Bank Job is the story (apparently based on a true one) of three teens who decide to rob banks in order to raise $10,000 – not for themselves, but to help out their foster parents. It’s a good premise, one guaranteed to pull in at least some reluctant readers. And sure enough, while the robberies are in pro­gress, the book is a page-turner. Co-authors James Heneghan and Norma Charles do a good job of creating tension and keeping us wondering if (and when) something will go horribly wrong. The pacing is right and the details realistic enough to give the story plausibility. For many readers, this will be enough. But the book could have been so much better if the authors had managed to spin out the characters into fully rounded individuals. When the action stops, the book falls flat. Consequently, it feels a bit like one of those afterschool specials we all used to watch on TV – bland and sanitized.

The story is narrated by Nell, also known as “Nails.” Depite her backstory – a mentally challenged mother, multiple foster homes, abuse at the hands of foster parents – Nell displays little of the “hard as nails” attitude that inspired her nickname, and seems to have suffered no social or emotional problems as a result of her less-than-adequate upbringing. The other children – Billy the mastermind, Tom the reluctant helper, and Lisa, who is too young to be involved in the robberies – have similarly troubled pasts. Yet these kids bear few scars, hold no grudges, and even make their beds every morning. They are open, honest, loving, and respectful (well, except for that bank robbery thing).

If the protagonists were more like real kids, we would have cared more about what happens to them when they aren’t playing cops and robbers.