Gordon Korman. Jingle. Scholastic, 2016.
Still another Swindle mystery to review! Jingle is seasonal, as can be guessed from the title. A few of the Swindle mysteries got to be a bit repetitive and flat, but with this one Korman is back in his game.
We meet the same six middle school characters as in the other Swindle books: Griffin, “the man with a plan”; his best friend Ben, with his service ferret; Savannah, with her “darling” Luthor the gigantic Doberman; Melissa, hacker and tech geek; Logan, the budding if self-conscious actor; and Pitch, outdoor sportswoman and rock climber.
Each of them got roped into “volunteering” as Santa’s elves for the annual Colchester Christmas Extravaganza, Cedarville’s big Christmas celebration. None are happy about this, especially when the see that Santa is being played by Crenshaw, a hulking biker of questionable personal hygiene and criminal background. None, that is, except maybe Savannah because Luthor immediately takes a liking to the outlaw Santa.
The extravaganza is put on by the Colchester family, a prominent “old money” family in town, The widowed Mr. Colchester sponsors it every year, and it is a big hit. The parents of all six kids see their roles as a special opportunity for service, and most of them have fond memories of it from when they were children. This program has been going on for over sixty years.
The primary visual focus of the Christmas display is the Star of Prague, a tenth-century stained glass globe from the Czech capital said to have been commissioned by St. Wenceslas himself. The first night there is a sudden power blackout on the Colchester property. When the lights go back on, the Star is missing.
Because of previous escapades involving things like exotic pets and rare baseball cards, Griffin and his five buddies are immediate suspects. Things get more complicated because, as always it seems, the bully Darren Vader makes life miserable for the sleuths. In this case, he is also one of the elves and manages to alienate Russell Colchester, Mr. Colchester’s grandson, against them.
Logan realizes that the daughter of the director of the regional theater company is another of the elves, but she has taken a shine to Darren as well. Logan makes a few awkward attempts to get her attention in case a part for him opens up. He gets the attention, all right, but it is all negative.
And Ben’s parents, Jewish father and Gentile mother, are dueling over decorations. One half of his house is extravagantly lit up with Christmas decorations, the other half with Hanukkah decorations, and his parents are not talking to each other. When Ben complains that his house can be spotted from outer space, there is not much hyperbole. Wait till you see what happens to his father’s dreidel-dirigible…
Griffin has a plan, as always, to try to discover the whereabouts of the Star of Prague. They get picked up by the police—twice—they have trouble with a motorcycle gang in a biker bar, and are suspected of otherwise breaking in to the Colchester property. It gets complicated, but also very funny. There are plenty of suspects, and plenty of laughs. The wild conclusion, a feature of many Gordon Korman stories, is both clever and satisfying. Jingle is a good holiday read all around.