The Cheat

Memorizing the letters out for the geography midterm was the easy part. Put the letters to the tune of Row Your Boat, "Animal animal cat boy cat." Memorize them in a poem form. Whatever it takes. When you have the all the answers, that's the easy part. Getting caught, now that's when it gets sticky. And so it is in to hot water for Sarah, Dan, and Rob, who were all given the test by a student that only Sarah knows. Each sees the ramifications of their actions in different ways and have to struggle, or not, with what it means about them, personally.

Koss' book was just ok for me. The chapters were done from the perspectives of the different characters which made for an interesting ploy but, most of the book just goes nowhere for long show more periods of time. The book is really too short to give any real depth to the characters emotions and lives and how they really feel about this whole cheating thing. Koss wraps her novel up neatly, with everyone getting a happy-ish ending and a lesson learned. show less

This is the story of a group of eighth graders who in one way or another were given the answers to the geography quiz. Each chapter is told by a different character including some who did not receive the answers. The ones who got the answers didn't really think about it too much, it just made their lives easier...until it is time to face the consequences. Each faces different struggles with what to do and how to do it.

This is a good story and does show how easily a student can get themselves into hot water if they do not think first. However, the book "Harmless" by Dana Reinhardt has a lesson about honesty that is more powerful in my opinion. If you liked this book, you should read it. You should also read "The Girls" by Koss which is show more told in the same style as "The Cheat" and won several awards. show less

Summary:
Cheat is a book that deals with middle school students who cheat on a midterm exam. It highlights six students and tells about the troubles that cheating can cause in this fast paced chapter book. The students go through many struggles, but in the end, they all learn a valuable lesson from the mistake they made.

Personal Reaction:
This book is brutally honest and would be a great book to show students the repercussion of cheating in a classroom. I could not put it down and read it in one sitting. Great book with many different students personalities and gives a wide range of reactions to the mistake they made.

Classroom Extension:
1) We could talk about how disrupting cheating can be to multiple chains of people. We would look at show more different chains of how people are connected through mutual friends and family.
2) We could talk about the moral values of cheating and lying.
3) We could use this book if we are having issues with cheating in our classroom.
4) We could paint murals of what we think the characters in this book would look like and write what we think some of that person's thoughts would be. show less

Cheating on a geography midterm is just the beginning. What was done without much thought leads to big consequences—as you’ll discover from six talkative eighth graders who are willing to share every juicy detail.

It was amusing.

I really liked this book. Its got a good story line.

Four eighth graders get the answers to a mid-term and decide they are going to cheat. While only three of them go through with it they get caught by their teacher. Do they tell how they got the answers? Eventually they all save face. Source: Booklist