Tap Out - Book Review

Tap Out by Eric Devine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've been struggling with writing this review.  As a librarian I have one view of the book and as a reader I have another, and they don't match up and I don't know how I should review the book. I finally decided to just write this review as a reader, because when I think about the library in and our readers, I don't think this book would fit in with what our YA readers are interested in reading.

This book was full of things that shocked me, especially since I was reading a YA book.  The language was the first shock. There were just too many curse words for my tastes, I think the language could be toned down and still have the gritty feel that the author wanted to achieve.

The second shock was the story line involving Charity.  I know things like that do happen, but it was just not what I'm used to reading.  It was a bit disturbing, but it fit in with the story, again I think it could have been toned down and not so intense and still would have impacted the story appropriately.

The third shock was the end and Tony's reactions.  I just feel like a kid who shows so much emotion through out the rest of the story seemed a little stunted in his reactions.  The end of the story just felt like a let down.

Even with those three shocks I still really enjoyed reading this book even though it wasn't my normal genre to read.  I couldn't put it down, I had to keep reading to find out what Tony would have to face next, and how his decisions would impact his life and those of his mother and friends.

I think this story also focuses and how we live up to expectations.  When people have low expectations of us, we tend to only live up to those expectations and very rarely to people aim higher.  Tony is an example of this, because of where he lives people have preconceived ideas about him and where he will go in life.  There are a few people who know that he can do better and want to help him achieve those higher goals.  Tony seems to want to get out of the trailer park and make something of himself, but the odds aren't in his favor.

This story is different from others that deal with kids/people over coming these odds, there isn't a definite ending, I don't think we know for sure if Tony will be able to get out of the trailer park, but I sure hope he does.



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