The Blind Side: Evolution Of A Game (2007) - Plot & Excerpts
The book I read was called The Blind Side. This was an exciting book and I overall really enjoyed it. There were some twists and turns during the plot, which made it very interesting. While reading the book, I kept in mind that this was based on a true story. The story of Michael Oher is a great one and it shows a lot about the world we live in. This book shows that no matter where you come from, when you put in work, time, and effort you can do anything you want in life. In this book, a successful white lady decides to take in a poor black child. The child, Michael Oher, was helped by Leigh Anne in order to guide him from something more than another thug. He grew up in a tough neighbor hood and could have easily been a drug dealer or something similar. Leigh Anne Tuohy was his mother who adopted him guided him to be a successful NFL player. His real mother was never there for him. A big part of the book is what college Michael wanted to go to. Leigh Anne, her husband, and his tutor went to Ole Miss, which strongly influenced his decision. This book also shows that football can take you very far in life. If you commit your self to a sport and put in the work needed, you will be successful.My favorite character in the book, like a lot of people who read the book was Michael Oher. I liked this character because he was the main character and he never gave up on him self. He used his football skills to take him places that he couldn't get to if it wasn't for football. His biggest influence was his adoptive mother. When Michael had no place to sleep, she invited him to his house. She gave him a room and eventually got him a car. Michael’s attitude kept him going. He didn't let his past affect his future. This is why Michael was my favorite character. My least favorite character was Alton. Alton was the leader of the crew or gang that was around Oher's old house and town. I did not like him because towards the end, he tries to destroy Michael and his life. Alton came close to killing Michael at one point. This is why I disliked Alton.I would recommend this book to anyone, but especially a person who likes football or sports. Even if you’re not a big fan of sports there is more to this book. It shows how to fight through the hard situations you may face in life. This book also shows that there are good people left in the world, like Michael’s mother. Yet Leigh Anne was rich, successful, and was with a great family, she took Michael in because of the tough living situations he was dealing with. She took her time and money and in reality saved him. I really liked this book and had a fun time reading it. I would recommend it to anyone.
Maximous white 10/14/14Mrs. Vought tMichael Oher is a one of 9 of the kids to a mother that is big into drugs; Michael doesn’t have a family and lives wherever he can find. Then the touheys take Michael in. they adopt him, and take care of him. They help Michael get his grades up and try out for football. Michael gets the position of left tackle. Thats the quarterbacks most valuable player, its their blindside. Their job is to protect their quarterback and not let him get sacked.During his football year he makes a big impact on there team, and every college wants him. So now he has to make a big decision. I think Lewis is a great writer, and I think that because he really shows the struggle that Michael has with talking to other people and learning common sense and not being very smart. This book really shows how Michael progressed and moved on. Lewis’s point to get out is that the tuoheys are a very loving family and try to take care of him. The big friendship between Michael and the son of the family Rj is awesome. Lewis really shows the love between them, and how much Michael tries to protect him. Michael was tested the highest in protective instincts. (Spoiler alert!) They get in a car crash and Michael saves Rj by sticking his hands out. That’s why he also is the left tackle to protect his quarterback, and Lewis very well explains how he is so protective.tI like this book a lot Lewis is a great writer, even though this is the only book I’ve read from him. The only thing I didn’t like from the book was there were some places where you could guess what was going to happen. I’m not going to give it away because I don’t want to give away too much. But with the whole Ole Miss and wanting Michael to pick Ole Miss because they’ve all gone there, makes it too predictable.But altogether I think this book was amazing, I would rate it a 4 and a half out of 5. This book is really sad at points when it came to his family and his whole life story it really is sad, but amazing. I would recommend someone who likes a good drama but also some sports to it.
What do You think about The Blind Side: Evolution Of A Game (2007)?
The Blind Side is a wonderful novel about a young man with an incredible story who will one day be one of the highest paid athletes in the National Football League. We first learn about Michael at the age of 13 when we read that his mom is addicted to crack; he doesn’t know his real name, his father, his birthday or any things a child should know by that age. Michael then learns to play football, go to school, and a family picks him off the streets and takes him into their home. The story mainly revolves around how the family learns to make him part of the family and decide to adopt him. The other part of the story deals with Michael playing football and how Michael must protect the quarterback at any cost. I had no problem giving this book 5 stars. It truly was one of the best books I have ever read. I quote that I could not get out of my head was Beth: “You’re changing that boy’s life.” Leigh Anne Touhy: “No he’s changing mine.” It’s a pivotal moment in the story, as Mrs. Touhy realizes how bringing Michael into the family truly was a life changing experience that seems to have made a bigger impact on her than she ever could have imagined. The way I could connect this to class was it isn’t a memoir because it wasn’t written by the actual person of the story; it does include direct quotes of what was said by Michael and the Touhy’s and explains the whole story of what happened. I recommend this book to everyone. Anybody who wants to read a great book and a great story that will leave you heartfelt should read this book. Don’t think if you don’t like football you will not like this book because that is definitely not true. It may deal with a lot of football but it deals with so much more that can be enjoyed by all ages.
—Andrew Wenz
Mixed feelings about this one. I'm huge NFL fan and Ravens are one of my favorite teams (mostly because of Ray Lewis) but I didn't know the Michael Oher story until the movie was released. I found the Left Tackle/NFL history of the book very interesting. But I can totally see why Michael himself had problems with how he was portrayed in the book. This is not just a poor black teenager being taken in by rich white upper class christian family stereotypical rags to riches taking the black child out of the ghetto story that hollywood loves. It's like reading the "Jungle Book" or "Tarzan" , Michael was raised by pack of wolves for 15/16 years then brought into civilization or even an alien from outer space coming to live on Earth learning the ways of humans at least according to Michael Lewis depiction of Mr. Oher in this book. I have no idea if this is an exaggeration or actual truth either way I find it more than a little disturbing.
—Sherese
Lewis writes two stories here. One is interesting. The other is mildly intriguing and probably not as a big a story as it seems.When telling the story of Michael Oher, a poor black kid from Memphis adopted by a loaded white family and the journey he takes from uncommunicative, unschooled, untrusting child to a succesful lineman starring at Ole Miss it's a good story.When writing about the emergence of the left tackle position in the NFL it was hard not to skip passages.Left tackle is an key position and the excerpts from players and coaches is interesting. Reading about the gruesome ways Lawrence Taylor destroyed people is great.But it's tedious and in the end it's hard to argue it's important. There's no real comparison to other ways the game has evolved.The Michael story left me uncomfortable. As great a story as his is (and it's still going - when his NFL draft approaches, Lewis-hype will ensure you know he's available), significant ethical questions are raised by the conduct of his adoptive family.Lewis correctly raises the questions, though he had little choice after the NCAA launched an investigation into the subject.But he never attempts to answer them.And his portrayal of the Tuohy family never wavers from supportive. Lewis never tackles their involvement, preferring to leave the questioning to others, and in doing so he is doing the story a disfavour.
—Adam
