Pool Boy

Rating:
Summary: Pool Boy bellyflops
Review: After reading several fairly positive reviews, I was disappointed.
Brett, the pool boy of the title, is a spoiled rich kid whose father is arrested for insider trading and sentenced to 3 years in jail. Brett, his mother, and his younger sister then go to live in great aunt Mary's older house on the wrong side of the tracks, and Brett starts working after school. He loses his first job mostly due to poor attitude, but is immediately offered another by Alfie, a slightly eccentric retired school bus driver, who hires Brett as an assistant cleaning pools in the rich neighborhood where he grew up. The plot continues in small repetitive cycles of pool cleaning, lunchtime with Alfie, arguments with mom, and confrontations with dad in jail, until it all comes to an all too predictable end.
Brett's character is as obnoxious as he was spoiled. Unfortunately, the entire story is told from his perspective, in his voice. He doesn't make enough emotional progress throughout the story to make it worth the listener's time spent on his constant whining. He also has a tendency to repeat the same idea in 3 consecutive sentences using slightly different phrasing. On the bright side, this could be helpful for people practicing English. The one benefit to the audio version is the performance given by Chad Lowe as the narrator. He perfectly captures the tone of voice and phrasing for Brett's dialogue.

Rating:
Summary: This one was a pleasant surprise!
Review: After living the good life for almost his entire life, Brett is getting a taste of how the other half lives. His stockbroker father has just been arrested, convicted, and sentenced for three and a half years for insider trading, and Brett and his mom and sister have to move on the other side of the tracks (literally) and live with their crazy aunt.

Brett is finding it difficult to adjust to having no money while all his friends continue to attend tennis lessons and get new cars for their birthdays. But, worst of all, Brett seriously hates his father for what he has put them through, and has decided that he will not forgive.

Because it's summer and because he needs the money, Brett starts working with seventy-two year old pool cleaner Alfie, a somewhat eccentric but wise old man who seems to be the only one that Brett can talk to. Arrogant, pompous, and insensitive, Brett turns his family's ordeal into an even worst experience by constantly antagonizing his father during their bi-monthly prison visits. When tragedy strikes, Brett has the opportunity to see the real value of his relationships with his family and friends.

Brett is hardly a likeable kid, but somehow the author pulls off the magic trick of making Brett seem reasonable in his anger toward his father. The dialogue is an excellent example of narrative style, since the reader can picture Brett and only Brett speaking those lines. The teen love depiction is dead-on, especially as it comes from the voice of a spoiled teenage boy who has not learned to appreciate anything he has been given in life. This book is sure to spark some serious discussions about the "have's" and "have not's" of the world, and it can be expected that readers will want to know early on what is going to happen to give Brett the epiphany that he so obviously needs. For some reason, we want happiness for him; perhaps that is the sign of excellent writing, causing the readers to want good things for a less-than-gracious protagonist.

Rating:
Summary: This one was a pleasant surprise!
Review: After living the good life for almost his entire life, Brett is getting a taste of how the other half lives. His stockbroker father has just been arrested, convicted, and sentenced for three and a half years for insider trading, and Brett and his mom and sister have to move on the other side of the tracks (literally) and live with their crazy aunt.

Brett is finding it difficult to adjust to having no money while all his friends continue to attend tennis lessons and get new cars for their birthdays. But, worst of all, Brett seriously hates his father for what he has put them through, and has decided that he will not forgive.

Because it's summer and because he needs the money, Brett starts working with seventy-two year old pool cleaner Alfie, a somewhat eccentric but wise old man who seems to be the only one that Brett can talk to. Arrogant, pompous, and insensitive, Brett turns his family's ordeal into an even worst experience by constantly antagonizing his father during their bi-monthly prison visits. When tragedy strikes, Brett has the opportunity to see the real value of his relationships with his family and friends.

Brett is hardly a likeable kid, but somehow the author pulls off the magic trick of making Brett seem reasonable in his anger toward his father. The dialogue is an excellent example of narrative style, since the reader can picture Brett and only Brett speaking those lines. The teen love depiction is dead-on, especially as it comes from the voice of a spoiled teenage boy who has not learned to appreciate anything he has been given in life. This book is sure to spark some serious discussions about the "have's" and "have not's" of the world, and it can be expected that readers will want to know early on what is going to happen to give Brett the epiphany that he so obviously needs. For some reason, we want happiness for him; perhaps that is the sign of excellent writing, causing the readers to want good things for a less-than-gracious protagonist.

Rating:
Summary: Not the typical, i guess...
Review: FINALLY, there's fairly decent book about an unlucky kid. It's not a girl who finds out she's a princess, not a high school boy who's crush happends to fall in love with him, not a poor family that suddenly wins the lottery. It's about a spoiled rich kid who gets a taste of what life is like when money doesn't grow on trees.
It was a great book, I thought that Alfie was a little "much" at times, not a likely person to meet. But, I did like the feeling the book gave after you were done with it that made you glad you had "something."

Rating:
Summary: Totally Hilarious...But Touching, Too
Review: I loved loved loved Pool Boy's snarky main character, Brett -- he's sharp and he's snide and despite his spoiled-brattiness I found him impossible to hate. That's probably because he's got a soft side (though he'd never admit it!), like when he calls his sister "the most kind and decent person there is." And also because we've all had selfish thoughts, it's just that HE's bold enough to share them. Shameless? Maybe. Hilarious to read? YES. Brett's journey from super-rich kid to burger flipper to pool cleaner to sensitive hero is very funny, and also truly touched me in the end (THAT was a surprise). All of Simmon's characters -- from the wise, 70-year-old pool cleaner to Brett's richie-rich friends -- completely come to life in Pool Boy's pages. I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't love this book.

Rating:
Summary: --The awakening of Brett Gerson--
Review: In this refreshing and original novel, Michael Simmons takes us into the world of a boy on the verge of his sixteenth birthday, and who had been living a very privileged existence. Brett Gerson had it all, good looks, personality, spending money, expensive stereo equipment and a luxurious home with a pool. The beautiful life ended when Brett's father was convicted of insider trading and was sent to jail.

Brett, his mother and sister all had to make a drastic change to their life styles. The house had to be sold, and the family moved in with their mother's eccentric aunt, who lived in a very modest home, but on the wrong side of town. To make matters even worse, Aunt Mary wore only floral muumuus and bedroom slippers. Her dress style, affectionate nature and "homespun wisdom" seemed strange to Brett and he was somewhat embarrassed by her.

He especially hated the visits that his mother insisted that they make to see his father in prison. Mr. Gerson who seemed penitent and somewhat broken in spirit was hopeful that his son would forgive him; however, Brett was so filled with bitterness that the only comments that he made to his dad were sarcastic and hateful.

He blamed his father for everything including the fact that he now had to work after school and on summer vacation which was something that was unheard of in the world where he used to live. After quitting his first job making burgers, he's takes a job working for Alfie Moore the elderly man who used to clean the pool at his former house. Britt thinks the job might be a lark and approaches the work in his old self-centered way, but both Alfie and the pool cleaning business are more than he ever imagined. Brett eventually learns the value and pride that comes with hard work and how it feels to be a nameless "Pool Boy."

This engaging story is told in today's jargon and in the first person. Brett, the protagonist is a spoiled rich kid and not always a very sympathetic subject. The author does a great job of getting us into Brett's mind and the reader is allowed to watch him grow as a person and become a likeable guy. I also admired the characterization of Alfie Moore who added warmth to the story through his solid and caring personality.

Rating:
Summary: Pool Boy Review
Review: This book is very well written. It grabbed my attention in the first page. Many people can relate to how Brett is feeling and there are many parts where I don't know what's going to happen next, or something happens that makes me feel how lucky I am. Also, there are very many emotions in the book that I can relate to.