Genre
Young adult fiction
Setting and Context
The novel is written in the context of young con artistry.
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person narrative
Tone and Mood
Thrilling, humorous, intriguing
Protagonist and Antagonist
Will Shea is the central character of the story.
Major Conflict
The conflict is that the lie of Will Shea is discovered. Will cheated that he is an offered to get into a prestigious academy where he wanted to continue his conning game. His biological father is alive, and he is known for his troublemaking behavior.
Climax
The climax comes when there is a neck-to-neck competition between Will and Andrea, both con artists, to see who wins to remain in the con academy. The academy has only one place for a con artist, and Andrea is determined to maintain her position because she joined the academy before Will.
Foreshadowing
The naked truth about the characters foreshadows the competition between Andrea and Will as con artists.
Understatement
The ability of Andrea to fight for her place in the academy is understated. To prove that she is an expert in her con game, she enters into a sexual relationship with Brandt, a rich spoilt guy who can give her $50,000 required in the competition as pocket change.
Allusions
The story alludes to tactical strategies for survival.
Imagery
The imagery of the Con Academy as an institution is evident throughout the text. For instance, Andrea and Will Shea have a primary purpose of extorting money from the rich kids. To attain their goals, they do everything undercover to ensure they are not caught by teachers and school authorities who could kick them out whenever they discover their con games.
Paradox
Will and Andrea are both paradoxical characters. When Andrea realizes that Will Shea is a con artist like her, she strategizes to keep him out of school. The satire is that both characters employ tactical schemes to extort money from the rich kids. For instance, Andrea uses her seductive prowess to get free money from rich boys while Will cons the rich boys through the contrived fraternity.
Parallelism
Shea's ambition parallels that of his father. Will wants a better life and wants to achieve that through con artistry.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
Con artistry is incarnated as a human trickster.
