Takedown

by E.M.J M. Benjamin

Overview

Jake thinks the great challenge of his senior year will be for the wrestling championship. Then he begins having seizures that threaten everything he values. His wrestling career...his driving privileges...his relationship with his girlfriend...even his college scholarship. During one harrowing wrestling season, he has to re-invent his whole life.

A powerful story with rare praise from the world's most successful international wrestler and the country's top epilepsy experts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781889199047
Publisher:	Banks Channel Books
Publication date:	09/28/2000
Edition description:	1 ED
Pages:	204
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.47(d)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

E.M.J. Benjamin is the pen name for a writing team of an award-winning fiction writer and a successful high school wrestling coach.

What People are Saying About This

Bruce Baumgartner

Bruce Baumgartner, President, USA Wrestling Two-time Olympic Champion, three-time World Champion

[This] engaging portrait of a young athlete's quest to win the high school state wrestling title shows that with the right focus and hard work, many obstacles can be overcome to reach your dreams.

Rod Radtke

Rod Radtke, M.D., Associate Professor of Medicine, Dept. of Neurology, Duke University Medical Center

An immensely enjoyable sports book [that also] delivers important information about epilepsy and presents a lot of the psycho-social aspects many people don't understand.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 9 Up-Jake Chapman, a star high school wrestler with a legitimate shot at winning the state championship, finds his life turned upside down when he is diagnosed with epilepsy. The discussion of both the sport and the disease have the ring of authenticity, and the two elements are well integrated into the plot. There is also a candid treatment of the emotional impact of epilepsy on Jake and his family. Scatological language accurately represents the speech patterns of many teen athletes. The arch villain is a feminist English teacher who has unfairly kept Jake out of the National Honor Society. She is smug, sarcastic, and dishonest, and she punishes those students who displease her by putting a paper pig on their desks. She is not the only female portrayed in a negative light. The one girl on the wrestling team comes late to practice and frequently skips it altogether but is not disciplined because the coach fears a lawsuit. Jake's own mother sacrifices the welfare of her family for the sake of her career. The sad thing is that all of this misogyny is entirely gratuitous; Jake's story is compelling enough to stand on its own, without the heavy-handed antifeminism.- Richard Luzer, Fair Haven Union High School, VT Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

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