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The son of two anthropologists, Sean Rodman has taught school in Australia and was working at the Royal B.C. Museum when he published his first teen fiction for reluctant readers, Infiltration (Orca, 2011), about teens who dare one another to explore prohibited areas in the city. Bex and Kieran are taking only photos for bragging rights, until Kieran pitches a plan that goes beyond mere urban exploration. He lives in Victoria.
BOOKS:
Infiltration (Orca, 2011) $9.95 978-1-55469-985-8
Dead Run (Orca, 2012) $9.95 978-1-4598-0244-5
Night Terrors (Orca, 2013) $9.95 978-1-4598-0419-7
Final Crossing (Orca, 2014) $9.95 9781459805521
Tap Out (Orca, 2014; Republished: Orca, 2015 - 9781459808751) $9.95 978-145-9808768.
Firewall (Orca, 2017) $9.95 978-1-4598-1453-0
The Bodyguard (Orca, 2019) $9.95 978-1-45982-201-6
One Last Job (Orca, 2022) $10.95 978-1-45982-860-5
Dark Tide (Orca, 2023) $10.95 9781459837119
[BCBW 2023]
REVIEW
One Last Job by Sean Rodman (Orca $10.95)
A young teen watches TV with his “Gramps” who lives in a seedy part of town, when suddenly a burglar bursts in. “We never even seen it coming,” says Michael, or “Mikey” as his grandfather calls him.
It’s the opening scene in Sean Rodman’s latest title One Last Job from Orca Anchor, books written specifically for teens reading below a grade 2.0 level.
Mikey is supposed to be looking after his Gramps “to keep me off the streets,” he says. Mikey’s dad is “out of the picture” and his mother, an ER nurse, is so busy at work there is little parental supervision. Then Gramps has a heart attack shortly after his eightieth birthday, freaking out his daughter, Mikey’s mother.
That’s when she hatches a plan to pay her son to watch over Gramps for the summer until school starts in the fall, setting up Rodman’s narrative-driven, fast-paced thriller. “So now I’m getting paid to hang out with my grandfather,” says Mikey. “My duties are pretty basic. Take the old man for walks. Make sure he eats his vegetables. Measure out a handful of different pills for him every day. Keep him and myself out of trouble.”
Except Gramps used to be a highly effective burglar for many years, although he did slip up once and did jail time for it. But he’s an old, fragile man now with a heart condition. Or so Mikey thinks. When the burglar holds the two up with a gun in Gramps’ living room, Mikey is surprised at how the old man handles himself. “The burglar shouts something through the red bandanna covering his mouth. I can’t tell what he is saying. Neither can Gramps.
“‘I’m sorry,’ says Gramps politely. ‘You’ll have to repeat that.’
“I tear my eyes away from the gun to look at Gramps. How can he be so calm?”
Gramps infuriates the burglar who shouts, “This is a robbery!” and “Do not move a freakin’ muscle!”
When the burglar points the gun directly at Gramps, the old man says, “That I understand. And I won’t move. It takes me half an hour to get up from this couch. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”
The burglar uses black zip ties to secure Mikey and Gramps, then gets to work emptying kitchen cabinets, clearing out dresser and desk drawers, throwing books from their shelves and dumping files onto the floor of Gramps’ barely furnished single room apartment.
“How about I save us all some time?” says Gramps. “There’s twenty bucks in a pickle jar by the door. It’s for the cleaning lady. Aside from that, you’re not going to find anything here.”
But there is one more thing; a silver pendant necklace that Gramps had bought for his wife, Mikey’s grandmother, now deceased. The necklace is the only memento of his beloved wife and the burglar finds it. Gramps is heartbroken. Mikey determines to track down the burglar and the necklace, taking him on adventures that lead to a notorious gangster, a big-time drug dealer and his young girlfriend at a lavish birthday party in a mansion with a pool.
Against his Gramps’ wishes, Mikey devises a plan to get into the mansion and steal the pendant necklace back. His friend and cohort, ‘Tank’ helps him. While they are recovering the necklace, Tank thinks they should also take a little extra by rummaging through the guests’ coats and tells Mikey to check the pockets. “Might be something nice in there. Cash? Fancy phone? A little bonus for us, that’s all.”
But Mikey is having none of it. “What? No! We’re just here to get the necklace,” he says. “I’m not a thief, Tank.”
While Mikey is smart, he is not cunning like an experienced burglar. Luckily, his Gramps comes to the rescue and saves the day. He warns Mikey not to get into a lifestyle outside the law. “This is my last job,” he says to Mikey. “I mean it. No more stealing. I got what I wanted, and I’m done. But this was your last job too. Understand? This was your first and last shot at being a criminal.”
Mikey agrees—sort of. “It’s too bad though, Gramps. We made a good team.” The two smile at each other like, as Mikey puts it, “a pair of wolves.”
Maybe author Sean Rodman intends this storyline to continue. Stay tuned. 9781459828605
[BCBW Winter, 2021 - 2022]
BOOKS:
Infiltration (Orca, 2011) $9.95 978-1-55469-985-8
Dead Run (Orca, 2012) $9.95 978-1-4598-0244-5
Night Terrors (Orca, 2013) $9.95 978-1-4598-0419-7
Final Crossing (Orca, 2014) $9.95 9781459805521
Tap Out (Orca, 2014; Republished: Orca, 2015 - 9781459808751) $9.95 978-145-9808768.
Firewall (Orca, 2017) $9.95 978-1-4598-1453-0
The Bodyguard (Orca, 2019) $9.95 978-1-45982-201-6
One Last Job (Orca, 2022) $10.95 978-1-45982-860-5
Dark Tide (Orca, 2023) $10.95 9781459837119
[BCBW 2023]
REVIEW
One Last Job by Sean Rodman (Orca $10.95)
A young teen watches TV with his “Gramps” who lives in a seedy part of town, when suddenly a burglar bursts in. “We never even seen it coming,” says Michael, or “Mikey” as his grandfather calls him.
It’s the opening scene in Sean Rodman’s latest title One Last Job from Orca Anchor, books written specifically for teens reading below a grade 2.0 level.
Mikey is supposed to be looking after his Gramps “to keep me off the streets,” he says. Mikey’s dad is “out of the picture” and his mother, an ER nurse, is so busy at work there is little parental supervision. Then Gramps has a heart attack shortly after his eightieth birthday, freaking out his daughter, Mikey’s mother.
That’s when she hatches a plan to pay her son to watch over Gramps for the summer until school starts in the fall, setting up Rodman’s narrative-driven, fast-paced thriller. “So now I’m getting paid to hang out with my grandfather,” says Mikey. “My duties are pretty basic. Take the old man for walks. Make sure he eats his vegetables. Measure out a handful of different pills for him every day. Keep him and myself out of trouble.”
Except Gramps used to be a highly effective burglar for many years, although he did slip up once and did jail time for it. But he’s an old, fragile man now with a heart condition. Or so Mikey thinks. When the burglar holds the two up with a gun in Gramps’ living room, Mikey is surprised at how the old man handles himself. “The burglar shouts something through the red bandanna covering his mouth. I can’t tell what he is saying. Neither can Gramps.
“‘I’m sorry,’ says Gramps politely. ‘You’ll have to repeat that.’
“I tear my eyes away from the gun to look at Gramps. How can he be so calm?”
Gramps infuriates the burglar who shouts, “This is a robbery!” and “Do not move a freakin’ muscle!”
When the burglar points the gun directly at Gramps, the old man says, “That I understand. And I won’t move. It takes me half an hour to get up from this couch. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”
The burglar uses black zip ties to secure Mikey and Gramps, then gets to work emptying kitchen cabinets, clearing out dresser and desk drawers, throwing books from their shelves and dumping files onto the floor of Gramps’ barely furnished single room apartment.
“How about I save us all some time?” says Gramps. “There’s twenty bucks in a pickle jar by the door. It’s for the cleaning lady. Aside from that, you’re not going to find anything here.”
But there is one more thing; a silver pendant necklace that Gramps had bought for his wife, Mikey’s grandmother, now deceased. The necklace is the only memento of his beloved wife and the burglar finds it. Gramps is heartbroken. Mikey determines to track down the burglar and the necklace, taking him on adventures that lead to a notorious gangster, a big-time drug dealer and his young girlfriend at a lavish birthday party in a mansion with a pool.
Against his Gramps’ wishes, Mikey devises a plan to get into the mansion and steal the pendant necklace back. His friend and cohort, ‘Tank’ helps him. While they are recovering the necklace, Tank thinks they should also take a little extra by rummaging through the guests’ coats and tells Mikey to check the pockets. “Might be something nice in there. Cash? Fancy phone? A little bonus for us, that’s all.”
But Mikey is having none of it. “What? No! We’re just here to get the necklace,” he says. “I’m not a thief, Tank.”
While Mikey is smart, he is not cunning like an experienced burglar. Luckily, his Gramps comes to the rescue and saves the day. He warns Mikey not to get into a lifestyle outside the law. “This is my last job,” he says to Mikey. “I mean it. No more stealing. I got what I wanted, and I’m done. But this was your last job too. Understand? This was your first and last shot at being a criminal.”
Mikey agrees—sort of. “It’s too bad though, Gramps. We made a good team.” The two smile at each other like, as Mikey puts it, “a pair of wolves.”
Maybe author Sean Rodman intends this storyline to continue. Stay tuned. 9781459828605
[BCBW Winter, 2021 - 2022]
