Sticks is about a boy named Mickey and his family owns a pool hall. They also live above the pool hall in a little apartment. Mickey's dad was a great pool player but then he died. Mickey wants to follow in his dad's foot steps and be one of the best junior pool players in the world and he is only 10 years old. In order for this Mickey practices everyday after school. Also one of his friends Arlen helps him with strategies and what shots to take and how to do it. Mickey is really good at math and angles and he uses it in his advantage while he is playing pool. He is also probably the best pool player there for his age but only one guy stands in his way and his name is Buck a 13 year old bully that thinks he is so much better then Mickey. To get around Buck and beat him he asks help from one of his dads old friends, Joe, Joe is also one of the best pool players just like Mickeys dad. After a few weeks of practicing with Joe, Mickey is ready for the pool championship, and guess who is in it too. Buck, it is a game that neither of them will forget. Will the practice pay off for Mickey?I recommend this book for anyone, especially if you like playing pool. But the book makes sense to everyone even if you don't play pool. The book has believeable characters that go through some conflicts that I felt you can feel as you are reading the book. This book is exciting in all parts it doesn't get boring in any part of the book. The conclusion to me is the best part it isn't predictable but it makes sense to what has happens.Mickey do you ever feel pressured to follow in your dads foot steps?I feel the pressure sometime but I try to let it go and focus on the game.Mickey do you think that you learned more than just pool from Joe?Yes he taught me some really good life lesson like being able to take a loss.Mickey does Buck bothered you anymore?He hasn't bothered me since.
Sticks is about a boy named Mickey who's family owns a pool hall. His family lives in an apartment above. His goal is to become the nine-ball champion of the world. First he has to beat his enemy, Buck, in the Junior Nine-Ball Championship. He and his friend, Arlen, devise a strategy using math to conquer the table, but Mickey's nerves and temper always seem to get in his way. Especially when he plays against Buck. Then an old family friend, Joe Alvarez, rolls into town, and agrees to be Mickey's coach. This was a light, easy read. I believe this is the shortest of Joan Bauer's books. It has some quirky characters that all have something in their lives that they do well. For Mickey it is pool, for Arlen it is math, Francine likes magic tricks, and Camille loves designing and sewing. Even the adults in this book seem to have something that defines them. Poppy (Mickey's grandma) runs the pool hall. Joseph Alvarez lives to be out on the open road as a truck driver. Mickey's mom loves the community and is in charge of the neighborhood watch. The message I took from this book is to not be afraid to go after your ambitions, even if it means overcoming your obstacles. I recommend this book to anyone.
What do You think about Sticks (2005)?
I just really, really, really love Joan Bauer. She's got a lot of heart. Her characters are so real. Here's the passage I loved best in this book: The mom is trying to explain why they persist in living in a little dive of a town (that's what the kid thinks) in New Jersey. "I can't make you care for a place that I love. I wish I could. I don't if I can even explain to you what this town means to me. I've lived so many places I didn't care about that finding one that was special was a gift. There isn't much in (town) that's pretty the way we think beauty should be. There isn't much here that distinguishes us from other places. ...We stay because the values that I hold dear in this world--loyalty, hard work, love, determination--are here. And there's no better way I know to teach my children what I believe in and care about than to have us live in a place where they see these things happening around us every day. ..."When (something hard happened), all these people poured out comfort to me. They didn't give me pat promises...They didn't tell me that everything was going to be all right. They stood with me, they cried with me until it was all right. No one here is a fancy dresser...and the colors you love so much aren't in grand display, but if you can focus your eyes to look inside the hearts of these people, you will see a rainbow of colors. That's what I see. That's why I stay." Sums up so beautifully why we stay where we are too.
—K.
Mickey Vernon has a goal—to be a pool champ like his dad. The Junior Nine-Ball Championship is coming up soon and Mickey’s training hard to beat his competition. Buck Pender is older, intimidating and a good pool player. With the help of his dad’s best friend, Mickey trains to be the best. In a pre-championship game against Buck, Mickey injures his hand. Can he play in the championship? Will all his hard work pay off?What I thought: I’m delighted with this first “boy book” from Joan Bauer. I read Stand Tall some months back. Unlike it, Sticks features a first person protagonist like Bauer’s young adult “girl books.” I grew up watching my parents play so I can appreciate Mickey’s fascination with the game. Sticks is a great book about pool, friends, and proving yourself.
—Bridget R. Wilson
Great story. Great characters. In this Bauer novel, the adult mentor is the best friend of Mickey's dead father. He was far from perfect and I really liked that he had his faults (mostly in the past), but really wanted to be a good influence on Mickey and pass on lessons he had learned in life, many from Mickey's dad. I loved the first lesson of how to be a good loser, and that character is more important than whether or not you win the game. Mickey's little math-whiz friend was great too. I loved how he not only used math and science to improve Mickey's pool game but used pool in their science project. It was a great connection both ways between education and interests.
—Melissa
