Leverage

Great Read

I'm Kira Davis, future ruler of this here universe and I support this message. Leverage was a thrill to read, it was by no means expected and I loved every second of t! Give it a shot, i promise you won't regret it.

the execution is not ideal with gaping plot holes, unanswered questions

Danny knows he's small. He knows in terms of the pecking order at his school he falls near the very bottom (but above the Cross Country Runners at least). Doesn't matter. He has a plan. Sure everyone makes fun of the boy's gymnastics team--especially the varsity football players. They can laugh all they want when it gets him a full scholarship to a college of his choice. Danny is going places. All he has to do is keep his head down and stay out of the way of the football giants until he graduates. Easy.

Kurt Brodsky doesn't care about high school politics. When you're as big as Kurt is, you don't have to. Classes, friends, sports. Doesn't matter. As long as he can lift weights to stay strong and try to keep his past buried, it's fine. No one is going to hurt him ever again. If part of that means joining the Oregrove High football team, fine.

Except nothing about the football team is simple. Not when the players keep taking questionable "supplements." Not when the players can stomp anyone who looks at them funny in the halls. Not when the rivalry and tension between the football and gymnastics teams escalates to something violent and ugly.

Danny and Kurt should have never started to talk. They sure as hell shouldn't have liked each other. But they did. That happened. If they can find the courage to work together maybe they can make this violent, ugly thing better. They can't fix it or change it. But maybe they can make some things right in Leverage (2011) by Joshua C. Cohen.

Leverage is the first novel by Cohen who, before writing, parlayed his own high school gymnastics training into a professional career. Leverage was also a finalist for the 2011 Cybils in Young Adult Fiction which is how I came to read it.

Told in chapters alternating between Danny and Kurt's narrations, Leverage is a book with great characters and strong writing. Cohen captures two authentic, distinct voices with Kurt and Danny while shedding light on what being a high school football player or gymnast really feels like.* I just wish the book had a different plot.

This is a gritty, brutal, painful story about a school being torn apart by something that is supposed to bring people together: team sports. While Cohen provides an unblinking look at some harsh realities, the execution is not ideal with gaping plot holes, unanswered questions, and an ending that pushes the limits of believability on almost every level.**

Leverage is a strange, tense read. Although it is filled with authentic details, the story has erratic pacing and ultimately lacks any real sense of resolution even after drawing readers in and making them care so much about these characters for the entire 425 (hardcover) pages.

The book will no doubt appeal to sports fans and athletes as well as anyone looking for a book that doesn't flinch from the harsher side of reality. It will not work as well for readers who like every question raised in a story to also be answered.

*I read this book a month ago and the idea of a school gymnastics team still blows my mind. It never occurred to me that such a thing could exist. (I went to a really small, non-sporty school.)

**Not to mention being largely predictable. If you've finished the book you'll probably see what I mean.

Possible Pairings: Everybody Sees the Ants by A. S. King, Legend by Marie Lu, Boy Toy by Barry Lyga, Fury by Elizabeth Miles, Mostly Good Girls by Leila Sales, Between by Jessica Warman

Good sports story

Joshua C. Cohen pairs two unlikely protagonists in his powerful, new novel LEVERAGE. He takes aim at bullying without softening the edges of this very real problem plaguing schools across the country.

Kurt is adjusting to yet another foster care situation. In the system for years, he has suffered some of its worst nightmares. He's a huge kid with an attention grabbing scar on half his face, and if that's not enough to attract the bullies, he stutters. Fortunately, his size and strength have earned him the attention of the football coach and maybe a way to attract some positive attention for the first time in his young life.

Danny spends much of his time alone because his mother is dead and his father is a busy doctor. His physical strength comes as a surprise and isn't noticed by most until he demonstrates it doing amazing tricks on the high bar as a gymnast. As powerful as he is on the bar, he is almost helpless when it comes to dodging his tormentors in the high school hallways and locker rooms. His best defense is to avoid the bullies whenever possible.

As a result of their unlikely friendship, Danny and K¿urt are in the wrong place at the wrong time and witness a brutal attack on one of Danny's teammates. The bullies involved are confident that their power and popularity allow them the freedom to mistreat anyone without suffering the consequences. Like most bullies, much of their power comes from the fear their victims have of seeking help.

LEVERAGE portrays the efforts of two teens to overcome their fears to find justice for a friend. This is not an easy book to read, and I found myself needing to put it aside to digest some of the most disturbing scenes. What brought me back each time was knowing that as disturbing as these moments seem, I know they reflect the truth of events suffered by real victims every day. LEVERAGE will encourage readers to never fall into the role of passive bystander if they should witness the acts of bullies.

intersting

This book shows how keeping a serect can go a long way and how violence can lead to terrifing results

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.