Out of His League - Hardcover

Flynn, Pat

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0802797768 ISBN 13: 9780802797766

Publisher: Walker Childrens, 2008

Synopsis

When Ozzie, an Australian exchange student, arrives in the West Texas town of Hope, life in America seems completely foreign. But his skills on the rugby pitch translate onto the football field as he becomes the star of a team in desperate need of a miracle to save their losing season. As Ozzie settles in, America really does feel like the land of opportunity, and he soon finds himself torn between the lure of this new country and the ties that bind him to his home in Australia.

This co-mingling of cultures offers a fresh perspective of life in a Texas town where football is life, winning is everything, and the rest is just details.

About this title

About the Author

Pat Flynn was a professional tennis player before he decided to turn in his racket and start writing. Pat also speaks and conducts workshops at festivals and schools. He lives in Queensland, Australia. Visit his Web site at www.patflynnwriter.com

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up—Ozzie Eaton, an exchange student from Australia, introduces the rugby style of play to a Texas high school football team and helps to turn their season around. American readers may be put off by the unfamiliar terms used in the opening chapters set in Australia, and their elders may be equally put off by the casual attitude displayed toward teenage drinking. The author's credibility with knowledgeable fans of American football will be compromised by his gaffe-ridden descriptions of the sport—he has a young Texan referring to football players as "footballers," he attributes a quarterback sack to a collapse of the defensive line, and he invents a scoring play called the "penalty fieldgoal." The book's naive, superficial, and almost unrelentingly negative portrayal of American culture is merely annoying; patently offensive is a scene in which an American girl, speaking of a corrupt Mexican policeman, says, "You can see why us Americans have no sympathy for countries like that. They deserve everything they damn well get." There are many fine books written from a foreigner's perspective that help to illuminate the American experience. This is not one of them.—Richard Luzer, Fair Haven Union High School, VT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Walker Childrens
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0802797768
• ISBN 13: 9780802797766
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304