Overview
Ron is watcher, it seems. He watches his pick-up basketball team–five guys trying to fit together on the court. He watches Dawn on the dance floor, and that tiny star tattoo on her shoulder. He watches Darby run, her short legs all sweat and muscle. He watches his friends veer off–and up–into popularity. He watches his dad move in with his grandmother and make do. But he’s more than a watcher: He’s a hustler on the court, a free-thrower, a poet, a poker player, a rule breaker, a loving grandson, a runner, and a ruthless competitor in those eight laps around the track–the 3200 meter. In nine interwoven stories, award-winning author Rich Wallace brings a small-town high school to life through the sharp, spare voice–and the heart-pounding defeats and triumphs–of an athlete.From the Hardcover edition.
Eleven episodes in the life of a young man, from sneaking into his tenth football game in a row with his best friend in sixth grade to running his last high school race, the Pennsylvania state championships.
Synopsis
Ron is watcher, it seems. He watches his pick-up basketball team–five guys trying to fit together on the court. He watches Dawn on the dance floor, and that tiny star tattoo on her shoulder. He watches Darby run, her short legs all sweat and muscle. He watches his friends veer off–and up–into popularity. He watches his dad move in with his grandmother and make do. But he’s more than a watcher: He’s a hustler on the court, a free-thrower, a poet, a poker player, a rule breaker, a loving grandson, a runner, and a ruthless competitor in those eight laps around the track–the 3200 meter. In nine interwoven stories, award-winning author Rich Wallace brings a small-town high school to life through the sharp, spare voice–and the heart-pounding defeats and triumphs–of an athlete.
Publishers Weekly
Not all of these nine linked stories pack the same punch, but together they powerfully render an athlete's coming of age. Wallace (Wrestling Sturbridge) moves from his protagonist's awkward preadolescence to his glory years as a high school track star. Ron's love of sports is a recurring theme, but it does not dominate every selection. More resonant issues center around Ron's relationships: with his distant father, who never comes to his meets, with his high school dropout brother, who gave up on sports, and with a handful of teammates, opponents and girls, who seem beyond his reach. The stories get stronger as the book progresses and as Ron becomes increasingly aware of fractures within his family and of his own frailties. The most insightful and uplifting moment occurs in the final, title story when Ron pushes himself to the limit to win a state track championship. Here the author shifts from first person to third, briefly encapsulating Ron's history-his drives, vulnerabilities and strengths. Readers are asked to read between the lines in a book that is greater-and more powerful-than the sum of its parts. Ages 10-14. (Aug.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly
Not all of these nine linked stories pack the same punch, but together they powerfully render an athlete's coming of age. Wallace (Wrestling Sturbridge) moves from his protagonist's awkward preadolescence to his glory years as a high school track star. Ron's love of sports is a recurring theme, but it does not dominate every selection. More resonant issues center around Ron's relationships: with his distant father, who never comes to his meets, with his high school dropout brother, who gave up on sports, and with a handful of teammates, opponents and girls, who seem beyond his reach. The stories get stronger as the book progresses and as Ron becomes increasingly aware of fractures within his family and of his own frailties. The most insightful and uplifting moment occurs in the final, title story when Ron pushes himself to the limit to win a state track championship. Here the author shifts from first person to third, briefly encapsulating Ron's history-his drives, vulnerabilities and strengths. Readers are asked to read between the lines in a book that is greater-and more powerful-than the sum of its parts. Ages 10-14. (Aug.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.Children's Literature
Nine short stories highlight Ron's life from sixth grade through senior year. He moves from sneaking under the fence to watch a high school football game with a buddy, to winning a state championship race while his family and the girl he's dating watch. In between, we see him learn teamwork on a summer league basketball team and in track practices and meets. One story shows his nostalgic love and respect for his late grandfather, and others touch briefly on the breakup of his parents' marriage and his older brother's problems. When he's about to enter eighth grade, he humiliates himself with girls at the county fair because he's too young and inexperienced. A few years later, he fails again when he's attracted to a girl in his summer workshop for creative teens, but this time it's because he moves too fast. By the time of the title story, which details his preparation for and winning of the race that matters most to him, he has matured in his attitude toward other people and his ability to discipline himself to reach his own goals. 2003, Laurel-Leaf Books/Random House Children's Books, Ages 12 to 16.—Judy DaPolito
VOYA
Characters and settings from the author's other sports novels are revisited in this collection of contemplative but intense sports-related short stories. The works are primarily character studies with enough genuine athletic action for sports fans, but not so much play-by-play detail that non-fans will lose interest. In one of the most memorable stories, Thanksgiving, there are no balls or races at all. Brothers Ron and Devin get into a car accident on the way home from Devin's college and must call their domineering father with the news. Rather than displaying his usual ballistic reaction, their father is relieved that his sons are okay, and the experience changes them all subtly. In Letters That Would Soar a Thousand Feet High finds Ron attending a barn party with a fellow runner from another town. The party guests are mostly gay athletes. Ron is decidedly straight and handles the situation with graceful maturity-a quality that also applies to his athletic skill. Most of the stories involve Ron's long-distance running and his goal of winning at the Pennsylvania state high school championships. All these works involve intriguing, complex people. Their sports are only a part of what makes them worth knowing. VOYA Codes: 4Q 3P S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Will appeal with pushing; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2003, Knopf, 144p,— Elaine McGuire