December 31, 2014: 'Pinned'

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Date: December 31, 2014

Spoilers Ahead

Headline

Pinned

Sharon G Flake

Award-winning author, Sharon G. Flake, presents a powerful novel about a teen boy and girl, each tackling disabilities.

Autumn and Adonis have nothing in common and everything in common. Autumn is outgoing and has lots of friends. Adonis is shy and not so eager to connect with people. But even with their differences, the two have one thing in common--they're each dealing with a handicap. For Autumn, who has a learning disability, reading is a painful struggle that makes it hard to focus in class. But as her school’s most aggressive team wrestler, Autumn can take down any problem. Adonis is confined to a wheelchair. He has no legs. He can't walk or dance. But he’s a strong reader who loves books. Even so, Adonis has a secret he knows someone like Autumn can heal.

In time, Autumn and Adonis are forced to see that our greatest weaknesses can turn into the assets that forever change us and those we love.

Told in alternating voices, Takedown explores issues of self-discovery, friendship, and what it means to be different.

City Calendar:

This is what happened during the week.

Autumn goes to her match and wins. Adonis foes on a date with Raven to the movies and sees Autumn is humiliated when soda is spilled on him by accident. Adonis tutors Roberto a seventh grader. Officials come to the school. Patricia/Peaches show them around. Autumn is in a match with James and wins. She wins in a tournament. Autumn starts volunteering at the library. She admits to Adonis that she loves him. Adonis teaches Autumn's math class. They work in the library together. Roberto gets Autumn a chess set. Autumn gives Adonis cupcakes and a movie ticket. Adonis dreams of Autumn. Adonis and Patricia talk to the seventh graders about leadership. 

Autumn is kicked off of the wrestling team. Adonis notices how sad Autumn is. Autumn asks Adonis to tutor her. Adonis doesn't agree or disagree. Autumn quits working at the library. Adonis sees Autumn at tutoring. Autumn apologizes to him. She kisses him. Adonis teachers Autumn's class. Adonis sees Patricia cheating in math class. Adonis and Autumn kiss. Autumn confronts Patricia about the cheating. Autumn makes cupcakes for finals. She does a practice test in English and does better than before. She tells Adonis who kisses her and says I love you. 

And that's what happened this week.

Personal Ads:

Adonis.

Smart. No legs. Fourteen years old. Ninth grade. Judgmental. Tutor. Not many friends. Reclusive. Team manager for wrestling. 

Autumn.

Female wrestler. Fourteen. Cooks. Kind. Smiles a lot. Cheerful. Happy. Not very good at reading or math. 

Opinions:

I really wasn't impressed by this book. I was reluctant to read it to begin with. I have to read it for my book trivia. But this wasn't very good...

The girl in a sport where mostly guys participate in is great. Go girls!

Now...onto my rant. I am all for feminism. I like that Autumn was good at it too. Not a pity case or anything. She tried her best to be in the sport. Except for school. She kinda...gave up in that area. I admire her strength in ignoring the males' taunts. I definitely wouldn't challenge her to a fight. Girl power. 

The grammar. Oh my goodness. The word 'is' is dropped so many times.

There seems to be plot, but nothing really happens. I know that people do talk like it...but as a person who can't stand text language, this drove me crazy. I wanted to grab the characters by their lapels and shout at them to get their grammar together. I might not have perfect grammar, but I don't drop words. I smash them together. Or whatnot. But still! This drove me absolutely crazy. 

The ending is confusing too. Did time pass? When did they end up together? How much time passed? It's rushed. And leaves me questions. When did she agree to all this tutoring? Man. That's crazy. None of the ending had much depth. It made not a lot of sense. 

And the romance. Seriously. When does that come in? I thought Adonis hated Autumn. I don't see where that came from. Adonis hated Autumn. He mentioned that many times. Did he harbor an awkward crush? Hm. That was never mentioned. And he was adamant about his hate. And Autumn. Why do the girls put in so much work into the relationship when the guy doesn't? I don't get that. Poor Autumn was lost in her mind, thinking Adonis liked her. Poor girl... How did she win him over? It's never mentioned... 

The characters aren't very good. They annoyed me. Adonis was whiny. A complainer. He complained about everything. And was negative. Not that I'm an optimist. I'm a pessimist myself. But I prefer reading about more optimistic characters. I know that not everyone is an optimist. (I'm a prime example after all.) But he was really negative. And why did he hate Autumn? Did Autumn do anything but like you? Do you have a problem with people liking you? Is that saying something? I'm confused by his character. He seems to dump the 'I hate Autumn' part and become Autumn's...boyfriend? What? When did that happen? How could he change so quickly? We didn't get any insight. And Autumn. Her grammar drove me nuts. But she was pretty kind. I didn't like that she completely gave up when she lost wrestling. You got to get back on the horse, as they say. Keep going. Don't let that stop you! She seems like a good character. In any other book... 

Overall, I wasn't very impressed. It could have been better.

Weather:

Cloudy with a 75% chance of rain 

2/5