Well, a more appropriate title would be impossible. This is the story of eleven-year-old Riley, who heads off to a two-week sports camp with 59 strangers, to vie for the Big Joe trophy. Over the course of those two weeks, Riley learns many lessons, including:- everybody has something to contribute
- training can enhance your natural talents
- never eat week-old in refrigerated fried chicken
- legends can't hurt you, but giant snapping turtles can
- first impressions can be deceiving
- sometimes cheaters DO prosper
- but sometimes they don't
This short book is great for kiddos who love sports! Softball, basketball, water polo, swimming, and archery were all part of the competition, pitting cabin against cabin. Riley was the smallest in his group of boys from New Jersey, and was hopeless at basketball, but he found ways to contribute in the endurance events, and earn his teammates' respect by working hard and never giving up.
It was an interesting story that built toward a predictable but exciting conclusion, but the very end didn't tie things up quite as neatly as I had hoped. It was good, but kind of abrupt. Read this if you enjoy camp, competition, huge turtles, or lousy dining hall food.
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