Change Up by John Feinstein
Age Group: Middle Grade
Genre: Sports Fiction
Publishing Date: August 11th 2009 by Knopf Books for Young Readers
Summary: Kirkus ~ "Fourteen-year-old sports columnists Stevie Thomas and Susan Carol Anderson begin freshman year with a close-up look at a dramatic wild-card National League Championship final and then at the World Series between Boston and Washington, D.C. When a player who’s come up from the minors in a late-season trade pitches a near no-hitter in game two, the mystery and personal tragedy in his past become the story Stevie pursues."
What I Liked: Gosh, other than Stuart Gibbs's characters, Stevie and Susan Carol are probably some of my most favorite characters. They're witty and adventurous, clever and quick-thinking without it being crazily unrealistic for realistic fiction. I think my favorite part was the determination of Stevie. Not only did it drive the plot along, you gained the ability to hear all these perspectives of the center crime, which ingeniously leads to the inevitable thirty million plot twists which was great to read. I love a good book when it isn't predictable and combined with the good characters, and a good sports fiction book has been born.
What I Didn't Like: If I had to say that I didn't like something, it's the fact that Susan Carol ends up not trusting Stevie. Of course, it makes sense: as two really close best friends, a good argument could shake things up, but in all honesty, it just made the book confusing and tough to read, because in my opinion the book could've been great without the arguments. Of course, if you haven't read the book, they only fight because of the Doyle Twins, which of course, is hard to explain in it of itself unless you read the book. Either way, it was good, sure, but I could've done without that one conflict
Rating: 9.5 out of ten
Why? Super good, and I will admit, even my one critique isn't as bad as I make it sound like.
Genre: Sports Fiction
Publishing Date: August 11th 2009 by Knopf Books for Young Readers
Summary: Kirkus ~ "Fourteen-year-old sports columnists Stevie Thomas and Susan Carol Anderson begin freshman year with a close-up look at a dramatic wild-card National League Championship final and then at the World Series between Boston and Washington, D.C. When a player who’s come up from the minors in a late-season trade pitches a near no-hitter in game two, the mystery and personal tragedy in his past become the story Stevie pursues."
What I Liked: Gosh, other than Stuart Gibbs's characters, Stevie and Susan Carol are probably some of my most favorite characters. They're witty and adventurous, clever and quick-thinking without it being crazily unrealistic for realistic fiction. I think my favorite part was the determination of Stevie. Not only did it drive the plot along, you gained the ability to hear all these perspectives of the center crime, which ingeniously leads to the inevitable thirty million plot twists which was great to read. I love a good book when it isn't predictable and combined with the good characters, and a good sports fiction book has been born.
What I Didn't Like: If I had to say that I didn't like something, it's the fact that Susan Carol ends up not trusting Stevie. Of course, it makes sense: as two really close best friends, a good argument could shake things up, but in all honesty, it just made the book confusing and tough to read, because in my opinion the book could've been great without the arguments. Of course, if you haven't read the book, they only fight because of the Doyle Twins, which of course, is hard to explain in it of itself unless you read the book. Either way, it was good, sure, but I could've done without that one conflict
Rating: 9.5 out of ten
Why? Super good, and I will admit, even my one critique isn't as bad as I make it sound like.
Thanks for the heads-up on this one. I missed reading it when it came out.
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds great! I'll need to try it. Thanks for the review!
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