Genre: Realistic Fiction - sports, mysteries, adventure
Awards: ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, ALA Best of the Best Books for Young Adults, School Library Journal Best Book, ALA Best Book for Young Adults, School Library Journal Best of the Best in YA Literature
Summary: Athletic Shorts is a collection of six short stories. They are not, as the title suggests, "sports stories", but each story involves athletes in some way.
"A Brief Moment in the Life of Angus Bethune" is about an overweight wrestler who has two sets of gay parents and has been elected "Senior Winter Ball King". He knows that the election has been rigged to make fun of him but he decides to make the best of it.
"The Pin" tells the story of wrestler Johnny Rivers who can't seem to ever live up to his dad's expectations of him (but neither can anyone in the family). It all comes to a head when Johnny gets the chance to wrestle his father in a "father-son" exhibition wrestling match at the school. Neither Dad, nor Son wants to lose this match.
In "The Other Pin", Petey Shropshire has to wrestle a girl and he is in no way happy about it. He knows, whether he wins or not, it will be humiliating. While at the mall, Petey and his buddy start flirting with two girls. They find out that one of them is Chris, the girl Petey has to wrestle.
"Goin' Fishin'" shares the story of Lionel Serbousek's struggle dealing with his own rage toward "Neal", the boy who, while drunk, smashes his boat into Lionel's family's boat, killing Lionel's parents and five-year-old brother. Neal becomes a homeless drug addict while being consumed with guilt. Lionel has to find a way to overcome his hatred and help Neal.
"Telephone Man" is the nickname of the title character in this story. He carries telephone equipment everywhere because he has found that fixing telephones is his "gift". He has been brought up by a racist father to believe that anyone of color is bad, especially if the person is black. After being saved from being beat-up and robbed by a gang by a black boy, he must consider if other opinions his father has taught him to believe are wrong.
"In the Time I Get" is the powerful story of Louie Banks who cleans a bar in the summer after his senior year in high school. While working, Louie meets the bar owner's nephew, Darren, who is staying with his uncle for the summer. After finding out that Darren is gay and has A.I.D.S., Louie has to decide how to he will deal with his homophobic best friend and still befriend Darren.
Reaction: WOW. This is one "heavy" book that is sure to grab the attention of anyone who would read it. It was not at all what I had anticipated it to be, but the stories were more than riveting. Athleticism is really a very small aspect of the stories in this book. The author, Chris Crutcher, is masterful at weaving experiences he has dealt with as an adolescent counselor into stories that young adults will want to read. This book will make anyone reevaluate their own prejustices.
Recommended to: Athletic Shorts is a powerful book that is full of mature topics that would be appropriate for high school students who can deal with tough language, raw emotion, and heavy issues.
Book Talk Hook: "Have you ever felt like people would act a whole lot different toward you if they walked in your shoes for one day?"
3 comments:
I find it very hard to entice myself to read a book containing many short stories. I would much rather read a book the is long and "drawn out" containing the same characters. This helps me to comprehend the story better as I become very familiar with the characters and can put myself into the book.
Many reluctant readers prefer short stories. Each story is a quick read for them. The short story collections in my elementary and JR/SR High are very popular.
Although this book seems to have some heavy issues I think most students could relate to one story or another in some fashion. This book would be great to show that you are not alone and to see how people deal with issues even if it is fiction.
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