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Summary: Over the Wall by John H. Ritter
Review: "Over the Wall" by John H. Ritter was one of the greatest books I have ever read. It is about a boy named Tyler who has many conflicts with his family and his baseball team that he plays for. He has a mom and dad that he lives with in California, but the book takes place in New York where he visits his cousin Louie. He joins a baseball team there. Tyler has a very short temper which gets him in trouble quite a lot. At the end of the book he cleans up and tries out for the league All-Stars. Will he make them? Read the book to find out.
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Summary: The Power of CHOOSING UP SIDES and OVER THE WALL
Review: As a middle school educator and language arts chairperson in San Diego, CA, I've had the pleasure of using both of John H. Ritter's novels as powerful reads that definitely affect adolescents (and adults) in positive ways. The protagonists in CHOOSING UP SIDES and OVER THE WALL are well-developed characters, each facing their own struggles as they approach the next stages of emotional and social growth. Ritter's unique plots, carefully crafted with authentic dialogue and well-researched conflicts, hook readers within the first few paragraphs and hold their attentions long after finishing the books--an important element when considering the needs of adolescents and their teachers.Ritter's books are catalysts for introspection and growth. Without being "preachy" his stories encourage readers to consider the following questions: Who am I? In what do I believe? and What are my values? Every chapter affords reflective thinkers opportunities to engage in rich discussions based upon those questions. My students and students of my colleagues have spent hours during this past academic year reading, writing, and discussing Ritter's books, which at first glance appear to be about baseball. Yes, it's one of Ritter's "hooks," but it works.
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Summary: Baseball As A Metaphor
Review: As much about the often painful ambiguities of early teenage years as about the inevitably painful consequences to its people of a nation at war--particularly one as divisive and engorged with confusion as our Vietnam "conflict"--, OVER THE WALL is a heartfelt, carefully and beautifully crafted work of fiction. It's as likely to challenge the parent as the child. The parent will be humbled by the realization that his/her conflicts about Vietnam are not significantly different in nature than his/her child's, once that child begins to learn a little about the war. Indeed, one virtue of a novel geared toward "young adults" such as OVER THE WALL is that the core conflicts can often be presented by a skilled writer such as Ritter in a storyline and manner less encumbered by peripheral issues than an adult novel likely must be. By the absence of such peripheral elements, the adult reader has a surprising opportunity to recognize his pretenses, his defenses, his evasions--his willful avoidance of truths about the issues embodied by the novel which are rife with apparently conflicting meanings. The protagonist, Tyler Walthern, simultaneously learns to deal with his baseball teammates and their adult coaches and managers, his family, and the society which is both a cause and an effect of the conflicts--certainly including the war in Vietnam--with which we live. Life is indeed an interconnected whole, and Tyler, as he wrestles with the sport he loves and its participants, becomes better able to clearly see what sort of family member and, yes, human being, he wants to be. John Ritter creates characters who, by character and personality, each partially embodies the conflicts arising from Vietnam. Yet each carries a different weight (or element) of the emotional spectrum of responses to that conflict. Contrast, for example, the cowboy go-gettum enthusiasm of cousin Louie; the measured-and-duly-digested response of Coach Trioli (a Vietnam vet); and Tylers curious, puzzled, touched, touching, and creative response to "The Wall" in Washington, DC. Ritter's book evinces hope in what many Americans in their ennui sometimes may well doubt--that a young teenager can actually learn from his/her experience and mature in the midst of it, that s/he can transcend ineffective and foolish behavior and gather his feet under him. Ritter makes this growth believable with characters who realistically interact with and even learn from each other. His characterization and plotting is as deft in appropriately portraying the first stirrings of puppy love, as they are in vividly depicting the conflicts of a group of 13 year-old boys--or a nation--at war with itself.
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Summary: A Twelve-Year-Old Thinker
Review: By far, the similes with the most important roles in OVER THE WALL are the many walls. Tyler has many problems, but the main one is his father. In the first chapter, Tyler said, "It was like he was facing a big brick wall. . .and he couldn't see a thing." Then, in the second chapter, Tyler wants to hit a baseball "over the wall". If I took that at face value, I would think that all he wants is to do well in baseball, but there is a deeper meaning. As Tyler makes it clear, baseball is part of him. If he could get a baseball over the wall his dad is facing, it would be like reaching out to him, and hey, maybe the ball would even plonk him on the head and shake him out of the trance he's in. Also, the expression "Get over it" means to let it go, or move on and start fresh. If Tyler's dad were to "get over" that wall, he would be tired of pushing his family away from him, and he could refill that empty shell of his that Alyssa once filled. It is important that he sees what he is doing to his family so he can realize that he is losing them, in addition to Alyssa. This book is making me think.
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Summary: Rebuttal to Tisha Goldstein
Review: I previously reviewed this book and gave it 5 stars. Now, I know it is all too easy to launch into hyperbole when trying to convey enthusiasm. Each of us wants to be taken seriously as a critic, to convince others to like what we like. But it is just as easy to criticize, to try and inflate one's own sense of self-worth by bringing down others. People who do this have their own agendas; they want to be critics so that others will think them important. While it is possible I fell victim to too much praise, I was completely flabergasted to see someone give this book such a negative review. Ms. Goldstein claims the tragic family event at story's beginning is never carried through to the end. I can't help but wonder: Did she actually read this book? This tragedy ruins the life of the main character's father, placing tremendous strain on the relationship between father and surviving son. They are left trying to make sense of their world. The father cannot, though, and the result is that the teen protaganist is left virtually fatherless. It makes him an angry teen, like so many of today's teens. This boy spends the entire novel trying to come to terms with that anger, and trying to heal his damaged father. It is the emotional thrust of the story, and it clearly comes full-circle at the story's end. Rather than chastising Mr. Ritter for not paying attention to his story arc, it might be wise to actually pay attention to the story itself. My apologies, Ms. Goldstein, but you missed it.
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Summary: "Over the Wall," an entertaining story that also hits home
Review: I started reading "Over the Wall" on a Saturday, and could hardly put it down until I finished it on Monday. Like Jonh Ritter's first book, "Choosing up Sides," this is a well written and very entertaining story, for readers of all ages (I am 46 years old). I especially identify with Tyler's struggle to replace anger with empathy, despite what other people think. I tend to react with anger, at least at first. Anger is the "easiest way out." Identifying with people and understanding their side is much more desirable, although much more difficult. Also, I thank John for giving my fellow war protestors a memorial too.
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Summary: Over the top
Review: John Ritter aims high with his latest novel, which is more than can be said for most young adult fiction. He tries to meld baseball and coming of age, the mourning of war dead and a family melodrama, tragedy and triumph. He only sometimes succeeds. This book could have profited from a good editor. There's such a thing as trying to do too much in a novel, and by aiming at so many fences, Ritter hits precious few of them on the button. Case in point: he sets up a terrible family tragedy in the first few pages, one that should haunt our young protagonist through his coming of age. And yet, the author never comes back around to that which he has set up. Weird. For another thing, this is a 300 page book that could have been 200. Ritter can write, but needs to be more focused in his next effort.
Rating:
Summary: Over the top
Review: John Ritter aims high with his latest novel, which is more than can be said for most young adult fiction. He tries to meld baseball and coming of age, the mourning of war dead and a family melodrama, tragedy and triumph. He only sometimes succeeds. This book could have profited from a good editor. There's such a thing as trying to do too much in a novel, and by aiming at so many fences, Ritter hits precious few of them on the button. Case in point: he sets up a terrible family tragedy in the first few pages, one that should haunt our young protagonist through his coming of age. And yet, the author never comes back around to that which he has set up. Weird. For another thing, this is a 300 page book that could have been 200. Ritter can write, but needs to be more focused in his next effort.
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Summary: over the wall
Review: John Ritter's second novel is an intricate web of baseball, war, and coming of age. Ritter's 14 year old hero, Tyler, almost lets anger destroy his sport. Through his development of self-control, he is able to come to terms with his family and with his country's involvement in the Viet Nam War. The story is seamlessly woven together with humor and insight into the development of adolescents. There are positive adult role models who help Tyler along the way, and even when Tyler does not realize it, the reader will. By the end we care about this young man and appreciate his reflection and growth. In this way, Tyler, too, becomes a role model for the many young readers who will be engaged by this novel. Older readers will appreciate the historical connections and younger readers will enjoy the fast paced story line. This is a great book for a read-aloud and contains enough discussion of the Viet Nam War era to make it a must for an interdisciplinary classroom. I am eagerly anticipating Ritter's third book and welcome him to the ranks of exceptional writers for young adults.
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Summary: Ritter hits one Over the Wall
Review: John Ritter's second novel is an intricate web of baseball, war, and coming of age. Ritter's 14 year old hero, Tyler, almost lets anger destroy his sport. Through his development of self-control, he is able to come to terms with his family and with his country's involvement in the Viet Nam War. The story is seamlessly woven together with humor and insight into the development of adolescents. There are positive adult role models who help Tyler along the way, and even when Tyler does not realize it, the reader will. By the end we care about this young man and appreciate his reflection and growth. In this way, Tyler, too, becomes a role model for the many young readers who will be engaged by this novel. Older readers will appreciate the historical connections and younger readers will enjoy the fast paced story line. This is a great book for a read-aloud and contains enough discussion of the Viet Nam War era to make it a must for an interdisciplinary classroom. I am eagerly anticipating Ritter's third book and welcome him to the ranks of exceptional writers for young adults.
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