On The Balls Of My FeetRating: 5 Back to the 60s
On the Balls of My Feet is an amusing short novel that begins as a look back by a young man about to embark on life after high school--both a heady and nerve wrenching moment we can all identify with. He is about to take his last exam before graduation and starts to reminisce about the people (some great real life character studies), places (e.g., everyone's corner candy store), and events (both remembered and romanticized) of his earlier adolescent years. These are artfully woven together into a first-person narrative with multiple story lines that come together in the end in a human morality-mystery tale.
I enjoyed being transported back to the 1960s, which the author evokes through allusions to hit songs and TV shows of the era. The main character reminded me of a cross between the cynical, bawdy-mouthed Holden Caulfield of A Catcher in the Rye and the wide-eyed and innocent Kevin Arnold of TV's The Wonder Years. Anyone who grew up and went to school in a city will have fun identifying with the book's street characters, subway denizens and idiosyncratic personalities--personalities we barely understood or tolerated as kids, but which became cornerstones of our most cherished memories of growing up.
The author clearly loves telling this tale and you will be glad to join him--as I did--on this engaging tour back to the 1960s. | Rating: 5 I had to finish it in one sitting...
Del Casino crafts an engaging and vivid portrait of a young man attending a competitive high school in the 1960s. Told through first person narration, the always observant narrator might remind some readers of Salinger's Catcher in the Rye.
The narrator is preparing to take the AP calculus final exam of his senior year of high school. As he waits to start the exam, he reminisces about freshman year. Characters are fresh, and descriptions of their clothing and the language they use make it easy to get caught up in the story. Intending to take my time and read the book over a couple of evenings, I found that I had to finish it in one sitting.
The 1960s setting will appeal to young adults who are interested in those tumultuous years as well as young adults just looking for a good read. Situations described in the book are still relevant to today's youth. The narrator deals with trying to fit in at school, avoid bullying from the rough crowd of students at a neighboring high school, and solve a hometown crime committed by a gang member.
The book is well suited to its target audience; however, strong language and some plot elements might be objectionable to some parents. However, the prevailing themes are rejecting violence, being fair, and finding ones own place in the world. I would recommend this well written book to teenagers as well as adults.
| Rating: 3 'Living life as a teenager'
While reading this book I couldn't help wondering what happen to the 'Hippie's','Jock's','Greaser's' that I went to High School with. This book was a walk through memory lane. This book took place in the city but it could of been anywhere. The feelings that the characters had were alot like my own. The tests,homework,hormones,drugs,violence,fun,failure,dating,fear, growing pains,ect...All of these experiences made us who we are today. A fun and easy book to read on a rainy afternoon in Fla.
| Rating: 5 On the Balls of My Feet
An excellent book, with characters beautifully depicted, it encourages one to take a glimpse back and remember being so young and winsome! | Rating: 5 The Feel of a Short Play with the Intensity of a Movie...
The author's frequent use of first-person narrative, speaking with a lively and humorous voice, renders a quality of immediacy to this thoroughly enjoyable tale told by a high school senior as he reminisces about his freshman year.
Without hesitation, I recommend this short story to readers of all ages and backgrounds: young teens will sigh with relief as they relish sharing our freshman's uneasiness in his new environment; older folks will smile as they relive life's earlier phases; those from quieter hometowns will vicariously experience the urban landscape; and the rest of us raised in large cities, but now living in the burbs or beyond, will be beckoned back to our urban roots as the author adeptly conjures up the pace, sights, sounds and smells of city life.
The descriptive vignettes of people and places combine with the story's easy conversational style to produce a compelling story that draws us effortlessly into this curious crowded urban world of hoodlums, cops, teachers, shopkeepers and students. Enticed to know more about the various characters that surround us, we are immediately thrust onto the adolescent scene with an intensity of an opening scene in a movie.
ON THE BALLS OF MY FEET has the feel of a short play with an intriguing cast. Choreographed by artful storytelling, the pace moves along quickly, crisply, and comfortably between past and present. I look forward with eager anticipation to the author's next book.
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