The Chief - Hardcover

Lipsyte, Robert

3.49

71 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060210648 ISBN 13: 9780060210649

Publisher: Harpercollins Childrens Books, 1993

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On the verge of having a shot at the heavyweight boxing championship, nineteen-year-old Sonny Bear finds himself with conflicting loyalties when trouble erupts on his reservation over the construction of a new gambling casino

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About the Author:

Robert Lipsyte was an award-winning sportswriter for the New York Times and the Emmy-winning host of the nightly public affairs show The Eleventh Hour. He is the author of twelve acclaimed novels for young adults and is the recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award honoring his lifetime contribution in that genre. He lives in Manhattan and on Shelter Island, New York, with his wife, Lois, and his dog, Milo.

From Kirkus Reviews:

In a third episode, larger-than-life boxer Sonny Bear fights battles in and out of the ring--and within himself--on his climb to the top. Cheated of his amateur title at the end of The Brave (1991) and disgusted by a series of crooked local fights, Sonny is ready to throw in the towel when he lands a job as sparring partner for an aging boxer making a quixotic comeback attempt. The resulting press attention takes him to L.A. and TV producers' fantasyland, but he turns away from the life of a lotus-eater to solve a violent dispute over legalized gambling back on the reservation. Part of the ensuing compromise is a scheduled bout with the heavyweight champ at the new casino. Sonny's rise to fame is seen through the eyes of Martin Witherspoon, an overweight black college student and would-be writer who, like his well-muscled friend, wrestles with self-doubt but rises to the occasion at need. Sports-journalist Lipsyte writes authoritatively about the world of boxing, moving his story at a headlong pace with pulse-pounding action scenes and providing characters with cocky dialogue; by concluding moments before Sonny enters the ring, he forces readers to consider his larger themes. Memorable sports fiction. (Fiction. 12+) -- Copyright �1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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