Wrestling Sturbridge

Rating:
Summary: Neat coming-of-age story
Review: "Wrestling Sturbridge" is an abbreviated "Catcher in the Rye"-style novel charting the teenage angst of a high-school wrestler as he considers whether or not to leave his small-town existence behind.

There is humor and some neat inversion of stereotypes as coaches prove far from respectable and fathers indulge in male bonding with their sons over a spot of burglary. I particularly liked the far-from-lovable grandmother as she picks at a newly-roast chicken to the revulsion of her offspring.

Less pleasing is the almost complete eradication of female characters who aren't love interests for the hero. Mothers figure large in most young people's lives - the most mention Ben's mom gets is that she "hasn't returned from work yet".

This book is aimed at young (male) reluctant readers but there is enough realism and irony here to cross over to a wider adult audience and enough story-telling ability exhibited by the author to make you wish he had fleshed "Wrestling Sturbridge" out to a full-blown novel.



Rating:
Summary: Average look at Americana--at its best
Review: "Wrestling Sturbridge" is excellent at exhibiting the cliched, revealing, yet meaningful take on a small town, from the perspective of Ben, the protagonist. What I liked about "Sturbridge" was the writing by first-timer Rich Wallace. His writing brings the charcters to life with his language, his scenery, his words. I highly recommend this novel for teens.

Rating:
Summary: Nice wrestling book
Review: A good story about a boy who decides to challenge his own best friend in order to achieve some of his personal goals. I liked it, but my personal favorite book about high school wrestling, more realistic about the sport and with higher stakes for the hero, is "Takedown."

Rating:
Summary: Being the Best
Review: A Review by Daniel

The main characters you will read about are Ben and Al. Ben and Al have been rivalries in the sport of wrestling. Both of them were a natural 135 pounds in weight. Ben is now a senior and knows that this is the year he is going to go all of the way to the state championship. But what does Ben have to do to achieve this goal? Will he actually beat the number one contender in high school wrestling? Everyone in the small town of Sturbridge thinks that Ben has a slim chance with Al. The only person thinks he is going to win is himself.

This book is actually one of the best books I have ever read. It was full of action and it always kept me on my toes. For an example, the author made it seem like you were actually watching the intense action of the crowd when a Sturbridge wrestler pinned a guy. Another thing I liked about the book is that it was very easy to follow. It wasn't a confusing book at all. You can always tell when Ben is either talking to his friends or just to himself. If you are a wrestler, you can kind of relate to the book because being out there on the mats is very intense and also can be devastating when you lose. It also talks about how many points takedowns are and all of the other rules of wrestling. One thing I didn't like about the book was the ending. Maybe to some people they might like the ending, but I kind of wanted to know what happened after Ben was done with high school. It just left me hanging there at the end.

I would definitely recommend this book to young adults. This book is very energetic, exciting, and suspenseful. The only reason why I wouldn't want you to read this book is because it has some language that some parents might not be to fond of it. In the other hand, if you do get the chance to read it, I would highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: A book for anyone who has ever felt second best.
Review: As a former wrestler, and current Head Wrestling Coach at a high school, I highly reccommend this book to anyone involved in the sport. Through the mind of Ben, it is easy to understand, or in my case, remember, the thoughts and feelings of a teenage athlete. I often refer to this book to modify my own coaching. I use the emotional struggles that Ben had to better identify with my athletes. Although this book is about wrestling, I feel that it would be excellent for all students, teachers, and parents. Rich Wallace does a great job of portraying small town life and making you think about your own decisions in life, past and future.. Basketball has "Hoosiers". Everyone else has "Wrestling Sturbridge".

Rating:
Summary: Nice wrestling book
Review: Ben, a high school senior and varsity wrestler is starting to realize that his future is pretty bleak. His hometown of Sturbridge, PA is small and dismal and known only for it's Wrestling team and the cinder block factory. So in his last season of wrestling, ben shakes off the fear and challenges the status quo. He chooses not to continue as the training partner of his best friend, Al(the wrestling teams best hope for a state title: instead Ben makes a bit for the title. Robert Cormier writes of the novel: "Ben wrestles no only his high school opponents but with the big issues of life and love and the choices a teenager must make." You won't be able to stop turning pages of this one.

Also try _Shots on Goal_ by the same author

Rating:
Summary: a well balanced book on wrestling and growing up.
Review: Ben, a high school senior and varsity wrestler is starting to realize that his future is pretty bleak. His hometown of Sturbridge, PA is small and dismal and known only for it's Wrestling team and the cinder block factory. So in his last season of wrestling, ben shakes off the fear and challenges the status quo. He chooses not to continue as the training partner of his best friend, Al(the wrestling teams best hope for a state title: instead Ben makes a bit for the title. Robert Cormier writes of the novel: "Ben wrestles no only his high school opponents but with the big issues of life and love and the choices a teenager must make." You won't be able to stop turning pages of this one.

Also try _Shots on Goal_ by the same author

Rating:
Summary: Nice wrestling book
Review: I found this book to be a good one for high school kids in sports. It's a bit simple, but shows in a few chapters the life of a srong-willed young boy in search of victory on the mat. I like how it doesn't falsify the heroism in sport, but showcases a realistic approach. For a more literary and harrowingly truthful novel about wrestling, though, I much preferred PINS by Jim Provenzano. It delves further into the trials of weight-cutting, homophobia in sports and larger issues facing kids.

Rating:
Summary: Good Book!
Review: I like this book because it delt with wrestling. I like wrestling as a sport. It's alot of fun.

This book was about a boy in high school that was a wrestler. He had to stay in the same weight because the weights that were above and below him were taken with people that were better wrestlers. They went to state and won did preaty well against other teams. If you like wrestling, you will like this book.

Rating:
Summary: Read this book!
Review: I really like this book. I am a wrestler. This book is about wrestling so if you enjoy wrestling you will like this book. It's not all about wrestling either. There's a girl in the book who Ben, the main character, likes and he tries to make her like him. Ben is a senior at Sturbridge. Him and his three best friends are in wrestling and have been friends since the sixth grade when they met at a wrestling camp. His friends are Didget Al and Hatcher. They call him Didget because he is missing one. Didget wrestles 130. Al wrestles 135 along with Ben. Hatcher wrestles 140. Al is the best 135 pounder in the state but Ben is also a good wrestler but they are in the same weight class. They wrestle off every Wednesday to see who gets the position. Al always beat Ben just by a little though. Al gets suspended during districts because of a prank he pulled. Ben gets his spot and gets first at state. The following Wednesday Ben want to wrestle off Al to really see who is the best wrestler in the state.