Sports

Natural

Posted on September 23, 2013 by webmaster

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The Natural
by Bernard Malamud

The book follows Roy Hobbs, a baseball prodigy whose career is sidetracked when he is shot by a socio-pathic serial killer. This story concerns itself with his attempts to return to baseball later in life, when he plays for the New York Knights with his legendary bat 'Wonderboy..
Nineteen-year-old Roy Hobbs, a country bumpkin with a great pitching arm, is on his way to Chicago to try out for the Chicago Cubs. He is on the train with the Cubs' scout, Sam Simpson. While on the train, Roy meets a woman named Harriet Bird, for whom he immediately develops a crush. He also meets a sports journalist, Max Mercy, who is on the train with a famous baseball hitter, the Whammer.

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Fifteen years later, Pop Fisher, the manager of the New York Knights, discovers he has a new “rookie” for his team—a thirty-four-year-old man named Roy Hobbs, whom the team’s owner, the stingy Judge Banner, has signed for a paltry $3,000.
The story recounts Roy’s ups and downs and tragedy in his personal life.

Lexile Level	Content Rating	Number of Pages	Genre	Date Published	ISBN Number
1060L	High School	248	Historical Fiction	2003	0374502005

Gym Candy

Posted on September 17, 2013 by webmaster

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Gym Candy
by Carl Deuker

Having grown up in the shadow of his father’s failed NFL career, high-school football player Mick Johnson is determined not to make the same mistakes. But when he’s tackled just short of the goal in a pivotal game, he decides that vitamin supplements aren’t enough and begins purchasing “gym candy,” or steroids, from the trainer at his local gym. His performance starts breaking records and his father couldn’t be more proud, but along with gains in muscle, he suffers “‘roid rage,” depression, and unsightly acne. When his secret finally comes out, he attempts suicide. Even after therapy, Mick is left wondering if he’ll continue to be tempted by steroids.

Lexile Level	Content Rating	Number of Pages	Genre	Date Published	ISBN Number
710L	High School	320	Thriller/Suspense	2008	0547076317

Tangerine

Posted on September 9, 2013 by webmaster

Tangerine
by Edward Bloor

Paul Fisher is in seventh grade when his family moves to Tangerine County, Florida, land of muck fires, koi-stealing ospreys, mosquito swarms, daily lightning strikes, and sinkholes.Paul feels like the outsider in his family. His mother quickly becomes absorbed in the homeowner’s association in their housing development at Lake Windsor Downs, and his father is fully occupied with older brother Erik’s football career the “Erik Fisher Football Dream,” as Paul says.

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Paul’s eyesight was damaged in a mysterious accident when he was five, and he wears “Coke-bottle” glasses, but he has clearer vision than the rest of his family and most of the people in Lake Windsor Downs. He sees through the “nice-guy” front his brother puts on and the snobbishness of his Lake Windsor Downs neighbors, especially after he transfers to the working-class Tangerine Middle School.

Lexile Level	Content Rating	Number of Pages	Genre	Date Published	ISBN Number
680L	Middle School	294	Drama	2001	0590660926