A review by arkenne90
Athletic Shorts: Six Short Stories by Chris Crutcher
3.0
The six short stories that Chris Crutcher includes in this book are all interwoven with sports and all have teenage male protagonists, but with very different problems and issues to work through. Crutcher writes with wit as we preview peeks into the lives of these teenagers. A few of the characters were interesting and would maybe worth reading one of his books that are dedicated to those specific characters.
Despite what the cover might have you think, the stories are not sports-centric. In most the stories, it is just mentioned or a sport is just part of who a character is and how they cope with a problem they are working through, which I think made their stories more believable and relatable. I can definitely see "jock" type high school boys enjoying these stories, but not necessarily reluctant readers who are into sports. I always feel like teachers and librarians try to accommodate sport-motivated boys rather than reading motivated with books about sports. This book is not for that sort of boy. The reading level is a little difficult for reluctant readers and some of the older references will go over their heads (some of them went over my head!).
Despite what the cover might have you think, the stories are not sports-centric. In most the stories, it is just mentioned or a sport is just part of who a character is and how they cope with a problem they are working through, which I think made their stories more believable and relatable. I can definitely see "jock" type high school boys enjoying these stories, but not necessarily reluctant readers who are into sports. I always feel like teachers and librarians try to accommodate sport-motivated boys rather than reading motivated with books about sports. This book is not for that sort of boy. The reading level is a little difficult for reluctant readers and some of the older references will go over their heads (some of them went over my head!).