at the chapter openings. I vaguely remember disgust at a toe-holding incident, but not the toe-holding incident. (o.O) But it doesn't seem like a book I wouldn't enjoy. So I'm confused. And I guess I have to try it again. I say this reluctantly, because I forgot it once, so is it worth my time? But why did I forget it? Or, more precisely, why don't I remember it? This is a question that will haunt me for the next 23 minutes, and that's just too long for me to ignore it and move on, so here we go....
[EDIT 01/30/20]: And just over two years later, I can accept that it isn't worth it. Though the why will bother me for another 6 minutes or so, I think I can get over it.
[EDIT 01/30/20]: And just over two years later, I can accept that it isn't worth it. Though the why will bother me for another 6 minutes or so, I think I can get over it.
November 7, 2008
this book is about karl petrosfky, the smartest kid in school. when he decides to help the cool kids cheat on test. he almost gets into a lot of trouble with his assistant pricipal who is really strict and a pain to all the kids. there is so much pressure on poor karl that he soon gets sick of it, and decides to quit, but he can't. if he does quit, the cool kids will make it look like the whole time his freinds were cheating. karl doesn't want this to happen. his assistant principal knows he's cheating and threatens him with this new rule about cheating he made up out of the blue. will karl stand all this pressure? you'll have to read the book to find out.
October 18, 2012
Cheater is a generally good realistic fiction book. It's about a high school student named Karl Petrofsky who is taking a biology test in the beginning of the book. He is somewhat of a genius, and is also a social outcast. He then catches Blaine Shore, an extremely popular person in the school, cheating on the test. Blaine notices that Karl has caught him. Blaine then tries to convince Karl to help them cheat by telling him and his "Confederacy" of cheaters all the correct answers on tests with surveillance gear (such as a pen with a camera near the writing end). I thought this book was pretty good, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes realistic fiction.
October 30, 2011
Cheater was actually a pretty decent book. It definitely lived up to my expectations. It kept me interested throughout the whole story. Cheater is about peer pressure and the consequences and the choices that go along with peer pressure. I would recommend this book to any teen because it deals with a universal theme that everyone can relate to. It made me think if peer pressure has changed me in any way, whether for the better or for the worse. I am glad that I got a chance to read this book, and I hope that the next ones are as enjoyable as this one.
March 3, 2013
This was interesting. Smart kid gets recruited by a ring of high-tech cheaters who do things like reprogram graphing calculators, all to make the grade. There were some things that didn't add up...
December 26, 2012
Cheating! This book shows the justice of poor innocent high school students who stands up for cheating. I wouldn't think this book is the best of all the books in the world available to teachers. It shows us a new way of thinking through the concept of cheating. The genius, Karl Marx, has decided to cheat under peer pressure. But can he fight the vice principal to justice?
October 22, 2015
This book is for Mature people trying not to use spoilers but this has overall it's a good book. It has an interesting plot for a school story which I think is great. Also, if you a teacher it's a good "guidelines" book for what to look out for when taking test. It was funny and very realistic! I recommend this book for everyone, (for the most part).
July 19, 2015
Some parts were funny and brought a smile to my face, but this was a mostly boring book. The premise is unrealistic, although to be fair a lot of middle grade books aren't realistic, but still. I just couldn't enjoy this.
March 2, 2008
satirical look at high-tech cheating in contemporary high school setting. pretty good, but i almost think it should have gone straight to movie format.
October 29, 2008
Pretty middle of the road young adult book, entertaining enough but didn't blow me away.
March 11, 2009
I tried. I wanted to like this but I just couldn't get into it. Got about 1/3 way through and couldn't do any more.
April 15, 2009
If you would like to read this book it can be found in the public library in 161 st. in st.nicholas
March 8, 2010
It was funny interesting and very nerdy! I liked this book and was amazed at how smart the dumb kids really are! Although nerds bug the crap out of me he didn't big me that bad, suprisingly.
May 10, 2011
Every decision has a consequence.
December 31, 2011
Maybe more of a 3.5.
March 12, 2012
this book was pretty good, the ending is the best and thats why its a five star.
May 3, 2012
Really Good
October 25, 2012
i am on page 130 the book so far is about a couple of teens who team up to defeat the school system by coming up with most sneakiest ways to cheat on all their test, quizes and homework
October 4, 2012
hate it. i cant read books in 3rd person.
June 29, 2015
It's an okay book. It's not my favorite but I didn't get disappointed. I was impressed with the resolution of the book.
September 27, 2016
Good YA read about current day cheaters in high school - smart enough to plan all these high tech cheating plans not believing they can do the work or just too lazy, hmmm? Good teacher read.
August 20, 2009
Funny!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews