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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
It was a wonderful story, but a little too long, wordy, and repetitive for me to really love it. Still found myself wrapped up in Willow Creek and the boys' journey. Not so much with Sam, though.
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
When the writing was good, it was fine. But when it was bad, it was really bad.
Mild spoilers ahead.
Here’s just a list of my favorite ridiculous bits:
Here’s just a list of my favorite ridiculous bits:
- The author feeling the need to remind readers just how smoking hot Diana is or just how fat Hazel is. Yeah, we get it. You don’t need to mention it every time you talk about these characters.
Some of the sex scenes between Sam and Diana were just absolutely ridiculous. The whole bit where they hook up in her car and he's in the passenger seat and she's on top of him, and they get caught by some students so HE DRIVES THE CAR FROM THE PASSENGER SEAT WHILST STILL HAVING SEX. That is neither safe nor humanly possible. And the scene where she opens up to Sam and tells him about killing her daughter and Sam’s response is to starting BONING?! Are you kidding me?! NOT THE TIME OR THE PLACE, SAM. - Mervin admitting he loves the exchange student that has lived with him for a few months more than is own daughters is ludicrous. If you love high school basketball that much, you are deranged.
- Everything with Denise Cutter… the ableism was shocking
- This sentence: “Like an aroused bear he prowled the sideline, shouted plays to the boys, and tried to influence the flight of the ball with body English.”
- The caricature of Amos Flowers as a dumb rancher who says “The Nam”
- The nonsensical sports metaphors. Some were just ridiculous.
Overall, it was an okay book. Mostly entertaining, probably 150 pages too long, with some very cringey bits
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I asked for suggestions for a book to read at a time when I was feeling out of sorts and having trouble getting into anything. Many books were put forth, several of which had been on my "to read" list for quite a while. None of those called to me, and instead I picked up this new-to-me title. It turned out to be a very good choice.
Blind Your Ponies is a tale of a small town. Almost everyone there has a big story. The adults are almost all there as a reaction to their past. These stories have an effect on the teens growing up, filtering down.
There are 6 boys on the basketball team. One seemed to have a fairly routine life (and very little time in the story). Two had relatively routine teen drama, and 3 had big stories, as did the coach and the assistant coach.
The biggest story of all was how these 6 kids came together to form a team with hopes of breaking at 90+ game losing streak against much bigger teams, with more resources of every sort to draw from.
I admit, I skimmed the long, in depth descriptions of the basketball games. I'm glad they were there, since they gave me a sense of what was really happening for the boys, but they aren't what drew me into the story.
It was really the story of coach Sam Pickett learning from his team to put himself out there and take risks again. Sam's story and character were compelling, and I was rooting for him as he took two steps forward then two steps back.
I loved seeing the team come together, but I don't think the book succeeded in capturing the individual voices of the boys, or of any of the other characters except maybe Grandma. Grandma was a great character, with a perfect mix of loving care of her grandson (and pets), tenacious perseverance in the face of adversity, and elderly disregard for what anyone else thinks of her behavior.
The town was made up of great characters, and although I liked each individual story, the weight of all of them got to be a big much at times. Still, the tandem bicycle abandoned in a lover's quarrel many years ago was one of the sweetest romances I've come across in a while.
Overall, Blind your Ponies was an enjoyable, inspirational read.
Blind Your Ponies is a tale of a small town. Almost everyone there has a big story. The adults are almost all there as a reaction to their past. These stories have an effect on the teens growing up, filtering down.
There are 6 boys on the basketball team. One seemed to have a fairly routine life (and very little time in the story). Two had relatively routine teen drama, and 3 had big stories, as did the coach and the assistant coach.
The biggest story of all was how these 6 kids came together to form a team with hopes of breaking at 90+ game losing streak against much bigger teams, with more resources of every sort to draw from.
I admit, I skimmed the long, in depth descriptions of the basketball games. I'm glad they were there, since they gave me a sense of what was really happening for the boys, but they aren't what drew me into the story.
It was really the story of coach Sam Pickett learning from his team to put himself out there and take risks again. Sam's story and character were compelling, and I was rooting for him as he took two steps forward then two steps back.
I loved seeing the team come together, but I don't think the book succeeded in capturing the individual voices of the boys, or of any of the other characters except maybe Grandma. Grandma was a great character, with a perfect mix of loving care of her grandson (and pets), tenacious perseverance in the face of adversity, and elderly disregard for what anyone else thinks of her behavior.
The town was made up of great characters, and although I liked each individual story, the weight of all of them got to be a big much at times. Still, the tandem bicycle abandoned in a lover's quarrel many years ago was one of the sweetest romances I've come across in a while.
Overall, Blind your Ponies was an enjoyable, inspirational read.
I really enjoyed this book! It takes place in a small town near where I live so it was fun to read about the history and the familiar places.
I'm not really a huge high school sports person - for a lot of reasons - but this book is a great example of what high school sports should be. I believe every coach should read this book and strive to be like Sam and Diane. Every kid deserves a coach that will make them feel wanted/valued. Those coaches put a ton of effort into each kid, and learned how to use their skills on the team. They truly were a family which is what it should be about.
I loved the relationships in this book. Particularly that between Pete and his grandma. Grandma was my favorite character - besides parrot of course.
Three things kept me from giving this five stars.
First - I feel like it was longer than it needed to be. The basketball talk got a little redundant for me. But maybe that's because I'm not a sports fan? Others may enjoy that more.
Second - The way he writes Olaf makes me think of Yoda. I couldnt stop hearing Yoda when Olaf spoke.
Third - and most importantly - the author left us hanging on a lot of big issues. What happened with grandma and then with Pete? What happens with Thomas and his dad? What about the couple from the bicycle built for 2? I feel like he inserted these storylines and then didn't give us a conclusion to them - which then makes them seem like pointless details that he should've just left out of the book.
Overall - great book and I would definitely recommend !
I'm not really a huge high school sports person - for a lot of reasons - but this book is a great example of what high school sports should be. I believe every coach should read this book and strive to be like Sam and Diane. Every kid deserves a coach that will make them feel wanted/valued. Those coaches put a ton of effort into each kid, and learned how to use their skills on the team. They truly were a family which is what it should be about.
I loved the relationships in this book. Particularly that between Pete and his grandma. Grandma was my favorite character - besides parrot of course.
Three things kept me from giving this five stars.
First - I feel like it was longer than it needed to be. The basketball talk got a little redundant for me. But maybe that's because I'm not a sports fan? Others may enjoy that more.
Second - The way he writes Olaf makes me think of Yoda. I couldnt stop hearing Yoda when Olaf spoke.
Third - and most importantly - the author left us hanging on a lot of big issues. What happened with grandma and then with Pete? What happens with Thomas and his dad? What about the couple from the bicycle built for 2? I feel like he inserted these storylines and then didn't give us a conclusion to them - which then makes them seem like pointless details that he should've just left out of the book.
Overall - great book and I would definitely recommend !
This was a dnf for me. I got about 20% through. Interesting characters, not very interesting story, too long. Would've been an interesting look at a western small town had it not been so long and at times unbelievable.
A great story, but way too predictable. I kept thinking Hoosiers or Rudy while reading. A good beach read.
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No