Rating: 
Summary: Teen Jock Drama
Review: Wow. A funny, dramatic, sweet first book. I thought this would focus on wrestling and boy, did it! Covering almost a whole season of a team torn apart by a hate crime, this book is like the occasional headline that happens. One such event in Connecticut in February. This shows how important books like this are, to prove that gay kids deserve fair treatment in schools, and if schools don't provide it, they should sue. Well-written modern version of a Catholic saint.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome!
Review: Wow. You know those stories that you wished never ended? Well, this is right up there at the top for me. I loved every page.You don't know how many times I had tears in my eyes as I savored, slowly, every paragraph, sometimes sentences; even reading them aloud, so I could get the full impact, the full effect. I was there, in the story, the whole way through. This novel totally appealed to my kinesthetic sense. I loved Joey/Joseph/Joe's warm Italian family. I could feel Dino's love for him. I could feel every pin that Joey made and was held in. I felt his angst, his sadness, his desire. I felt his despair, his anger, his fatigue. I felt him hurl when Anthony was killed. I felt the happy pills. I was enthralled from start to finish. Since I was so completely taken with Mr. Provenzano's writing, my copy was continually highlighted in red pen as I read. Here's just a taste of this guy's brilliant writing style: "Dit. Dit. Dit. The sound of his tears christening the shoes." "He couldn't refuse the link, the fragile bond from one generation to the next, the lost pieces, the lost men." "He wondered how long before those particles of Dink he'd licked would become part of him. Would he taste more like Dink?" "He hadn't scheduled this conversation, not today, not while he could still feel Dink's bites and chafes." "He ran from the school, left his gym bag in his locker. His arms felt naked without the bundle over a shoulder weighing him down, keeping him tied to the earth." "But." He waited for silence, a nod, permission to speak. Then he said, slowly, softly. "Please...don't...do this. Don't just make me disappear. I done that." I could go on and on, with the eloquence with which Jim crafted this tale. And I was so happy that Joe got Dink back. Simply awesome.
Rating:
Summary: Provenzano Nails it with Pins
Review: You don't need to be a wrestling fan or a jock to enjoy this really terrific book. The characters are great and the writing is superb. (The line that sets up the first kiss is pure poetry.) I wish there had been more of Joey and Dink because together they are so very likable. A wonderful story!
Rating:
Summary: Provenzano Nails it with Pins
Review: You don't need to be a wrestling fan or a jock to enjoy this really terrific book. The characters are great and the writing is superb. (The line that sets up the first kiss is pure poetry.) I wish there had been more of Joey and Dink because together they are so very likable. A wonderful story!
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