From the Bookshelf of Mock Printz 2026…

Boy21

Matthew Quick

Start date: June 1, 2012

Finish date: June 30, 2012

Discussion: Mock Printz 2013

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Showing 2 of 38 topics — 319 comments total

Mock Printz 2013

* The Printz Award for 2013
By Kathy · 5 posts · 139 views

last updated Mar 03, 2013 09:09PM

The List by Siobhan Vivian
By Lindsey · 9 posts · 98 views

last updated May 21, 2013 07:27AM

What Members Thought

Dec 26, 2013 Erin Cataldi rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2013

I didn't even read the description, I saw it was written by Mathew Quick and I started reading. Two hours later I was crying in a bathtub and screaming at my cat. This book is intense. I was quite literally hooked from the very first sentence. I started reading it at dinner and I couldn't put it down, so naturally I took it in the tub with me to continue. An hour later I was crying in freezing cold water and yelling at the kitten to shut up and stop headbutting the door. It was so good I couldn' ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Oct 10, 2019 Jessica rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: a-read-in-2019, ya-avm-own, ya-recs-audiobook, ya-recs-realistic-fiction, ya-recs-grief, ya-recs-disability, ya-recs-contemporary, ya-recs-males, ya-all-recs, ya-ya

Belmont?

Quiet Finley is the only white player on the varsity basketball team at his school. He navigates a whole host of tense social situations (Irish mob, gangsters, drug runners, etc.) in his neighborhood; his home life is loving, but not going anywhere with a depressed dad that has basically given up on life and a disabled grandfather to take care of. However, basketball and his girlfriend Erin help keep him settled. Until coach asks Finley to help Boy 21, Russ, adapt to school and the baske ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Nov 19, 2012 Marvelous rated it it was amazing

I feel like I was sleeping on this book. I'm not sure what kept me away for so long. Maybe the cover. It's a bit busy and not that appealing, although it really captures the book perfectly so I'm not sure why. Maybe the vague description? I'm not sure but I'd seen this book around and just let it pass me by. It wasn't until I read a blog post that really caught my attention so I had to pick it up. After reading the sample on my Kindle I was hooked and I finished it quickly.

Finley is a quiet kid. ...more

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Jun 21, 2012 Kelsey rated it really liked it

Shelves: middle-school, high-school, realistic-fiction, sports, tough-issues

Age: 7th-high school
Sports: Basketball
Tough issues: Death of parents, mob activity

This book was a million stars away from what I was expecting. Although I don't prefer reading realistic fiction, this had a really intriguing touch of mystery and fantasy. Boy21 is so convinced by his extraterrestrial identity that I almost believed it to be real (of course, my love of sci fi would). But the reality of his psychotic trauma is far more compelling.

Although the sports story may cause you to pass this ...more

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Jun 06, 2013 Casey rated it it was amazing

Teenage boy friendships are so rarely portrayed in young adult novels and this one does justice to a peculiar friendship between two boys who are sort-of forced together, having both basketball and tragedy (and intelligence and wonder!) in common. The boy-girl relationship is one of pure sweetness, and the mystery of what will happen to these boys is captivating. I loved the inner-city basketball players starting their own Harry Potter book club, their dreams for a better life, and even the rela ...more

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