Payback Time by Cark Deuker YP FIC DEUKER

I’m not a big reader of young adult literature, so this year, to widen my horizons, I’m tackling the 2011 Lone Star Reading List, a bibiliography of recommended reading for grades 6-8 that's put out every year by public and school librarians from the Texas Library Association's Young Adult Round Table.

It's been a good experience, one that's opened my eyes to the type of YA books I like (e.g. Ally Carter's Heist Society and Francisco X. Stork's, The Last Summer of the Death Warriors) and the kinds I don't particularly care for, which turn out to be of those of the overly melodramatic, "OMG-my-life-is-totally-ruined" ilk (e.g.Tera Lynn Childs' Forgive My Fins). I'm happy to report I most recently finished one that I like: Carl Deuker's Payback Time, which made for a fun mystery against the backdrop of high school sports.

Deuker, a Seattle school teacher and longtime sports fan, often incorporates athletics into his YA novels, which also include Gym Candy, Runner and Heart of a Champion (all three of which the library has under YP FIC DEUKER). Payback Time, however, takes place from the perspective of a non-athlete. Meet high school journalist Mitch True, who describes himself thusly:

"I'm five four and I weigh 180. Okay, 190. Okay, 200 ... three months ago. I've got wispy blond hair and skin the color of copy paper. Girls don't chase me down halls."

Mitch dreams of one day seeing his byline in the New York Times covering Watergate-style scoops culled from back-alley sources. But fate has other plans his final year at Lincoln High School, located in Washington State. As the most prolific and senior reporter on the Lincoln Light staff, Mitch thinks he's a shoe-in for getting elected editor. Sorry, Mitch. No one ever said the path to a Pulitzer was easy. Not only does he lose out on the editorship, he doesn't even get to stay lead reporter; he gets shoved onto the sports beat.

Miserable, Mitch slowly begins making the rounds of the athletics departments, of which — not unlike Texas — football is king. He's shocked to find a domineering football coach who essentially tells Mitch that he can only write what the coach allows him to write. But the news gods finally throw Mitch a bone in the form of mysterious new football player Angel Marichal. While watching an early practice, Mitch immediately catches onto Angel's stellar skills but is puzzled to find Angel hides his abilities, passing himself off as a mediocre player.

This gets Mitch's reporter senses tingling and sets up his quest to unearth Angel's backstory. He's aided by Kimi Yon, the beautiful staff photographer assigned to cover sports with Mitch. Mitch spends the school year hunting down leads and testing his various theories on Angel's origins and why the football coach keeps him inexplicably benched most games.

Overall, it's a realistic, engaging portrayal of how a young journalist follows what he senses is a big story, and the mistakes and successes he finds along the way. There are no lucky strikes of information; Mitch does his investigation the old-fashioned way, pounding the pavement, developing sources and following the paper trail. Mitch comes across as an everyman (wanting to impress Kimi, he starts exercising to lose weight) who finds purpose in what could otherwise have been a senior-year disappointment for him.

His determination is admirable; like any good reporter, he doesn't let dead-ends faze him but he also knows when to change directions and tactics. When met by snarling figures of authority, he does get scared and intimidated but, like the athletes he covers, he also always finds a way to rally.

For me, the weakest moments of the story were actually its depiction of the football games themselves. Deuker's descriptions of the game may very well be thrilling to those with even an inkling of gridiron lingo but to me, a stranger to the game, those passages might as well have been in Klingon. I found myself skimming them but do not feel like doing so subtracted from the book. The real action takes place off the field.

I also take issue with the role (or lack therof) that adults play in the story. At no point does Mitch consult his journalism teacher — or any other adult, for that matter — on how he should proceed with Angel's story, even when real danger enters into the equation. He even keeps his editor, a fellow student, in the dark. And when sinister forces seem to be at work thwarting Mitch's freelance sport stories for the Seattle Times, making him seem like he's either incompetent or fabricating his stories outright, the Times sports editor merely complains to Mitch rather than firing him altogether. That just doesn't seem like it would fly in a real newsroom.

But those are small quibbles in an otherwise well-written story that kept me reading, wanting to know Angel's secret and how Mitch would put the pieces together to solve them.

Tall Story by Candy Gourlay YP FIC GOURLAY

Everything about Bernardo is tall. Not only is he eight feet at 16, but also he is seen as a Folk Hero that protects form earthquakes in his small village in the Philippines. Everything about Andi’s life is coming up short. She’s considered too short for basketball and when she FINALLY gets to join a team her parents move her. Then when her GIANT half-brother Bernardo moves to London to live with them nothing is the same. But Bernardo is more than he seems, and after he comes miracles begin to happen.

What works so well about this book is that each chapter is told from the perspective of either Bernardo or his sister Andi, each taking turns. This helps to highlight how different they are and makes the times that Bernardo causes Andi trouble all the funnier, because we see it through both their eyes. A lot of the comedy comes from Bernardo being such and outsider to modern society and the rest comes from how spunky and quick witted Andi is. This is a funny, lighthearted read that will definitely grab sports fans. Andi’s basketball storyline provides some of the funniest and most exciting moments of the book. When the more magical (although the author never makes clear if it is magic or chance) elements appear they seem natural, because Bernardo has been talking about magic for so long. This is a kind of fun, quirky hidden gem that is filled with true to life but larger than life characters and lots of genuine heart.

King of the Screwups: A Novel by K.L. Going

Ever feel like you are suffering an identity crisis? Liam Geller, the main character in K.L. Going’s King of the Screwups: a Novel might be able to relate. Liam is incredibly popular at high school. He excels in sports, the girls adore him, and he dresses incredibly well. There is one little problem, though. Although he is adored by all, he can and often is an incredible screw-up. This ability regularly enrages his father and eventually leads him to kick Liam out of the house right before the start of senior year. With nowhere to go, Liam ends up living with his gay uncle, who he calls Aunt Pete. His uncle lives a bit of a glam-rock lifestyle as a DJ in upstate New York, lives in a trailer, and has many colorful friends. Hoping to earn his father’s acceptance, Liam uses this new environment and school to become a model student. However, Liam is torn between being who he really is and living up to his father’s expectations. King of the Screwups takes the reader on Liam’s adventure to find his true self.

Other books in the Moore Young Adult collection by K.L. Going include: Fat Kid Rules the World, which won a Printz Award Honor, and Saint Iggy, an American Library association Best Book for Young Adults.

Derby Girl by Shauna Cross

Bliss Cavendar cannot wait to finish high school so she can get out of Bodeen, Texas as soon as possible. The small town only seems to offer her misery with its Miss Bluebonnet pageant, lack of hot, cool guys, and cowboy mentality. If it weren’t for her best friend, Pash, and a mutual love of all things indie rock there would be little happiness in the world that imprisons them. That is until Bliss discovers the extreme excitement of roller derby, which takes place an hour away in her cool, indie-dream capital, Austin.

According to Bliss roller derby is her ticket out of small town, narrow-minded living and an escape from her reality of having to soon compete in the Miss Bluebonnet pageant. She leads a double life, high school attending teenager by day/ 18-yr-old heartbreaker roller derby babe by night, which bring her both happiness and pain. She meets and dates the hottest band guy and becomes a roller queen. However, this new life comes with sacrifices, like best friendship, which Bliss discovers is more important that making out with a boy.

The author Shauna Cross is from Austin, which is apparent by her description of the city and hipster hot spots. For those high schoolers who feel stuck and out of place in the typical high school setting, Bliss’ story will make you wish you could transport yourself to Austin’s Lamar Street or South Congress to do some vintage clothes or record shopping. Bliss’ journey around the rink is full of hilarity and growing pains, but it is also dressed in fish nets and roller skates.

Deadline

Deadline

by Chris Crutcher

YP FIC CRUTCHER

When Ben Wolf finds out that he has a terminal illness, he decides to use the time that he has left to LIVE! He joins the football team, goes on a date with the girl of his dreams, and stands up to his overbearing Civics Teacher. Smart as a whip, Ben finds that every day has something new to teach him, and that even though his time is short, he can still make life count.

Ben challenges the adults around him all the while calmly accepting his own fate. Ben is Mr. Fix-it for all the people in his life, including his super cool younger brother (Big Wolf), his bi-polar mom, and the town drunk. He finds that he can't fix everything though. Hey-Soos, a dream visitor, helps Ben by asking the right questions. A surprise twist of fate makes Ben realize that he has a lot to be thankful for.

Ben's acceptance of his own death wasn't too believable, even with the few moments of mourning thrown in. I kept wondering if Ben took after his mom even more than he knew. I still really enjoyed the book though. The football scenes were intense. With the action narrated in the first person point of view, I felt like I was in the game too--a scary thought! Dallas Suzuki was also very believable to me: tough exterior, vulnerable interior. Ben's big younger brother, Cody, was not so believable, but he was thoroughly likable. What I liked about the book is that through deciding to live, Ben helped those around him to live once he was gone.

Keeping Score

Keeping Score

by Linda Sue Park

(J Fic Park)

Maggie is a huge fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers. The year is 1953, and she like everyone else in her neighborhood follows the games religiously. Jim, a new recruit at the local fire station, proves to be a good friend despite his being a Giants fan. He teaches her how to keep score of all of the plays during a baseball game. Soon Maggie is developing extra notations to keep track of the plays that interest her. When Jim is drafted to fight in the Korean War, Maggie applies her new skills as a Baseball statistician to help herself understand the conflict. Maggie sends Jim letters every month, but then Jim's answering letters stop coming. No one will tell Maggie what is happening. Is there a way for Maggie to help Jim?

Maggie is a great character. Despite her brother's frequently condescending attitude about her interest in baseball, she doesn't get discouraged. Instead she finds a way all her own to enjoy the sport that she loves. When her friend is hurt, she applies that same tenacity to finding ways to help him. There are several really good supporting characters in this book including Maggie's mother and best friend. The book includes several author notes both about baseball and about the War in Korea that add interest to the story.

Though I'm not at all a sports fan, I love stories about sports. Maybe it is the tension and conflict? This was such a fun book to read. I'm even thinking of trying to learn to keep score during a baseball game just because this book made it sound so interesting--and I'm horrible at math!

Yellow Flag

Yellow Flag

by Robert Lipsyte

(YP FIC LIPSYTE)

Kyle is focused on his music. He loves the quintet he plays in. He especially likes the French Horn player, Nicole from New York. With his mother's help he has avoided getting pulled into the family business of professional race car driving. Racing is his brother's business. All of Kyle's goals and dreams are clear and focused.

Everything changes when his older brother gets hurt. Kyle agrees to race for a couple of weeks--to keep Kris's seat warm. For Kyle, things quickly get a whole lot more confusing. His family seems to be making plans for him. Plus, Kyle can't stop thinking about Jimmie, the new girl on the racing crew. Even more confusing, Kyle begins to question whether he really dislikes racing at all. Does he want Kris to get better? When an amazing opportunity opens up for Kyle's band and his band mates demand more of his time, the pressure begins to squeeze in from all sides.

The family dynamic is interesting in this novel. Kyle constantly worries about being forced to race just like his father and perhaps even his grandfather before him. But the author completely skipped over my main question: Can anyone who doesn't really want it, be truly successful in a sport as competitive as racing? Kyle is a talented guy, gifted even, both in music and racing. While his brother, Kris, seems to be a very intuitive driver, Kyle thinks things out first. He makes all of his decisions like a chess player. The strategies and his analysis of the other racers are interesting--especially when he is faced with racing bullies. His talents come so easily and naturally to him that what Kyle really fights for and works for in this story is the freedom to choose his own future.

This peak into the life and technicalities of race car driving was really interesting. Despite a complete lack of mechanical understanding, I followed the story just fine. While the ending resolved several plot points, it lacked force. So I'm waiting for a sequel, both because I want the story to continue and because I'm waiting for a more complete ending.

FYI: Another book by Lipsyte, Raider's Night (YP FIC LIPSYTE), made it onto the 2008-2009 Tayshas list. It's about a football player who must choose to join in his team's out-of-game behavior or stand alone and risk losing out on his football dreams.