Zoobreak

Zoobreak is the second book in the Swindle series, preceded by Swindle. Swindle features the same cast of children on their first heist. In Swindle, Griffin and Ben spend the night in an abandoned building to protest it being torn down to build a history museum rather than the skatepark Griffin proposed at a town meeting. While there, they find a Babe Ruth baseball card. Wanting to end his family’s financial trouble, Griffin sells the card to local shop owner S. Wendell, whom Griffin begins to call “Swindle” because the man cheats Griffin. When Griffin realizes he was tricked, he, Ben, and the other children in Zoobreak steal the card, using their individual talents as they do in the follow-up novel. Eventually, Griffin is linked to the theft, and the baseball card ends up in the hands of Darren’s family, who sell it and donate the proceeds to the town to build both the museum and a skatepark.

As in Zoobreak, Swindle features children at the mercy of the adults in their lives. Griffin is tricked by S. Wendell because the man is a shady character. Griffin’s limited life experience hasn’t prepared him for the dishonesty of some adults, and the lessons he learns in Swindle carry forward into Zoobreak, where Griffin recognizes Mr. Nastase as a bad character right from the start. Additionally, Griffin’s frustration with adults ignoring him starts in Swindle and continues in Zoobreak. The adults ultimately deciding to build the skatepark helps Griffin understand that adults aren’t just out to get him. He has a better outlook toward adults in Zoobreak, though he still prefers to act on his own, rather than seek adult assistance. S. Wendell and Mr. Nastase represent the difference between being an adult and a child in society. While Griffin is limited in who will believe him because of his age, these adult characters have no such problem, which allows them to get away with things Griffin cannot. It also makes it difficult for Griffin to prove the adults are involved in shady business practices. Korman builds upon these frustrations to make the Swindle series relatable to young readers and also to show them that, despite their age, they have agency.

As of 2024, there are seven installments in the Swindle series, plus a holiday-themed story. All the books feature Griffin and his cast of friends, which allows readers to get attached to the characters and follow them as they grow together as a team and hone their skills. Swindle saw the formation of the team, and Zoobreak featured their first reunion. In both books, Griffin, Ben, and Savannah are the closest of the friends and the center of the team while Pitch, Melissa, and Logan are on the outskirts. Zoobreak sees the outliers coming closer, and as the series progresses, the group becomes a tight-knit set of friends who participate in various activities together, including sleepaway camp. Korman uses his group of children to show that children can have skills that are just as good or even better than those of adults. Melissa’s tech-savvy nature and Savannah’s animal knowledge are on par with experts in their fields. Pitch’s physical abilities show that she is serious about what she can do, and Logan is ever practicing his acting with the goal of making it big. Ben and Griffin are the heart of the group—Griffin with his ability to plan and Ben offering support to anyone who needs it. Together, the friends show that children can accomplish great things when they try, and overall, the Swindle series presents an uplifting message for young readers.