Myers, Walter Dean. Game. 2008.
I generally enjoy everything Myers writes, and this is no exception. This novel follows a HS basketball team through one season, through the eyes of Drew, a senior on the team. The team has a great chance of making it to the playoffs, and Drew thinks he has a chance of getting recruited by some big name colleges to play ball. Suddenly, the coach adds two new white guys to the team and it shakes things up. The rules all change and it seems that the coaches are favoring the white guys, who they encouraged to move to Harlem so they could be on their team.
Recommended for male readers. This is also a great book for reluctant readers who enjoy basketball or sports.
Showing posts with label books for boys. Show all posts
Showing posts with label books for boys. Show all posts
Monday, May 05, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Cheater ***1/2
Laser, Michael. Cheater. 2008.
Karl is really smart. So smart that a group of students ask him to join their cheating group. The kids all come from different groups in school and no one would ever suspect they are working together. They use high tech cheating methods, like using cell phones and electronic pencils that send radio waves. Karl knows it's wrong and tries to get out, but he's in too far at that point. The maniacal Vice Principal starts going after cheaters with a vengeance, vowing to expel everyone he catches cheating. This makes things even riskier, but Karl can't seem to get out of it.
The only aspect of the book I had a problem with was that it was unrealistic. I know kids cheat, and they do it a lot. However, I don't think many are using methods like this. If they were smart enough to organize like this and get it to work, they probably don't have to cheat in the first place. Furthermore, the VP expelling people for cheating was also a stretch. A policy like that would never fly. At the very least, the parents would need to get a lawyer and there would be an expulsion hearing, but that didn't seem to happen here. These sorts of things made the book impossible to enjoy thoroughly.
Karl is really smart. So smart that a group of students ask him to join their cheating group. The kids all come from different groups in school and no one would ever suspect they are working together. They use high tech cheating methods, like using cell phones and electronic pencils that send radio waves. Karl knows it's wrong and tries to get out, but he's in too far at that point. The maniacal Vice Principal starts going after cheaters with a vengeance, vowing to expel everyone he catches cheating. This makes things even riskier, but Karl can't seem to get out of it.
The only aspect of the book I had a problem with was that it was unrealistic. I know kids cheat, and they do it a lot. However, I don't think many are using methods like this. If they were smart enough to organize like this and get it to work, they probably don't have to cheat in the first place. Furthermore, the VP expelling people for cheating was also a stretch. A policy like that would never fly. At the very least, the parents would need to get a lawyer and there would be an expulsion hearing, but that didn't seem to happen here. These sorts of things made the book impossible to enjoy thoroughly.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Repossessed ****
Jenkins, A.M. Repossessed. 2007.
This is a Printz Honor Book.
What I love about Jenkins is how her books all seem to be so different from each other. It must keep things interesting for her as a writer.
As the book begins, Shaun is about to walk in front of a truck and die. Kiriel, who comes from Hell, has been observing people for some time, and Shaun in particular. Sick of his job in Hell, he takes over Shaun's body just before he is about to die. He is then himself, but in Shaun's body. He takes over his life, but only better. He is actually nice to his annoying brother. He is nice to all of the kids at school. He dresses decently. He does his homework. His one goal now that he is a human it so have sex, specifically with Lane, who he finds beautiful but no one else does.
This book was amusing. It's funny to have a person take over the body of a teenager and to see what his reactions are to the whole thing. Highly recommended for any readers, but male readers in particular.
This is a Printz Honor Book.
What I love about Jenkins is how her books all seem to be so different from each other. It must keep things interesting for her as a writer.
As the book begins, Shaun is about to walk in front of a truck and die. Kiriel, who comes from Hell, has been observing people for some time, and Shaun in particular. Sick of his job in Hell, he takes over Shaun's body just before he is about to die. He is then himself, but in Shaun's body. He takes over his life, but only better. He is actually nice to his annoying brother. He is nice to all of the kids at school. He dresses decently. He does his homework. His one goal now that he is a human it so have sex, specifically with Lane, who he finds beautiful but no one else does.
This book was amusing. It's funny to have a person take over the body of a teenager and to see what his reactions are to the whole thing. Highly recommended for any readers, but male readers in particular.
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