Booklist Review (Starred): Bullet Point
“It’s common enough to call a book a page-turner, but here’s one that should’ve been printed on a scroll – those pesky page turns take far too much time. With an engulfing plot, multifaceted characters, and a plausibility rare to the genre, Abrahams’s latest beats you senseless and leaves you for dead. Great, huh? When a budget crunch squeezes out his school’s baseball program, 16-year-old Wyatt moves across the state to take advantage of another school’s team. It’s there that he meets Greer – a few years older, beautiful, and equipped with wildly fluctuating mood swings. The frequent arguments between the two are the book’s heart, skipping fluenty and believably between impatience, attraction, desperation, and hope. Like almost all the characters in the book, Greer’s good/bad status is perpetually in doubt, especially when her incarcerated dad helps arrange a meeting between Wyatt and his biological father, who also resides in the local prison. When Wyatt begins to suspect his father’s innocence, he gets curious – and in trouble. Gutsier and sexier than most YA novels dare, Abrahams’s thriller wrenches guts with a Richard Price-like facility. Readers will be as irretrievably drawn in as Wyatt.”
– Daniel Kraus
Tags: Bullet Point
This entry was posted on Thursday, April 15th, 2010 at 8:21 am and is filed under Chet The Dog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
4:09 am on April 15th, 2010
Wow!… I love the line, “Abrahams’s latest beats you senseless and leaves you for dead.”…. I need no more encouragement then that to read this book!….snort!
4:34 am on April 15th, 2010
PA – way to go. Nice recognition of your talent.
Rio – You nailed it and so did the reviewer. All PA's books have that impact on me. Your conversations with your team make me laugh and you guys are really smart. You sent me to dictionary.com yesterday. Do you think you need a name for your team? Guessing it would be hilarious to hear the discussions as y'all come up with a title. Keep us laughing, Bling Boy.
4:48 am on April 15th, 2010
BlueKat!… Thanks for the encouragement!… snort!… We do get a bit silly around here…snort!…Sometimes it’s a learning experience…. Heh!
April 15th!… Guess who is another year older today?… snort! snort!… Big party this Friday night!…grunt!… You are all invited!
5:49 am on April 15th, 2010
Hey Bling boy!!!
My birthday was yesterday!
Us Aries have to stick together. . .
Another Young Adult I need to get. Still waiting on the Echo Falls series. They should come in today.
Dan's got The Tutor. I'm waiting and waiting and waiting.
News is Dan's coming home tomorrow!
Zoë is hobbling around and when I get off the computer will be taking it over and watching Julie and Julia.
5:56 am on April 15th, 2010
Melanie!….Wow!… Happy Birthday a day later…snort!… ‘Julie and Julia’ is a very good movie!… wheeze!… We here loved Julia Child….grunt!…She had a very interesting life.
6:08 am on April 15th, 2010
Rio – Give your Mom some slurpy birthday kisses from me.
6:10 am on April 15th, 2010
Melanie – I hope the Newfs got you all kissed up for your birthday. Did all of you get cake?
7:23 am on April 15th, 2010
BlueKat: FABULOUS idea! A Name would be nice
PA: Congrats on a great review!! Mom will be sending it to my boys via Amazon.
(Whispered) Mom seems a tad concerned about the reference to 'sexier'. I don't think she has anything to worry about! My boys told me enough secrets to make me blush. Good thing they and their screaming hormones are in rehab!
Melanie: Happy birthday. Here is the important thing: did the newfies give you any presents! Wally, my striped buddy cat, gives mom presents all the time but mom doesn't like dead critters delivered to the doorstep. Me neither.
RIÖ: Happy birthday, Commando Bling! My birthday wish for you is a flock(?) gaggle(?) herd(?) of butterflies delivered to your door. (COD, natch). Chasing butterflies is good for the soul. And the waistline!
BStover: Help me out here. What is a group of butterflies called?
7:32 am on April 15th, 2010
Thanks!….for the birthday bling on my name Dubya!… heh!… One fact I do know about butterflies is… snort!… That many of them can taste with their feet… grunt!… This is so they can find out whether the leaf they sit on when laying their eggs will be tasty caterpillars' food or not…. Wheeze!
7:41 am on April 15th, 2010
The Pack kept me sane for my birthday!
Looked up group of butterflies. Someone on the net said it should be called . .
A flutter of butterflies.
I like that.
Landseer Newfoundlands are the white with black markings dogs. I've always thought that a group of Landseers should be called A Spot of Landseers.
Butterflies taste with their feet. Hmmm. I really have to wonder about the ones here then. They love to land on dog poop.
8:58 am on April 15th, 2010
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8:00 am on April 15th, 2010
Happy Birthday Rio!!! Hopefully, you will get to go off your diet for the occasion and have wings and beer. The Rockies had better win today since it is your birthday. It was a close game last night.
Pug rescue is having a party for pugs this weekend in the city. All pugs are invited, not just rescues. Some of the dogs are going to come in costume, but I know that you are like me and wouldn't be caught dead in a costume. I'd sure go for the treats if I were a pug.
Happy birthday a day late, Melanie!! I'm glad your dad is coming home tomorrow. That is a real good sign that he is recovering quickly.
8:03 am on April 15th, 2010
Rio, you are so smart! I didn't know that. If one landed on you, I wonder what flavor you would be?
Melanie, yes, that is one of our many gifts, keeping our humans grounded. A flutter of butterflies? I like that. How about a butter of flutterbyes? Hmmmmm….wonder where that came from.
I think you should add a "Spot of Landseers" to wikipedia and make it official!
8:06 am on April 15th, 2010
Paw Squad?
Chets' Jets?
The Book Worms?
Help me out, guys! We can do better than that!
Melanie?
8:12 am on April 15th, 2010
Holy Smokes! (pun intended) Did anyone see the photos of that volcano in Iceland?? Gazooks! What a mess.
8:18 am on April 15th, 2010
All Pug Party!…. Holy crap!… That would be fun!… gasp!… Oh I wish I could go but I’m sure I will be very tired after my party tomorrow night….wheeze!… And the Rockies are playing this afternoon…. Yeeee!… a friend gave us his MLB.com login so I can watch it on the computer….snort!snort!
8:21 am on April 15th, 2010
Congratulations PA.
Happy Birthday Melanie and Rio.
Wolfie: Science isn't my field, but I've asked one of my students majoring in science and he said a group of butterflies is called a flutter, as Melanie said. It seems to me that butterflies don't often flutter in groups, however. Their main purpose is reproduction isn't it?
8:24 am on April 15th, 2010
Chet's post today reminded me to go to Amazon and pre-order Bullet Point. Congratulations on another excellent review!!
This isn't going to happen, but I can only imagine what we'd do if PA or Spence got a lukewarm review of a book. We'd be all over them in a flash.
You will appreciate this Rio. Today, on my home page, there is a link to go to, "Ten ways to be less forgetful" Well, those are almost the exact words. I can't remember for sure.
8:31 am on April 15th, 2010
Rio? Do you happen to know how much it costs to watch the Rockies games on the computer? I could probably figure out the technology part of it, couldn't I? I watch the Iditarod start and finish live on the computer.
8:47 am on April 15th, 2010
Rockies!… My friend said he paid 20.00 for his account at mlb.com… snort!….its probably pretty straight forward to sign up…. Grunt!… Even a Husky can do it!
8:59 am on April 15th, 2010
Happy birthday to both Rio and (belatedly) to Melanie. Boy, Rio, being born on April 15 is really quite special, although you are lucky they didn't name you "Refund" — with or without the umlaut. Also, have you been able to decrypt the recon report yet. Best regards on this special day. Wöokie
9:28 am on April 15th, 2010
Thanks Rio. That's a good price. Direct tv wants a fortune for their MLB package.
9:43 am on April 15th, 2010
Hey look!… Wookie has bling on too!… heh!… I’m just happy they didn’t name me “Return”….. snort!… No!… I have not been able to find my decoder ring to decrypt the recon report…. dammit!… But I’m not in the mood to work today anyway… gruff!
10:17 am on April 15th, 2010
Siber-H!… Are you all hooked up on mlb.com?… snort!
10:27 am on April 15th, 2010
Happy, Happy B-Days to Melanie and Rio. How old are you, Rio? Mom says it's not polite to ask ladies their age, so I will skip Melanie on that one. I am not ashamed of my age tho–I will be a rockin 1 year old on May 7th coming up. I am just a puppster! Mom is reading Behind the Curtain, 2nd in the Echo Falls series. That Ingrid is almost as cool as Chet. About as cool as you can be with just 2 legs, small teeth, and a nose that is just about useless if you ask me. Wags from Mags
10:59 am on April 15th, 2010
MagPie! Your birthday is the same as my girls'. But she's going to be 17 and drives me around in the car. I have a special seat so I can see out the window.
11:02 am on April 15th, 2010
MagPie!… I am old enough to know better and young enough not to care!… snort!
11:30 am on April 15th, 2010
Baseball Fact! … Jackie Robinson became the first black major league baseball player on April 15, 1947…. Snort!
12:46 pm on April 15th, 2010
Poop!… I bet they don’t lay their eggs on it though!… heh!… You will have to research that for us Melanie!… heh!
12:08 pm on April 15th, 2010
No, Rio, I had to leave the house for awhile. I'll do it soon. umm This game is not going so good. It's the Mets for crying out loud, and it is Rio's birthday. The Rockies can do better than this.
12:13 pm on April 15th, 2010
Crap!… The Rocks are having an off day… rats!… They should be beating these guys!…snort!… The Rays are pulling ahead in the standings… grump!… Spence picked the Rays vs Rockies in the World Series.
12:26 pm on April 15th, 2010
I pick the Rays over the Rockies in the World Series also…who are the Rays?
12:36 pm on April 15th, 2010
Hmmm. I thought I put something up that was funny.
Not there though. I think I forgot to hit submit or it's being monitored.
Wish I could remember what it was. . .
Thanks for belated BD wishes!
12:37 pm on April 15th, 2010
Stover!… You break my heart!…snort!
12:42 pm on April 15th, 2010
Rio: I didn't want to break your heart; I wanted to irritate you. You didn't tell me who the Rays are…….I should know who I'm cheering for (not that I'll ever watch).
12:43 pm on April 15th, 2010
Tampa Bay Rays
12:46 pm on April 15th, 2010
Oh No Melanie is catching my "I can't remember disease"
12:51 pm on April 15th, 2010
Well!…Stover does like Florida!… snort!
1:00 pm on April 15th, 2010
Rio, Whatever that age is, it sounds like a good place to be. Mom says I am too young to know better about anything. I think that was said after either a chicken chasing or favorite clog chewing episode. Details are a little foggy right now. Has anyone else read the Echo Falls books? I think I read that there would be more in series. Mom loves Ingrid.
1:10 pm on April 15th, 2010
Thanks SH. I suppose that is logical: Rays/Tampa Bay, Florida.
I prefer Michigan to Florida…environment not sports teams.
1:15 pm on April 15th, 2010
B&M: I read Down the Rabbit Hole and am currently reading Behind the Curtain. I like Ingrid also.
1:26 pm on April 15th, 2010
I have just started Down the Rabbit Hole. I really mean "I've just started . ."
I'm on page 9.
I hope to get to page 11, before my eyes shut. The Pack is SNORING away. They had a big day today. Had to help the guy fixing the downstairs bathroom. Interesting smells. Turns out that if the plumbing hadn't reached the ground under the bathroom the toilet would have fallen through the floor.
Nothing like living in an almost 200 year old house!
Luckily this guy likes the Pack.
1:51 pm on April 15th, 2010
Hey Everybody! Tonight starts the hockey playoffs! Buffalo Sabres vs. Boston Bruins.
4:56 pm on April 15th, 2010
Why?… pick a baseball team if you don’t really give a crap?… snort!… never understood that mentality… grunt!…well, Fringe is on here any minute!… heh.
Hmmm… I think the hockey play-offs have started already without Molly!…heh!…The Avalanche won their first game against the San Jose Sharks last night!… snort!… and the Aves are a young team again….grunt!
Oh!… I am so full!… groan!… had BBQ steaks over at my friends parents house tonight!.. ohhhhh!
5:02 pm on April 15th, 2010
Rio: As I said, I was only trying to irritate you. I just finished watching Fringe. It was really good.
5:15 pm on April 15th, 2010
Heh!… Stover!… let me tell you something about baseball voodoo!… snort!… It has no power over the opposing team if the person who is rooting for the other team does not seriously believe with all their heart in their team…grunt!… You picking a random team, does not irritate me in the least! …snicker!
Fringe!… has started out great again!… snort!… here we go!
5:58 pm on April 15th, 2010
Give me a break! Buffalo Sabres beat those Bruins.
6:25 pm on April 15th, 2010
Go Sabres!…snort!…wouldn't it be funny if… well!.. that will probably never happen!..wheeze!
Goodnight all!… Thanks for all of the birthday wishes. You guys are the best!
7:37 pm on April 15th, 2010
Ohhhhhh,
I just finished catching up with all the comments for today.
I came home from work (THANK GOODNESS! it is Rio's Birthday) and fell into bed. My dear husband woke me up at 10:45 when he went to bed and now I am up and might stay up until (Yippee-Skippee) Zippy gets here. Her plane is due in here at 11:55 and NO ONE is going to the airport to retrieve her. We are all normally not middle of the night people. But here I sit. Wide awake now and feeling a little bad about not going to get her.
Not bad enough to go, you understand, just bad enough to feel a little guilty.
~~Staff
7:38 pm on April 15th, 2010
Rio, when you get up in the Morning I hope you read that the Twins won 8 to zip today. I guess our teams won't meet, head to head, until the Series!
🙂
Alice Johnson
8:24 pm on April 15th, 2010
Whoo Hooo Zippy is here! Now we can go back to bed. Turns out our nice brother went to the airport and picked her up. What a guy!
Nite all, See you in the A.M.
Abbie, Alice and the Staff