Book Chatter

I am a huge fan of Seinfeld and there is this one episode where George strives for witty comebacks and in his attempt to do so, he comes up with this.

Well, I certainly wanted to use that line on The Boy’s basketball coach the other night ’cause this guy tossed my kid out of basketball camp. Awhile back, I mentioned that my son had some issues with the growth of his chest. I didn’t go into detail, just mentioned it and said that he might have to have surgery down the line because his sternum is growing ahead of him. Anyway, he can play sports, but repetitive use of muscles anywhere near his chest, creates inflammation yada yada. So he can’t do hundreds of push-ups. You get the idea. He has a doctor’s note and it’s all in his file.

All of his other coaches work around it. Not a problem and as long as it doesn’t get inflamed, he can do anything else and it doesn’t affect the game. But, his chest was hurting the other night and he was working through it, but clutched his chest a few times. Somehow, this jerk took that as a sign of rebellion and tossed him out! Told him not to come back. Ever.

Funny. He’s a student leader. All of his teachers have nothing but good things to say about him yet all of a sudden he has an attitude that warrants his removal from the facility?? I don’t think so.

I get that this is high school. That things are handled differently. I get that he missed practice because of the DC trip (which was approved and scheduled months before we even knew when camp was). I also get that he missed practice for production week (the play) but hello, the camp is OPTIONAL and not a requirement for the team. Additionally, it states right on the packet, that vacations can be taken. This guy clearly had it in for him because of the missed practices. That, or he’s the type of guy that would laugh at a kid in a wheelchair. Wouldn’t surprise me.

I won’t even mention that they changed the camp times from morning to evening which basically conflicted with everything the kid is doing (cross country, the play, Associated Student Body). Okay, I guess I just mentioned it didn’t I?

How would you guys handle it? I sent an email to the head coach (who was not there) stating the facts. Truthfully, The Boy won’t be playing even if they decide to let him. I don’t want him around that idiot. I asked that they transfer all of the money he raised for the team to cross country, but I’m sure that won’t fly either. What can be done at this point?

Right now, calling him a jerk feels good so I’ll just keep doing it.

Jerk.

Looking for Alaska
By John Green
(Speak, Paperback, 9780142402511, 2006, 256pp.)

The Short of It:

Highly praised, yet failed to deliver in the end.

The Rest of It:

*No Spoilers*

I recently reviewed Green’s latest book, and loved it, so when I saw this one at the library, I immediately snatched it up.

Miles moves from Florida to Alabama to attend Culver Creek Preparatory School. There, he meets his roommate “The Colonel” also known as Chip Martin. Miles wasn’t all that popular at his previous school, in fact…no one really knew he existed so when Chip shows an interest in him, he eases into the friendship knowing that it could disintegrate at any moment. After their brief introduction and receiving the nickname of Pudge (even though Miles is skinny as a rail), Miles is introduced to Alaska Young.

Alaska is witty and beautiful and different from the girls back home but she is also taken. Her college boyfriend is mentioned numerous times but is never seen. This mysterious air is what attracts Miles to her, but it’s also what frustrates him most. Especially when she goes missing and he and Chip are left to figure out what happened.

The story is broken up into two parts, before and after with before being the events leading up to her disappearance, and after, the events that followed it. As a reader, I knew right away that something was going to happen, but I had no idea what. With each chapter breaking it down even further (2 months before, 28 days after, etc), which worked to a degree as I certainly felt the tension build, the end result was not what I had hoped for. The ending left a lot of questions unanswered and to be honest with you, this pissed me off. The structure begs for resolution. You cannot lead a reader down the before/after path and not give them something in return!

My reaction to the ending, affected my overall enjoyment of the book itself. Putting the ending aside, I will say that I enjoyed the dialogue between the characters and the development of Miles over time. He is a likable character and his interactions with the other characters were often entertaining if not, enjoyable. Scores of readers have praised the book for its emotional punch so perhaps its magic was lost on me. After all, I am not a young teen by any stretch of the imagination and that is what this book is geared towards even with its numerous mentions of alcohol and sex.

Source: Borrowed
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