Paintball Blast

by Jake Maddox, Sean Tiffany (Illustrator)

Max and Tyler have been paintball partners for a long time when they realize that something's strange at the paintball field. A new player in town, Ryan, has just started playing and winning. At first, Max chalks it up to beginner's luck. But then he starts to notice weird things about Ryan and his They always use the same yellow paintballs, for example, even though each team is supposed to get a new color each match. And the marks the paintballs leave behind don't match up to the number of times the players shoot. Can Max and Tyler figure out what's going on before the biggest tournament of the year?

Genres: Sports, Realistic Fiction, 2nd Grade, Fiction

72 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Who is Jake Maddox? Athlete, author, world-traveler–or all three? He has surfed in Hawaii, scuba-dived in Australia, and climbed the mountains of Peru and Alaska. His books range from the most popular team sports to outdoor activities to survival adventures and even to auto racing. His exploits have inspired numerous writers to walk in his footsteps–literally! Each of his stories is stamped with teamwork, fair play, and a strong sense of self-worth and discipline. Always a team-player, Maddox realizes it takes more than one man (or woman) to create a book good enough for a young reader. He hopes the lessons learned on the court, field, or arena and the champion sprinter pace of his books can motivate kids to become better athletes and lifelong readers.

Reviews

[Banks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spoiler Alert!!!!!!!
By:Banks Lovett
Wow! This is an amazing book to read. It is called "PAINTBALL BLAST" and the author is Jake Maddox. This book is realistic fiction and this book tells us that if we cheat that it will not do you any better because you will later on get caught.

Max Hauser is in the middle of a paintball game and he is running to the center station which is in the middle of the field and basically controls the field. On his way over there, there were paintballs shot at him so when he made it to the center station he made sure he wasn't hit and he wasn't so he was cleared. When he looked through his scope to see if one of the two opponents was out there, he saw one guy has his back to Max so Max pulls the trigger and marks the guy. Max quickly saw a move in the bush but the guys marker was way above Max's head but he still got hit. Max has played paintball for a couple of years and he knows when he is in trouble or not. When Max when back to the clubhouse he ran into his friend Tyler who played paintball with him. When Max told Tyler what happen Tyler said, "That's Strange" and Max said "What". Tyler then basically told him that when the guy who marked Max when inside the clubhouse, the he was talking to the assistant manager and that where laughing and the assistant manager said " Did it work" and the tall guy said yes. Max was confused and wanted to figure this out so he walked up to the guy and congratulated the guy on the shot. They then told each other their names and the boys name was Ryan. The boy then told Max that he a rookie or a starter. He then told Max that he was lucky and just shot in that direction and hit him which was a one in a hundred shot. Ryan then brought up the challenge cup which is where you have to make your own paintball team and work your way to the top. He then knew that he had cheated but he just had to prove it. So Max got a couple of paintball friends to join him in the tournament. On the opening day, Max figured out that the only way to prove that Ryan was cheating was to beat him and figure out information. They flew by the competition but in the semi-finals, Ryan was trapped and there was three guys around him. As Max watched Ryan, he saw that when he shot one time three paintballs came out and that eliminated all of those guys. So when Max got home that night, he did some research and found out that there are "TripleBlast Three-ball Paintballs" and that it shoots three paintballs and can hit someone that you can't see. It also said that is only comes in yellow which is the color they used the whole entire time. The next day the last day of the tournament Max printed that out and put it on the managers desk. The match then came down to Max, Tyler, and Ryan. Max and Tyler made a plan and Max moved from down the right side and Ryan shot at him and missed which lead 3 paintball markers on the wall proving to the manager that Ryan was cheating but the game continued. When Max got to the other side he saw that there was a box of TripleBlast Three-Ball Paintballs there and he put those in his pocket to give to the manager. Right after than Max hid and Tyler ran in the middle of the field distracting Ryan which caused Ryan to shoot and give away his position. Right then Max saw him and marked Ryan to win the tournament. Right before Max's team could win, Bob (the manager) was already talking to Ryan about him cheating and disqualifies Ryan from the tournament and fires the assistant for sneaking them to Ryan.

This was a great book. One thing that I really like is the fact that it provides things you can use in life like not cheating and if you cheat it will get you nowhere. I also liked when the manager told him that Ryan was not cheating but then later on he found out that Ryan was cheating. I liked it because it taught me a great lesson and it was short but very good. This is great and the author writes some great books. One connection I can make is that many people in this world cheat on test and things like that and end up getting caught kind of like Ryan.

This is an amazing book and if I was you I was get this book. I am giving this a 4 and a half star rating because it was short and sweet but they could have added a little more drama like Ryan wins but ends up getting the trophy taken away or something like that. But, other than that it is an amazing book and I would want you guys to read it.

https://www.google.com/search?q=paint...

[Julia Dundon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paintball Blast by Jake Maddox was also a winner of the Buckeye Children’s and Teen Book Award. Paintball Blast was chosen because it discusses the seriousness of cheating and the consequences that go along with it. When in a paintball match, highly experienced Max realizes something is off about the way the new kid, Ryan, is playing the game. Each game, the teams are supposed to receive a different paintball color, but Ryan’s group always receives yellow. Ryan always ended up hitting someone with a paintball, even when he couldn’t see them, adding to Max’s suspicion. Ryan and Max each compile their own teams, getting ready to face off in the big paintball tournament. Ryan believes he’ll win without a doubt due to his cheating tendencies. By the end of the tournament the only two people left standing are Max and Ryan. Just as Max is about to make the final shot to win the tournament for his team, the manager steps in to disqualify Ryan for cheating. The illustrations throughout the story are similar to that of a cartoon, helping add to exaggeration of the paintball game. Rather than using realistic images of teams playing paintball, the cartoon style of the images give the feeling that both teams are at war. This adds depth to the story, creating a sense of seriousness. Teachers can utilize this story in the classroom to discuss both sides of cheating; the cheater and the person being cheated. Students can make a list of outcomes for both parties, and have the opportunity to share a time where they cheated or were cheated out of something. Together, the class can discuss how they relate to either Max or Ryan, relating their own experiences to the characters in the story.

[Lane C · Rating 3 out of 5]

My book is called Paintball Blast by Jake Maddox. This book is about Max and his best friend Tyler, they have played paintball together for a long time. Max gets suspiscous about a new player Ryan after in a match he saw his pointer of his gun was 3 feet above his head but still marks him. Ryan claims hes just started but hasn't lost yet,and has really good skill for just joining. when Max's and Ryan's teams face off in the championship round,Max saw that everytime Ryan shot there would be 3 paintballs coming out. Sure enough max found a box of "triple blaster" where Ryan was hiding,Max quickly showed the refree after the game. Ryan was caught!

the theme of this book was "cheating isn't the answer if you want to be good, you have to work hard."
the theme develops the characters because Max catches an opponent cheating after he saw he was too good to just start playing.

I liked this book because it involves a mystery which makes you wanting to keep reading. If you like short mystery and suspensful book this is the one for you.This book is pretty predictable,my favorite part is when they catch Ryan cheating at the end. I would recommend this book to 2nd-9th grade.

[Aliah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paintball Blast by Jake Maddox is an interesting and suspenseful narrative about young Max, a well mannered friend and teammate of Tyler. All was well in the paintball world until Max and Ryan encounter new comer Ryan. Max immediately notices something strange about Ryan’s team and their instant success on the field. Ryan seemed to have supernatural skill in taking down two opponents with one shot. Max’s suspicions intensify when Ryan misses but still makes a hit. Readers follow determined and sportsman Max in a quest to learn of Tyler’s deceitful secret yellow weapon. Can Max and Tyler figure out what's going on before the biggest tournament of the year?
Jake Maddox skillfully explores themes of teamwork, fair play, and a strong sense of self-worth and discipline in this text. Always a team-player, Max inspires young readers to realize that it takes more than one to create a champion athlete and hopefully a lifelong reader.

[Kevin]

Great, I have such an interest in paintball and airsoft and this book is so detailed and descriptive about every action and movement I love the characters and storyline like "tomorrow was the big game lets practice and be prepared for whatever comes at us" I love this book!!

[Trey Bremer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would read this book if you like shooting/paint balling. This book is action packed! It involves cheating ,shooting and friendship

[Obada · Rating 5 out of 5]

good

[CR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Plot

Good action packed story and was very well written. I would recommend this to anyone who likes a mystery or paintball.

[Leo · Rating 5 out of 5]

An fun paintball novel, very suspenseful

[Tavish Archer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Loved a lot.

[Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Warning: Spoiler Alert

The review that this summary is on is “PAINTBALL BLAST” by Jake Maddox. This book is realistic fiction and published by Stone Arch Books. This book is about; when two paintball players start losing paintball to a new player named Ryan and (the two paintball players) set out to prove that Ryan is cheating.

In the book the two paintball players names are Max Hauser and Tyler. The book starts off in a paintball game, Max gets shot by Ryan and the barrel of Ryan’s marker (paintball gun) was not angled for the shot to hit him. Next, Max gets suspicious and goes to talk to him and Ryan tries to avoid the conversation topic Max has and asks Max if has a team for the challenge cup. Max continues with the conversation (Max did not have a team put together at this time in the book). That day before Max and his friend Tyler left they talked about putting a team together, and later on that week they put a team together. Max and Tyler arrived early to the first game to watch Ryan and his team play. As they watched, Ryan shot at a guy on the wall and fired three shots when he pulled the trigger (Max and Tyler played their game after Ryan’s game finished). Max stayed up all night that night researching to try and see if Ryan was using a special marker or ammo. The only he could find was an ammo called triple blast, so he printed it off. The day of the game that Ryan’s team played Max’s team, Max put the paper he printed off on Bob’s desk (the field manager) and started playing the game. During the game, Bob saw the paper on his desk and went and watched the game. Bob caught Ryan cheating.

In this book, Ryan is the antagonist and Max and Tyler are the protagonists. I like this book and all the books by Jake Maddox. I like his books because he makes books that are about sports, and in all his books he writes it with either a cheater or a wrong player.

Overall, I think this book and all Jake Maddox’s books are very good. I would recommend this book and all other Jake Maddox books to anyone who likes sports and other people. And finally, I rate this book a 5 out of 5 because in my opinion this an all around good book.

[Kevin Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

We used this book for a writing supplement to detailed writing and story telling

[babyhippoface · Rating 3 out of 5]

Max and his best friend Tyler are big into paintball, and they're part of a great team with quite a few successes under their belts. When new kid Ryan starts playing--and beating everyone--Max thinks he's cheating, but he can't figure out how he's doing it.

Things just don't add up: Max saw Ryan aim his marker about 3 feet above his head, yet Ryan still tagged him. How could that be? When Max takes his concern to the paintball manager, the man thinks Max is simply upset because he's been beaten, so Max sets out to prove that Ryan is not an honest player.

While I certainly didn't love this book, I did like it quite a bit more than I expected to. Max is a good kid, an honest kid, who plays hard and follows the rules and expects others to do the same. He's not whiny about the situation with Ryan, just persistent in his pursuit of the truth. He thinks the situation through, examines the possibilities, then does some research until he finds the information he needs. He handles the entire situation with grace and it pays off. I gotta like a kid like that.

The graphic novel-style illustrations, short chapters, and high-interest topic are sure to keep this one in steady circulation, especially with boys in grades 3-6. This would also be a good choice for kids in junior high who have low reading levels but don't want to look like they're carrying around "baby books." Two-thumbs up.

[Cade Yandell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best friends on a team to win it all together! The story revolves around 3 main characters who are Max (a great player) and his teamate (and best friend) Tyler and a new kid in town named Ryan who is better than everyone playing as it appears! Max smells something fishey but just does not know what it is, Ryan is hitting everyone! Max tries to watch him a nd fund out how he is doing so good if he is not "cheating". Tyler doesn't really mind Ryan but Max doesn't want to confront Ryan about his tactics.

Pros: The book had a fun, uplifting, eventful plot with alot of cool action parts.
The way the book was written allowed me to comprehend the book with ease
Followed a consistent plot line relating to how Max needed to discover Ryan's secret
Was very enjoyable to read being a paintballer myself.

Cons: Even thoe it was easy to comprehend I believe it was partially due to the fact that this book might have been written for some of a younger age such as 12-14 year olds
The characters were not the best developed beside Max, people such as Tyler were just normal mineded with not to much dynamic writing.

[SPENCER Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plot: the plot of this book is that max thinks that a new kid Ryan is using elligle stuff for paint balling.Max that day goes against him and his team with his team and when he gets shot he sees two other paint balls on the wall. That is where he gets suspicious and whats to figure out what he is using so he finds one of Ryan's boxes of paint balls and he searches the name up of it and shows the person Dave the head of the paint balling place.

Theme: The theme is that if you know you wont be able to win you try harder and you learn how to do those things and not cheat and use the right kind of paint balls. If you lose than you try harder the next time you learn from your mastisks and then do it different. Don't cheat if you cheat you know you wont win and that you are scared of losing to some one better thane you.

Opinion: My opinion is if you lose to the person you fear most is to join them and learn from them and see how they do things and how they shot and then you can learn how not to cheat. We all need not to cheat on anything like test or paint balling it is the same thing in different things we need to know how to earn certain respects against other people.

[Cornell Poder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Xavier M.
Max and Tyler are best friends that always play paintball together.Then they realize some thing is a little strange in the field.Its anew player!!!His name is Ryan.He always wins and he has never lost a single game.Max plays a round with him and discovers something odd.He lost and Ryan only took one shoot and hit max.Max turns around and see's three marks behind him.He reports it to the referee but he says it could have been anyone.Later they find out that there going to have a tournament with Ryan.What will Max do?Will his team win or will Ryan's team win?I recommend this book to Juan and Roberto because they like to read the Jake Maddox books.I also recommend this book to Julian because he is interested in baintball

[Adriel S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

If yoi like Paintball, get PAINTBALL BLAST! Max Hauser is one good player; landing direct hits on his opponents with his paintball gun(I mean marker, as it's called). Max's secret base, Center Station is a great place for shooting and making snipe shots! He and his friend, Tyler, are big time shooters...until Ryan and Jay came. Max got suspicious when Ryan missed and made a cheap shot, meang he misses and still makes a hit. If I were Max, I'd make shure of what is REALLY happening. Max had to find out about the wierd bullets(the paintballs) Ryan has. If I were to reccomend this book to anyone at all, I'd make kids who LOVE Paintball. I'd rate this 5/5 stars!

[Daniel Saucedo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is going to tell us about a a boy name Max and his best friend name Tyler. They play paintball and they are good at it. Then one day a boy name Ryan came to town and beat Max and Tyler in a paintball game. Max think that Ryan cheated because Ryan said that he never played paintball.
This story is fiction. The setting of the story is at the paintball field. This is a person vs person story. Max finds out that there is a paintball that shoots three balls at ones. The author's purpose is that some people cheat at a game and some people play fair.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an amazing short book. It is about a boy and his friend who are very good paintball players that are starting to notice something. They notice that there was a new boy who was beating EVERYONE. Turns out they were right he was cheating. The boy was using a gun that shot 3 BBs at once. I recomend this book to people looking for a fun short story.

[Christian · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a very good book. There is a kid and he loves driving Go- Karts. He turns 12 and has to race with older kids that are better and more experienced. The kids are also very mean to him during the races. So he does not do good at first. But then..... Read more to find out!

[Brenda Klaassen · Rating 3 out of 5]

My son and I read this book together. In this story two friends want to win a paintball tournament and they think the other team is cheating. By observing and using the internet for information they do prove that the captain of the other team is cheating. This was a fast pace story.

[10-11 Oscar · Rating 4 out of 5]

i liked this book becuse i like stuff that have to do with shooting.

[Josh Tudor]

a good book about max and tyler in a paintball tournament and ryan cheats and the catch him in the tournament

[Austin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Book was ok but I think the other ones could be better

[Jose Marquez]

this kid and his friends have to play theses other kids in paintball to win a tournament and they know where to go everytime.

[Jon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it. it was a mystery story. I prefere it to people who like mysteries.

[Lucas Newton · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was very interesting,action packed.

[Ben Schmoker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked Paintball Blast because it shows me how kids can have fun in wierd ways

[Youngtony09hotmail.com]

i cant neven read it how can you read it

[Kendall Martino · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book was a blast it was awesome.