The Great Greene Heist

The author takes the idea of a heist, or a robbery and uses it to empower a group of teens to correct injustices in their school and steal back their power. While the capers of Jackson and his friends appear to be over the top and unlikely to succeed, they serve to highlight the adventurous spirit in children that they slowly lose as they approach adolescence. Influenced by James Bond movies and the Ocean’s film franchise, Johnson weaves his love of fast-paced, intricate capers into a story of middle school students fighting back against a school bully to save the Student Council election. Common heist terms are sprinkled throughout the text, allusions that will be familiar to fans of classic heist stories, adding to the adventurous tone and creating a sense of camaraderie amongst the crew members as they work to accomplish their goal. The author takes the traditional idea of a heist as a criminal act and subverts it to symbolize teamwork and inclusion in the fight against inequities and bullying.

The heist also gives Jackson a chance to highlight his friends’ strengths. A successful heist requires a team effort, and Jackson recruits his smart, creative friends to join his squad as well as including kids like Bradley left on the fringes of Maplewood’s caste system. Hashemi lacks confidence in himself with his love of Star Trek and unfinished inventions, but Jackson bolsters his confidence by making him the technology manager of the team. Jackson affirms Hashemi’s talents saying, “There’s nothing wrong with being the tech guy. You’re good at it. You’re a key part of the team” (122). Bradley, an outsider at the school, repeatedly reiterates just how grateful he is just to be included on Jackson’s team. The use of coded phrases, a key element in any heist, also adds to the crew members’ sense of belonging. Charlie says, “A Kobayashi Maru, a Carrie Nation, an Anakin Skywalker, a Windows Vista, and a Denver Boot paired with a White Rabbit and a Fallout Shelter. That’s seven schemes in less than three weeks” (74). Though the inclusion of so many con tactics is over the top, the team’s commitment to their cause shows in their willingness to throw every trick in their arsenal at the operation. The reader may be unfamiliar with the code names and need to reference the back matter where the author defines each con, but Jackson’s team members know the names, and with tried-and-true methods in place, they feel confident their plan will succeed.