Blog Tour: Don’t Get Caught by Kurt Dinan – Review+Giveaway

Welcome to my stop on the Don’t Get Caught blog tour. Check out my thoughts on the book, and enter the giveaway to win a copy for yourself!

Don’t Get Caught by Kurt Dinan

Pub Date: April 1st, 2016

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Genres: YA, Contemporary

Format: eARC

Source: Blog Tour

My Rating: 4 Stars

10:00 tonight at the water tower. Tell no one. -Chaos Club

When Max receives a mysterious invite from the untraceable, epic prank-pulling Chaos Club, he has to ask: why him? After all, he’s Mr. 2.5 GPA, Mr. No Social Life. He’s Just Max. And his favorite heist movies have taught him this situation calls for Rule #4: Be suspicious. But it’s also his one shot to leave Just Max in the dust…

Yeah, not so much. Max and four fellow students-who also received invites-are standing on the newly defaced water tower when campus security “catches” them. Definitely a setup. And this time, Max has had enough. It’s time for Rule #7: Always get payback.

Let the prank war begin.

Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Indiebound | The Book Depository

Review

Don’t Get Caught may be one of the funnest books that I’ve read in a while. Because who doesn’t love a book with some oddball characters that get up to no good? It’s all about this secret club that pulls the most epic pranks that would make my high school Senior Day feel like a walk in the park. Ahhh, the memories. I was so not a misfit, but I did participate in my Senior Day pranks like all my fellow classmates. Hey, it was fun and no one got hurt. 

Just Max gets an invite to one of these exclusive pranks, only to be left standing with four other students to face the firing squad. It is time for revenge in the only way possible. Start a prank war. And whatever you do; DON’T GET CAUGHT. 

The reason I think this book appealed to me so much is because it reminds me of one of my favorite 80’s babies, The Breakfast Club. The similarities with the characters is almost spot on. I love how these kids all come from different backgrounds, but they fit each other so perfectly. And I guess it’s true that you only find a group of people like this in fiction. Are there any jocks, preacher’s kids, jokers, artists, and regular Joes running around in reality? I haven’t come across any friendships like this in my life. 

The characters are all great; some more than others. I like the main character Max, obviously. Then there’s Ellie, who tried to be the epitome of the “good girl”. I think she may have been a little too nice for my tastes, but I found myself unable to really hate her. I love Malone and her sarcasm the most. The things that they all came up with was just darn right crazy. Again, these kids will make whatever crazy stuff you did in high school look like nothing. I found myself laughing a lot, and I think the author did great on making this book fun, as well as show how different people can actually be friends. You don’t have to only be friends with people that you think are on a certain level. All it took was embarrassment for them to notice the potential that they all had. It is hilarious and inspiring, and I think that any reader will enjoy this. If you are my age (I’m over 30 and that’s all you get!), then this book will surely bring back memories of the crazy things you did back in the day. With young readers, I’m sure they will find something new and maybe make friends with someone that they’ve overlooked in the halls at school.

For once (okay, maybe twice), I think comparing this book to The Breakfast Club is spot on. I have no problem thrusting this book into my cousins faces because we watched that movie to death, and I still do. My only problem with this book is that sometimes I felt that there was too much sexual innuendo. I am all for some sex positive in YA, but I think the whole sexting thing was not needed. Overall, this is a perfectly fun book to read. Definitely recommend!

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Tour Schedule

Week 1:

3/28: No BS Book Reviews – Q&A

3/29: The Petite Book Blogger – Review

3/30: The Cover Contessa – Top 10

3/31: Lekeisha the Booknerd – Review

4/1: Live to Read – Guest Post

 

Week 2:

4/4: Miranda’s Book Blog – Review

4/5: YA Indlugences – Guest Post

4/6: Arctic Books – Review

4/7: Resch Reads & Reviews – Playlist

4/8: The Irish Banana Review – Review

 

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About The Author

Kurt Dinan is a high school English teacher living in Cincinnati. His debut novel, DON’T GET CAUGHT, will be released in April of 2016. He is represented by Kerry Sparks of LGR.

Website | Twitter

 

Giveaway

3 finished copies of Don’t Get Caught (US only)

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