Scan barcode
christiana's review against another edition
4.0
Solid middle school read. I like that all the characters showed growth and were great examples of how to change things you want to change (or how to roll with things you were hoping would never change).
jennymock's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars - I fully appreciate that Sharon Flake captures the frustration and hopelessness that a struggling reader feels when they are so far behind their peers. The characters are fresh and different. My students are going to love this book.
jwinchell's review against another edition
3.0
I like the idea of this book but the execution didn't do much for me: the contrasts and the voices felt heavy-handed and unauthentic. I can see the value in it, though--disability, difficulty reading, sports (wrestling)--and it was at a very easy reading level.
literaryk's review against another edition
3.0
Another solid middle grade read! I loved that the characters are flawed and learning, and not everything ends on a perfect note. I appreciated Flake's attention to the voices of her characters and adding their personalities to their chapters. The side plots got a little muddled. It seemed like everyone had their own story and each chapter gave us pieces of them while trying to keep the main story on Autumn and Adonis. Overall I enjoyed the book in one day!
beatniksafari's review against another edition
3.0
Although the characters, especially Adonis, did not grab me until the very end, I think my middle school students might enjoy this story of identity and romance. Both Adonis and Autumn face challenges: he's academically gifted and articulate, but in a wheelchair, while she's a brilliant wrestler, a vivacious friend, and a skilled cook, but struggles with math and reading. Despite, or because of, Autumn's persistence, Adonis does not want any connection to a girl he perceives as imperfect. However, she has learned from her athletic training never to back down. I would have liked a more sympathetic character in Adonis, whose constant put-downs and bitterness made me wonder what on earth Autumn saw in him. Autumn is easier to love and understand, and will appeal to the same students who continue to read "The Skin I'm In," by the same author, with such fervor.
mnboyer's review against another edition
1.0
PopSugar 2023 reading challenge #33
This book had the potential to be a great piece of young adult fiction: students of different races, students with different learning challenges/abilities, students with family drama, students with different levels of ableness, etc.
All of this gets completely overshadowed by the fact that consent is completely ignored several times throughout the story. The short version: Autum stalks Adonis, climbs onto his lap without his permission, and kisses him without permission. Even after Adonis asks Autumn to stop and leave him alone, she continues to advance upon him and stalk him. There are some HUGE red flags here that I think are completely ignored by the author. Are readers truly supposed to ignore all of this... really?!
Every other decent storyline in this story gets shoved aside because you cannot ignore the issues of consent and stalking. I'm so ashamed that an editor/publisher didn't bring this up with the author. To be very clear: this isn't a story where these two issues are later addressed and youth can learn about negative and dangerous behaviors. No! By the end of the story it is pretty much Autumn gets her way and now her and Adonis are a thing because... either he suddenly comes around or she has pushed her way into his life and he's just accepted it. Eeek. So problematic!
Not. a. Healthy. Example. of. Relationships!
This book had the potential to be a great piece of young adult fiction: students of different races, students with different learning challenges/abilities, students with family drama, students with different levels of ableness, etc.
All of this gets completely overshadowed by the fact that consent is completely ignored several times throughout the story. The short version: Autum stalks Adonis, climbs onto his lap without his permission, and kisses him without permission. Even after Adonis asks Autumn to stop and leave him alone, she continues to advance upon him and stalk him. There are some HUGE red flags here that I think are completely ignored by the author. Are readers truly supposed to ignore all of this... really?!
Every other decent storyline in this story gets shoved aside because you cannot ignore the issues of consent and stalking. I'm so ashamed that an editor/publisher didn't bring this up with the author. To be very clear: this isn't a story where these two issues are later addressed and youth can learn about negative and dangerous behaviors. No! By the end of the story it is pretty much Autumn gets her way and now her and Adonis are a thing because... either he suddenly comes around or she has pushed her way into his life and he's just accepted it. Eeek. So problematic!
Not. a. Healthy. Example. of. Relationships!
wrenl's review against another edition
2.0
Welcome to Book City
Date: December 31, 2014
Spoilers Ahead
Headline
Pinned
Sharon G Flake
Award-winning author, Sharon G. Flake, presents a powerful novel about a teen boy and girl, each tackling disabilities.
Autumn and Adonis have nothing in common and everything in common. Autumn is outgoing and has lots of friends. Adonis is shy and not so eager to connect with people. But even with their differences, the two have one thing in common--they're each dealing with a handicap. For Autumn, who has a learning disability, reading is a painful struggle that makes it hard to focus in class. But as her school’s most aggressive team wrestler, Autumn can take down any problem. Adonis is confined to a wheelchair. He has no legs. He can't walk or dance. But he’s a strong reader who loves books. Even so, Adonis has a secret he knows someone like Autumn can heal.
In time, Autumn and Adonis are forced to see that our greatest weaknesses can turn into the assets that forever change us and those we love.
Told in alternating voices, Takedown explores issues of self-discovery, friendship, and what it means to be different.
City Calendar:
This is what happened during the week.
Autumn goes to her match and wins. Adonis foes on a date with Raven to the movies and sees Autumn is humiliated when soda is spilled on him by accident. Adonis tutors Roberto a seventh grader. Officials come to the school. Patricia/Peaches show them around. Autumn is in a match with James and wins. She wins in a tournament. Autumn starts volunteering at the library. She admits to Adonis that she loves him. Adonis teaches Autumn's math class. They work in the library together. Roberto gets Autumn a chess set. Autumn gives Adonis cupcakes and a movie ticket. Adonis dreams of Autumn. Adonis and Patricia talk to the seventh graders about leadership.
Autumn is kicked off of the wrestling team. Adonis notices how sad Autumn is. Autumn asks Adonis to tutor her. Adonis doesn't agree or disagree. Autumn quits working at the library. Adonis sees Autumn at tutoring. Autumn apologizes to him. She kisses him. Adonis teachers Autumn's class. Adonis sees Patricia cheating in math class. Adonis and Autumn kiss. Autumn confronts Patricia about the cheating. Autumn makes cupcakes for finals. She does a practice test in English and does better than before. She tells Adonis who kisses her and says I love you.
And that's what happened this week.
Personal Ads:
Adonis.
Smart. No legs. Fourteen years old. Ninth grade. Judgmental. Tutor. Not many friends. Reclusive. Team manager for wrestling.
Autumn.
Female wrestler. Fourteen. Cooks. Kind. Smiles a lot. Cheerful. Happy. Not very good at reading or math.
Opinions:
I really wasn't impressed by this book. I was reluctant to read it to begin with. I have to read it for my book trivia. But this wasn't very good...
The girl in a sport where mostly guys participate in is great. Go girls!
Now...onto my rant. I am all for feminism. I like that Autumn was good at it too. Not a pity case or anything. She tried her best to be in the sport. Except for school. She kinda...gave up in that area. I admire her strength in ignoring the males' taunts. I definitely wouldn't challenge her to a fight. Girl power.
The grammar. Oh my goodness. The word 'is' is dropped so many times.
There seems to be plot, but nothing really happens. I know that people do talk like it...but as a person who can't stand text language, this drove me crazy. I wanted to grab the characters by their lapels and shout at them to get their grammar together. I might not have perfect grammar, but I don't drop words. I smash them together. Or whatnot. But still! This drove me absolutely crazy.
The ending is confusing too. Did time pass? When did they end up together? How much time passed? It's rushed. And leaves me questions. When did she agree to all this tutoring? Man. That's crazy. None of the ending had much depth. It made not a lot of sense.
And the romance. Seriously. When does that come in? I thought Adonis hated Autumn. I don't see where that came from. Adonis hated Autumn. He mentioned that many times. Did he harbor an awkward crush? Hm. That was never mentioned. And he was adamant about his hate. And Autumn. Why do the girls put in so much work into the relationship when the guy doesn't? I don't get that. Poor Autumn was lost in her mind, thinking Adonis liked her. Poor girl... How did she win him over? It's never mentioned...
The characters aren't very good. They annoyed me. Adonis was whiny. A complainer. He complained about everything. And was negative. Not that I'm an optimist. I'm a pessimist myself. But I prefer reading about more optimistic characters. I know that not everyone is an optimist. (I'm a prime example after all.) But he was really negative. And why did he hate Autumn? Did Autumn do anything but like you? Do you have a problem with people liking you? Is that saying something? I'm confused by his character. He seems to dump the 'I hate Autumn' part and become Autumn's...boyfriend? What? When did that happen? How could he change so quickly? We didn't get any insight. And Autumn. Her grammar drove me nuts. But she was pretty kind. I didn't like that she completely gave up when she lost wrestling. You got to get back on the horse, as they say. Keep going. Don't let that stop you! She seems like a good character. In any other book...
Overall, I wasn't very impressed. It could have been better.
Weather:
Cloudy with a 75% chance of rain
2/5
Date: December 31, 2014
Spoilers Ahead
Headline
Pinned
Sharon G Flake
Award-winning author, Sharon G. Flake, presents a powerful novel about a teen boy and girl, each tackling disabilities.
Autumn and Adonis have nothing in common and everything in common. Autumn is outgoing and has lots of friends. Adonis is shy and not so eager to connect with people. But even with their differences, the two have one thing in common--they're each dealing with a handicap. For Autumn, who has a learning disability, reading is a painful struggle that makes it hard to focus in class. But as her school’s most aggressive team wrestler, Autumn can take down any problem. Adonis is confined to a wheelchair. He has no legs. He can't walk or dance. But he’s a strong reader who loves books. Even so, Adonis has a secret he knows someone like Autumn can heal.
In time, Autumn and Adonis are forced to see that our greatest weaknesses can turn into the assets that forever change us and those we love.
Told in alternating voices, Takedown explores issues of self-discovery, friendship, and what it means to be different.
City Calendar:
This is what happened during the week.
Autumn goes to her match and wins. Adonis foes on a date with Raven to the movies and sees Autumn is humiliated when soda is spilled on him by accident. Adonis tutors Roberto a seventh grader. Officials come to the school. Patricia/Peaches show them around. Autumn is in a match with James and wins. She wins in a tournament. Autumn starts volunteering at the library. She admits to Adonis that she loves him. Adonis teaches Autumn's math class. They work in the library together. Roberto gets Autumn a chess set. Autumn gives Adonis cupcakes and a movie ticket. Adonis dreams of Autumn. Adonis and Patricia talk to the seventh graders about leadership.
Autumn is kicked off of the wrestling team. Adonis notices how sad Autumn is. Autumn asks Adonis to tutor her. Adonis doesn't agree or disagree. Autumn quits working at the library. Adonis sees Autumn at tutoring. Autumn apologizes to him. She kisses him. Adonis teachers Autumn's class. Adonis sees Patricia cheating in math class. Adonis and Autumn kiss. Autumn confronts Patricia about the cheating. Autumn makes cupcakes for finals. She does a practice test in English and does better than before. She tells Adonis who kisses her and says I love you.
And that's what happened this week.
Personal Ads:
Adonis.
Smart. No legs. Fourteen years old. Ninth grade. Judgmental. Tutor. Not many friends. Reclusive. Team manager for wrestling.
Autumn.
Female wrestler. Fourteen. Cooks. Kind. Smiles a lot. Cheerful. Happy. Not very good at reading or math.
Opinions:
I really wasn't impressed by this book. I was reluctant to read it to begin with. I have to read it for my book trivia. But this wasn't very good...
The girl in a sport where mostly guys participate in is great. Go girls!
Now...onto my rant. I am all for feminism. I like that Autumn was good at it too. Not a pity case or anything. She tried her best to be in the sport. Except for school. She kinda...gave up in that area. I admire her strength in ignoring the males' taunts. I definitely wouldn't challenge her to a fight. Girl power.
The grammar. Oh my goodness. The word 'is' is dropped so many times.
There seems to be plot, but nothing really happens. I know that people do talk like it...but as a person who can't stand text language, this drove me crazy. I wanted to grab the characters by their lapels and shout at them to get their grammar together. I might not have perfect grammar, but I don't drop words. I smash them together. Or whatnot. But still! This drove me absolutely crazy.
The ending is confusing too. Did time pass? When did they end up together? How much time passed? It's rushed. And leaves me questions. When did she agree to all this tutoring? Man. That's crazy. None of the ending had much depth. It made not a lot of sense.
And the romance. Seriously. When does that come in? I thought Adonis hated Autumn. I don't see where that came from. Adonis hated Autumn. He mentioned that many times. Did he harbor an awkward crush? Hm. That was never mentioned. And he was adamant about his hate. And Autumn. Why do the girls put in so much work into the relationship when the guy doesn't? I don't get that. Poor Autumn was lost in her mind, thinking Adonis liked her. Poor girl... How did she win him over? It's never mentioned...
The characters aren't very good. They annoyed me. Adonis was whiny. A complainer. He complained about everything. And was negative. Not that I'm an optimist. I'm a pessimist myself. But I prefer reading about more optimistic characters. I know that not everyone is an optimist. (I'm a prime example after all.) But he was really negative. And why did he hate Autumn? Did Autumn do anything but like you? Do you have a problem with people liking you? Is that saying something? I'm confused by his character. He seems to dump the 'I hate Autumn' part and become Autumn's...boyfriend? What? When did that happen? How could he change so quickly? We didn't get any insight. And Autumn. Her grammar drove me nuts. But she was pretty kind. I didn't like that she completely gave up when she lost wrestling. You got to get back on the horse, as they say. Keep going. Don't let that stop you! She seems like a good character. In any other book...
Overall, I wasn't very impressed. It could have been better.
Weather:
Cloudy with a 75% chance of rain
2/5
danacoledares's review against another edition
4.0
Docking a star because the lack of consent wasn't narratively framed as wrong. We DO see that the person starts making better choices, but it's somewhat coincidental.
I loved the voices; I loved the flaws and complexity in the characters. They seemed thoroughly believable as awkward, imperfect human beings.
A little heavy-handed, but I liked that it didn't wrap things up TOO neatly.
I loved the voices; I loved the flaws and complexity in the characters. They seemed thoroughly believable as awkward, imperfect human beings.
A little heavy-handed, but I liked that it didn't wrap things up TOO neatly.