My Ramblings on Leverage by Joshua C. Cohen

Leverage
By: Joshua C. Cohen
Release Date: February 17, 2011
Author Website

Summary:

The football field is a battlefield

There's an extraordinary price for victory at Oregrove High. It is paid on - and off - the football field. And it claims its victims without mercy - including the most innocent bystanders.

When a violent, steroid-infused, ever-escalating prank war has devastating consequences, an unlikely friendship between a talented but emotionally damaged fullback and a promising gymnast might hold the key to a school's salvation.

Told in alternating voices and with unapologetic truth, Leverage illuminates the fierce loyalty, flawed justice, and hard-won optimism of two young athletes.

My Ramblings:

I finished this book a few weeks ago and instead of reviewing it right away I wanted to sit on it, to think about it, and to really take the time to process it. I have a lot to say, but, to be honest I'm unsure how to say it, or even if I want to. Here's why: part of what this book have such an impact is that you are experiencing right along with the characters both the good and the bad in this world. I'm afraid that if I go too in depth, if I give too much away that I will also take away the impact of the story and that would be unfair. I know, I know, this book is 2 years old. why worry about spoilers at all? Well, because in this case I think it really could ruin the book for you. So I'm going to keep it broad. 

This book centers on two high school boys, Kurt a football player with demons lurking in his past and Danny, a gymnast who is faced with a world that at best doesn't respect him and at worst wants to hurt him. Laced into the story is violence, steroid abuse, corruption, bullying, people who do nothing when evil rears it's head and those that take a stand against it. When one of Danny's team mates is raped, Danny has to decide what to do next. Watching Danny struggle with this decision is heart breaking and terrifying. you want to say that these things don't really happen, that the author is exaggerating or ramping up the situation to create drama or tension. He's not though. As disgusting as some of the actions portrayed in the story are and as much as they make you want to close the book and find lighter fare, you know that somewhere this is actually happening to someone and it's heartbreaking. Think of Stuebenville (to reference a more recent case). Think of how children are abused by adults, think of how they abuse each other, and think about how, sometimes the bad guys get away with it. This book goes through all of that and allows you a glimpse into the minds of those who are stuck in the middle of the cycle and want desperately to get out. 

This is a great book. It wraps up just a little to neatly for me, but I imagine that after the last page turns, the ones who deserve it will get what's coming to them and those that were harmed will know that even though evil wins some of the smaller battles, eventually the right side wins out.

My Ramblings on The Cool Impossible by Eric Orton

The Cool Impossible By: Eric Orton
Release Date: May 7, 2013
Author WebsiteBook Provided By: NAL Hardcover

Summary:
The truth is: Athleticism is awareness. That simple phrase is at the core of The Cool Impossible. Athleticism requires awareness of form and technique, awareness of our effort level, and, most important, awareness of what we think (and don’t think). And with that awareness comes the possibility of endless potential and improvement, progress and mastery—and, ultimately, achievement that you never before would have thought possible.   With a program focused on proper running form, strength development, and cardiovascular training, Orton will help first-step beginners, prime-time competitors, and enduring veterans reach the cool impossible”—the belief that any achievement, athletic or otherwise, is within our reach.

Inside you’ll find:  
* Foot strength exercises to catapult performance, combat injuries, and transform technique
* A total-body strength program aimed at creating an athletic running body
* Step-by-step run-form coaching for performance enhancement and lifelong healthy running
* A run-training program providing the building blocks for endurance, strength, and speed
* No-nonsense nutrition strategies for performance, health, and the ultimate running body
* Visualization and mind-training tactics to run and live the Cool Impossible
*And much more…  

Natural running is about so much more than barefoot running. It’s about the joy of running that we were all naturally born with and can reawaken. Like a favorite running companion, The Cool Impossible will be there with you, stride for stride and mile for mile, helping you go farther than you ever could have on your own. (goodreads.com)

My Ramblings:

*This isn't a real review. Well, it is. It's just not all here. Check out the teaser below and then head over to From the Page from the Princess to see the whole review* 

Words. Seriously. So many words. In some ways this was an easy book to review, in others it was very, very difficult. Why? Because I was all in from the first page. Frankly, I was all in before I even opened it up. Back in January I reviewed Born to Run by Chris McDougall and I was hooked. I had already started to look into minimalist running and was starting to transition over to Vibrams, so that book reinforced what I was already thinking. I was also already working on Good Form Running, which I'm now imparting to the No Boundries runners at Fleet Feet as a coach in their 5k program. This book takes it one step further. The author, Eric Orton, is the man who coached McDougall to his first Copper Canyon Ultra-Marathon and in this book he imparts his wisdom and techniques for getting you, the reader, the same type of results. 

If you'd like to check out all of my thoughts on The Cool Impossible, head over to From the Page to the Princess!

My Ramblings on The Fourth Stall III by Chris Rylander

The Fourth Stall 
By: Chris Rylander
Release Date: Feb. 5, 2013
Author Website
Book Provided By: Walden Pond Press

Summary:

The saga of Mac, Vince, and middle school organized crime comes to a thrilling conclusion in THE FOURTH STALL PART III. Their business is finished, and Mac’s and Vince’s lives have become something they have never been before: simple. None of the fortune or the glory and none of the risk or threat of juvenile prison. There’s even a new business that has stepped in to take their place (and take the heat off Mac and Vince for once). Things couldn’t be better.

But that was before things at their middle school started to go haywire. Before they found out that there’s a new crime boss at school in the town over trying to consolidate power. And before their old nemesis, Staples, came back to town begging for help after his stint in the clink. Just when Mac and Vince thought they were out, the business pulls them back in. But this time, will they be able to escape with their lives and permanent records intact? (from goodreads)

My Ramblings:

First let me say that I currently am having a book three problem. It feels like all my favorite trilogies are all coming to a close at the same time. It's draining. I want to know how they end, but I'm not ready for them to be over! So like a bad blogger I've been avoiding them (it's a coping mechanism, okay?!) All these book threes are stacked up in a nice neat pile, just waiting for me to get up the nerve to open them up. The Fourth Stall sat there for a little while, and of course, when I finally grabbed it and opened that first page, I was sucked right in.  

Second. I missed these characters. Like really missed them! With everything else I read it's sometimes hard to remember how fun and easy reading can be. This book, this whole series is just fun to read. I read it and I nod along and giggle and wink back when the story winks- I love that Rylander has his characters acknowledge the Godfather connections, the silliness that is Scarface and the undying love that fans have for the Cubs. 

*** Note- There will be spoilers below. If you haven't read this book yet. Stop reading now. Just know that this is a series you need to go get ***