Nicky Deuce -- Welcome to the Family by Steven Schirripa and Charles Fleming

It is summer, and Nicholas Boreli II's parents have plans to go on a two-week cruise. Nicholas will attend Camp Wannameka just like every other year. But...the night before he's set to leave, Nicholas' parents get a call on their cell phone. The septic system at the camp has blown up, and camp is cancelled for the summer. The only place left for Nicholas to go is to his grandmother's home in Bensonhurst (Brooklyn), New York. Nicholas has never been to Brooklyn -- Brooklyn is the place his father left, never returned to, and never discussed. Nicholas is not happy about going, but once he gets there he quickly warms up to his grandmother's delicious Italian home cooking, and his uncle Frankie, who makes it his mission to turn Nicholas into a real "goomba" -- a macho, Italian-American man with some street cred. It's not long before Nicholas, now known as Nicky Deuce, meets Tommy and gets involved in all sorts of schemes to make some quick cash, the riskiest of which gets them into some serious hot water. This book is a lot of fun, full of all sorts of characters. I think it would be a great vacation book. Reviewed by Jane Malmberg.