Hideout (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition)

Swindle #5

by Gordon Korman

The Man With The Plan and his friends return in this fifth romp in the Swindle series! a place to escape detection, especially when being chased by someone determined to have revenge. . . When Griffin Bing and his friends first met Luthor, he was a vicious attack dog working for the slimy S. Wendell Palomino - as known as Swindle. The kids rescued Luthor, and never thought they'd see Swindle again. But now Swindle's returned. And he wants his dog back.Swindle has manipulated the law so that there's no way for Savannah Drysdale to keep Luthor in her house. Before he can be taken away, they decide to made him disappear - away from Swindle.Six kids. Three hideouts. One extremely large dog.What could possibly go wrong?

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Adventure, Middle Grade, Childrens, Realistic Fiction, Humor

288 pages, Library Binding

First published October 1, 2012

About the author

Gordon Korman is a Canadian author of children's and young adult fiction books. Korman's books have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide over a career spanning four decades and have appeared at number one on The New York Times Best Seller list.

Reviews

[Hunter Falish]

It's just another normal day in Griffin Bing's neighborhood, until his friend Savannah runs into someone that Griffin and the gang thought that they would never see again. Swindle had returned from jail, after being put there for "stealing" the million dollar Babe Ruth card found by Griffin and his gang. The only odd thing about the situation is Swindle doesn't seem the least bit interested in the gang, his only concern is what a hazard having Luthor in the neighborhood is for the community. He has a bunch of legal documents written up against Luthor, saying that he should be removed from the neighborhood, and that he should be impounded or put down. Of course anyone who has read any of the Swindle series knows Griffin is not about to let this happen, and makes up another one of his famous plans to save the day. The question is, is Griffin's plan good enough to keep Swindle from getting his hands on Luthor, or will Savannah lose her most loyal friend of all to the greedy thief who originally owned him?

I really enjoyed this book, because it brought about a problem the gang had never really encountered before, and it kept them on their toes throughout the whole book, which also kept me on my toes as well. Another thing I really enjoyed about this book is how the plan they came up with was not the greatest, and did not settle all of the problems the book had right away, the kids had to constantly be changing things to accommodate the changes to the plan. The only this I did not enjoy about this book was how little it set the seen at the abandoned house where they hid Luthor from the community and Swindle.

Overall I would recommend this book to anyone who has read any of the Swindle series, or anyone who likes adventure.

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book Hideout by Gordon Korman is the fifth book in a series called Swindle. This series is about a dog named Luthor who had been an attack dog for Swindle previously. The kids had rescued him from the pound and now Swindle is back to get Luthor. Hideout is an action packed book filled with adventure as the kids try to protect Luthor.
Korman uses the conflict of whose dog Luthor really is to set the scene. The six kids bring Luthor to camp to hide him. As their plans started to fail they had to quickly make new plans to keep Luthor safe from Swindle and the camp leaders. In the end their parents come to the kids rescue and protect all of them from Swindle.
I would recommend reading the series from the beginning. Since I had not read the other books first, it took me a bit to know the characters. Korman did a good job with characterization which helped me get to know the kids and Luthor and feel more connected. I would recommend this series to young readers who like adventure.

[Jack Frerichs · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I liked how they had a good mix of different character types and people because that really made it a well mixed book. It had animal lovers, leaders (plan makers), and just funny people. It made me mad when Palamino took the dog, knowing what he did to him in the first book (no spoilers). It just adds to how bad of a person Palamino is, just using an animal for money like that and I really don't like him. I really thought this book had some clever ideas like hiding the dog at camp and it was new for me. It was also kind of interesting for me on how Palamino was back in this book after what the kids did to him in the first one. I can really feel how angry he is at the kids and how he wants to destroy their lives like they did his. I also like how the author made each characters personality very obvious, it helped to understand their view. I did read the first book Swindle, but this one wasn't quite as good as it, but it still had its ups. It had the same "feel" as the first one. I enjoyed it pretty well, better than most books.

[Bob Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book it was very good there was a lot of good action and mystery. I read Swindle out of this series and really liked it. I said for that book Griffin was my favorite character and I still think that because of excellent planning. One of my favorite parts of the book is when Griffin and Savannah try to escape from camp and they run into the monster at Ebony Lake. That part was really action packed I thought. You know I really thought that Griffin and Savannah were going to like fall in love, but apparently Griffin and got time for that. I definitely would like more Ben, in Swindle I really liked him I thought he was really funny. I also wonder why Swindle is going after these kids and trying to get the dog like doesn't he have better stuff to do. I really want to read more of these books because they are my role and I really like them. I rated this book 5/5 because I really like the mysti I don't really know whats going to happen next, and the action is pretty great.

[AJ Thumma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had a very interesting plot. In certain parts it confused me. It confuesd when they were talking about this guy who was hired to find this dog. When they had to hide the dog. they had to switch spots. So i really liked when they made a plan to ride a food truck to a different spot for someother people to hide the dog. Another thing i really like is how these are just kids that made this brillant plan to hide the dog from a grown up who was trying to take it back. This book was very interesting. I have read the book before, but i learned more now that i have read it again. My favorite character is Griffin because he comes up with all these good plans. I feel like this is one of the best books in this series.

[AMY · Rating 5 out of 5]

275 pages. Another great book from Gordon Korman starring the humongous Doberman Luther who is in danger of getting reclaimed by none other than S. Wendell Palomino from the first Swindle book. He’s back and nastier than ever - but Palomino has met his match. Griffin, Ben, Savannah and the gang work together even while at summer camp to keep Luther safe from Palomino’s clutches. It is a tale full of action, acting and slumber. I won’t say anymore but I will say it was a fantastic adventure and I know kids will love this one. Highly recommended for grades 4-5.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

After learning of Luthor's success as best in show, S. Wendell Palomino, AKA Swindle, returns to take him away from Savannah Drysdale, and also to seek revenge on Griffin Bing, and the rest of the gang for ruining his life. S. Wendell Palomino may have a court order, but Griffin Bing has a plan, and three hideouts to hide Luthor, and stop Palomino from seeking his revenge.

[Junie K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hideout by: Gordon Korman
Realistic Fiction
pg. 256
Hideout is the 5th book in the swindle series. This book is about how Griffin (a.k.a. The Man With The Plan), Ben (his narcoleptic best friend), Logan (the actor), Pitch (the climber), Savannah (the animal whisperer), and Melissa (the computer genius)makes this ridiculous plan to save Luthor Savanahs oversized doberman dog from being taken by S. Wendell Palomino (also as known as Swindle.) Swindle has returned and he wants his dog back. Somehow, the devious Swindle makes the documentation of Luthor’s adoption from the pound by Savannah disappear. She’s now faced with a court order to turn her dog over to the original owner, Swindle. The kids, in an effort to outsmart the court order, take the dog to there summer camp only to find new and increasingly more challenging obstacles in their way. Espically when you have to sneak around a 150-pound vicious dog who only listens to Savannah, when people are watching your every move. To make matters worse, Swindle has hired unknown henchmen to take Luthor back.

I have loved this series sense my third or fourth grade teacher read the first book Swindle to our class. I gave this book three stars because I really enjoyed reading this book and I thought that the author Gordon Korman did a very nice job with the details and plot. What I didn't like about this book was that it was more confusing then the past books in the series. I think that might have been because I didn't remember some stuff from the first book and there was alot more stuff going on in this book then the other books in the series. I think that the author was putting to much information in the book so I got confused and had to reread some parts of the book. Overall I think this is a great book and recommand it to anyone who has read the first book Swindle and wants a light shortish funny read.

[Angel Kruzan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is full of many adventures. First, These kids find out that this mean man named Swindle is back in town and he wants his doberman, Luthor back. This girl named Savannah had saved Luthor from a pound and is taking good care of him. These kids hate Swindle so when they go to camp for the summer, they decide to take Luthor with them. Griffin puts Luthor in a big suitcase and takes him to camp that way. Then after they get there, the bus driver opens the door to the luggage compartment and Luthor comes bolting out and runs away. Then the kids get settled in at camp and waits until its dark so they can go find the dog. After they find him they decide to go hide him in an old shack in the middle of nowhere. Since they had to go out by him everyday to feed him, some kids follows them and finds out about him so they take him to a new camp where one of the other kids are at. At that camp they hide him in the top of a barn. But Swindle sent out people to find the dog and they ended up finding him. So they took him to another camp and hid him in a watch tower. Some of Swindle's men found him and took him to Swindle. Eventually the kids got him back. If u want to find out how, read the book.
I would recommend this book to kids of any gender. This book would be better for kids around ages 8 through 13 because it seems more like a childish book.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hideout has all of the marks of a great Gordon Korman book: it's fast-paced, ridiculous, addicting, and hilarious,
As always, loved the characters- particularly Logan, who was sooo funny, what with the Abraham Lincoln accidental comedy sketch, every impromptu acting scene, etc. I was glad we got to see some character development, even though it's the fifth book in the series, although I kind of wish there was more to Melissa than just "shy tech geek who will do anything for her friends", because the whole '"I used to have no friends, but wow now I have friends, I never want to let them down" attitude is getting old. Griffin and Ben still make a hilarious and perfect pair of best friends.
Luthor is adorable.
My favourite scene was probably towards the end, when all the parents slowly find that their kids all happen to be missing, because Korman's comic timing there was, as always, pitch perfect.
This was a great, fun, book, and I think kids will love it.

[Liam · Rating 4 out of 5]

S. Wendell Palomino is back for the fifth installment of the Swindle series, and now, he wants his dog back! After Griffin and the gang got their baseball card back, it forced Swindle out of town. Being the animal lover she is, Savannah, the gangs animal expert, adopted Palomino's guard dog named Luthor. As time goes by plan after plan, Swindle decides to return to town on mission; to retrieve Luthor. Not because he's a dog lover, but because Luthor was recently the winner of a dog show (Book 4) and Palomino sees a potential profit in the ex-guard dog. Luckily, just as Palomino returns, Griffin and the gang are heading out to summer camp for 2 weeks. Knowing Palomino's idea, Griffin makes a plan to bring sneak Luthor around to the gangs camps. But once his dog "disappears" just before a court meeting, Palomino knows exactly what the gang is up to. Will the gang be able to keep Luthor out of Palominos hands or will Griffin's plans crumble apart. Read Hideout to find out!

[Payton Magdanz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hideout
My personal response to this book is that I think it’s a great book. It is a great book for 8th-9th graders. Either gender male or female can read this book. I would recommend this book to younger people who like action stories. It is an intense and worrying book. I rate this book a 4.0 out of 5 because it is a good book but not the greatest book I have ever read. It is an action packed story of two kids hiding their dog at camp and have to move to several camps just to keep their dog safe. Swindle is the dog’s original owner and he wants his dog back to he does whatever it takes to get his dog back. The kids end up transporting the dog to several camps. In the end Swindle gets Luthor but the kids kidnap him back and get the keep Luthor in the end. That’s why you should read this book!

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

S. Wendell Palomino is back from California and he wants Luthor back. Just for money. Then he will use the money to ruin the crews lives. So they had to hide Luthor. The crew are going to camps. They hide Luthor at all three of them. Swindle had sent men to all three of them. The first camp had Darren Vader and a person. The second camp had to bus drivers. The last camp had one of the bus drivers and Swindle himself. So the crew took transport to the last camp. Then they managed to surprise Swindle when their parents, who heard from the camps that they were not there, to the camp. They almost arrested Swindle but everything turned out ok.

[Noah J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hideout by Gordan Korman is a good book. I liked it because it was interesting to see what was going to happen next and some stuff was suprising. This book is about a dog who is trying to be dog-napped by its previous owner because the dog is worth millions of dollars for becoming 2nd place in a dog talent show. In conclusion this was a good book.

[Kyle Welty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hideout is a book that keeps you want to keep reading and never stops. It has so much plot twists and it feels like your actually in the story and part of the plan its just a amazing book and i highly recommend it.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was a very good book kept you on the edge of your seat

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book- although I still want to know what that thing is that has the fake nose/glasses/moustashe combo.

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read over 95 books from Gordon Korman’s masterful pen. I did not read much when young because of a dual form of dyslexia, because of that I have a deep fondness for Middle Grade books, and books for tween and teens. Korman is one of the all-time masters. I set the goal of reading all his books about 2020. I have read books in all his series, and all of the standalone stories.

Not counting omnibus editions I believe that as of the summer of 2025 Korman has published 109 books. And one comes out early next year. As of the reading of this volume I am down to 13 unread books. With each that I read I am entertained and often challenged.

This book and was released originally in 2013 and the last in the series to date in 2016. There are 18 editions of this volume currently listed on Goodreads, and it is available in French, English, Japanese, Chinese and Turkish. This particular volume was released as three short eBooks before the full volume was released, they were:

The First Hideout
The Second Hideout
The Third Hideout

By mistake I picked up The First Highlight, and read it and only when I got to the end did I realize about the 3 shorter volumes. The description of this volume states:

“The Man With The Plan and his friends return in this fifth romp in the Swindle series -- now in paperback!

HIDEOUT: a place to escape detection, especially when being chased by someone determined to have revenge . . . When Griffin Bing and his friends first met Luthor, he was a vicious attack dog working for the slimy S. Wendell Palomino -- also known as Swindle. The kids rescued Luthor and never thought they'd see Swindle again. But now Swindle's returned. And he wants his dog back. Swindle has manipulated the law so that there's no way for Savannah Drysdale to keep Luthor in her house. Before he can be taken away, they decide to make him disappear -- away from Swindle. Six kids. Three hideouts. One extremely large dog. What could possibly go wrong?”

The about the author for this edition states:

“Gordon Korman’s first four books featuring Griffin Bing and his friends were Swindle, Zoobreak, Framed, and Showoff. His other books include This Can’t be Happening at Macdonald Hall (published when he was fourteen); The Toilet Paper Tigers; Radio Fifth Grade; the trilogies Island, Everest, Dive, Kidnapped, and Titanic; and the series On the Run. He lives in New York with his family and can be found on the Web at his website.”

I really did not know what to expect when I started this series. I left this series till the end for 2 main reasons. First it is the longest series to date by Korman. And Second, I am not a huge dog guy, and also not into anthropomorphic stories. I had never read the descriptions, and just kept skipping over it until it was the last series for me to start. That was my mistake, and a huge one at that. I was wrong on both concerns. Once I started that first one I really did not want to put it down. And it took a lot of effort not to just jump to the next volume, or rip my way through the series. I read books in a few series between books 4 and 5 in this series. Again, even though it had not been that long, it was a like a visit with old friends.

Book one is described as Ocean’s 11 with kids, it lived up to that statement, and to some extent even more with each new instalment. This fifth one has many of the gang facing their biggest fear, Luthor the Great Dane’s ownership is being challenged by S. Wendell Palomino. And the man with a plan comes up with a doozy. The team is split up across three different summer camps. Two are at regular summer camp, 2 are at drams camp, and 2 are at extreme sports camp.

Once again the team is working to save Luthor and this time their future selves as well.

This is another excellent story about friendship, about kids standing up, and about life in a small community. Griffin Bing is the man with a plan and that plan includes hiding a dog the court has ordered turned over. A lot can go wrong, and it all needs to go right, yet again, or things will be worse than when they started.

This is such an excellent story. It continues an amazing series. I can easily recommend it. It is a wonderful read from the master of the school story! But watch out for the mud and gunk along the way.

[Mohammad Iqbal]

When i first picked up this book i didn't really think that it was going to be any good but when i started to skim through the pages, i also started to get intrigued and interested into the book. I chose this book because it really interested me with the story and with the characters. It also interested me that this was a multi book story. I believe that the genre of the story is action Fiction but i am not really sure. This story takes place from different places such as Savannah house to a basement and camp. All the Main Characters name that are in the story are, Griffin,Ben,Savannah, and Luthor.

So first things first, Ben and Griffin Both are getting ready to go to Savannahs house for her dogs birthday party. When they get there they find everybody there with there pets and they go say happy birthday to Savannahs dog whose name is Luthor. When they were singing happy birthday to Luthor, he suddenly starts growling at the door. So they open the door and there they see Swindle, Luthors previou dog owner who treated Luthor like trash and left him at the dog Pound until Savannah rescued him. Swindle came back demanding that they give him Luthor back but they refuse and this is when Swindle says that by law they have to give Luthor to him. The crew has no choice but to hand Luthor over but they start to develop a plan to keep Luthor.

In the end, Savannah,Ben, and Griffin eventually get Luthor back but this happen after a whole lot of situations happen. And they dont entirely get luthor back, they actually get him back at the end of the summer but Savannah says that she dosen’t regret anything and she goes to camp.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes action,drama, and pets. This story really is clutter of emotions and i think that it would be a really enjoyable book for a lot of people. You can get really attached to the characters and the pet.

I think that i did a pretty good job at reading this marking period because i would read every week once and i really enjoyed the book. I truly think that i could read a lot more because this book was really enjoyable for me so i hope to read more books like this one.

[Aidan Linn · Rating 4 out of 5]

My teacher took my class to the library to choose a book to read. We have like this thing where we have to read 20 books over the school year. When I got to the library I saw Hideout. The reason I picked it was because the cover had a dog It also looked very interesting to read. So I picked it. My best friend from my old school told me I should read it. That was like 7 years ago.

The book is about those kids sneaked their dog into a summer camp they put the dog in a bag full of books. They had to put the bag under the bus. When they got to the camp they went straight to the cabin. To open the bag to see if the dog is still alive. But there is an evil man and a person that works for him works at the camp. And he wants his dog back. A lesson that could be learned is you have to stand up for your friends and I this case your dog.

I liked that they snuck their dog into a summer camp. I just like sneaky things. I dislike the man trying to take the dog from them. I don't know why I dislike him. I just did. Things I learned from this book that I could put into my life is that you have to stick up for your friends.
That is what I would take from the book.

I would recommend this book to people who like dog books or you just like people running from an evil people. Those are the people I think will like is a book.

[Mason Laughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really good book. It is part of the swindle series. It was connected to the first book. It was about the real owner of a girls dog. The team has to go away to camp so they bring the dog with so it doesn't have to go to the real owner. The dog pound that the owner left the dog at "lost" the documents but really the owner stole them and hid them. The owner finds out where they took the dog. read to find out if they dont have to give up the dog.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Number 5 in Gordon Korman's wildly popular "Swindle" series about a group of friends assembled by "the man with the plan". This time the kids are all split up at different summer camps but still manage to help their friend hide her 150 lb doberman from a dognapper. Fast paced action, great friendships and clueless parents always makes for a great middle-grade novel. This installment was excellent. I laughed the whole way through.

[Jake White · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember absolutely loving this book! I’ve had some crazy dreams that are very similar. That mf needs to stay awake somehow. Like bruh pop an upperdecky or down an energy drink. It ain’t that fucking difficult. The dog is just your usual black fella who’s chill like plug. He’s miraculously there whenever and somehow manages to understand what the situation is every damn time. Bro understands the kids more than I understand how to read ngl. I love the plot of this book, but it’s somewhat super unrealistic but who honestly gives a fuck cause I know I certainly don’t.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hideout, by Gordon Korman is my favorite book in the entire Swindle series. The thing I liked the most about this book was the fact that the setting kept on changing, but Korman did a great job of giving just enough details about each new setting that the book could move on without adding pages and pages to the book. In addition, I liked that Korman reintroduced Swindle into the series who left after the first book wanting revenge against Griffin and his friends. In addition, Luthor was what the story revolved on who was Palomino’s former guard dog which made for an interesting story. Swindle stopped at nothing to get his dog and leave as quickly as he could. I have to say that this would be one of my favorite mystery books.

[Raef Galicia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gordon Korman is a great author. My favorite book by him is Swindle. A book about baseball, and a baseball card. So I picked up this book thinking that it would kinda be the same. But it turns out, it wasn't. This book was much worse than Swindle, not hooking me in AT all. But some people may like this, so if you like Gordon Korman, give it a shot.

[Brooke W · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Man With the Plan needs to hide a 150 pound Doberman from the revenge-seeking S. Wendell Palomino(and the cops). This time, the law is on Palominos' side. The team has to go to summer camp for one month so where will they keep Luthor until they can prove the Palomino can't legally own Luthor? It's characters and hilarious, suspenseful, and mysterious air keeps the series original and lovable

[Nelda Brangwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is Gordon Korman still popular? This book, part of the Swindle series, is still in print and still fun to read, even as an adult. Now is a great time to reintroduce Korman to your upper elementary aged readers.

[Keaden Bahnsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. There were all the character types and if you want a book that is, fast paced and suspenseful. This is the book you will love, the book is easy and won’t take to long to read. You will go right through the pages you can’t stop reading.

[Sha]

08 Apr 2021

1. On being ordered to release their semi-vicious doberman to their old nemesis, the kids smuggle his giant ass away to camp, leading to a lot of funny instances. I really liked the three part structure of the book and we got to focus a lot more on the characters we don't usually get to see enough of. I'll need to go read it properly when I'm in a better mood.

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Swindle's back! Korman killed it with the detail. I was really looking forward to this book based on the size of it compared to the rest of the series, and I was not disappointed! I think this is my favorite "Plan".