Painting the Black

Rating:
Summary: More than a sports book
Review: Any sports fan would like the baseball and football action in this book. But, you'll also want to keep reading because the characters are so realistic that you feel like you know them. When Josh does something really mean to a girl at school, Ryan has to decide whether to be loyal to his friend or not.

Rating:
Summary: A third winner from Deuker
Review: Carl Deuker is quickly coming to dominate the sports novel for the young adult market. While his first novel, "On the Devil's Court," is still his most original, his last two, "Heart of a Champion" and "Painting the Black" show a deepening moral concern and a growing ability to write exciting sports scenes. All three of his novels are worth reading by anyone into sports and friendships and tough choices. My only concern is that he is starting to write himself into a corner: his last two novels are something of the same plot and characters. The narrators adore sports, but aren't that good at them; they meet somebody who is incredibly good at sports, but not so good at making moral choices; the narrator gets lifted up by his hero worship of his friend, then has to cope with the realization that his friend isn't perfect. A great plot, to be sure, but Deuker needs to take a step back and not do it a third time. That said, I would read anything Deuker writes: he's that good. He's especially good for young men who don't care much for reading; his plots move fast, his sentences rattle after each other as fast as lightning, and he doesn't pull any punches.

Rating:
Summary: A hero's fall from grace
Review: F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote, "show me a hero and I'llwrite you a tragedy".

Josh is certainly a local hero, as heleads his high school to great things on the athletic fields, but his personality and character are on the edge, and sometimes over the edge.

I grew up with the idea that leaders, whether they be in the classroom or on the ballfield had to have a clean slate when it comes to your character, perhaps this book is making a societal statement that things have changed. We read about college and even high school athletes who have had run-ins with the law and they are freed to continue to play and to cause more ills.

What a shame...despite the horrible feeling I got as I read about Josh the book is a quick fast read, that will lure you in and keep you turning pages faster than a Randy Johnson fastball.

Enjoy...also try _Heart of a Champion_ by Deuker, and _ Bull Catcher_ by Alden Carter.

Rating:
Summary: Painting the Black
Review: Have you ever faced a 97-mph fastball,or how about a hanging curve? If you have, this is a book for you. Even if you haven't, you can know what it feels like to do so. This book is called Painting the Black and as you can tell it is about baseball. This book is about two guys named Ryan Ward and Josh Daniels. Josh is the star pitcher and quarterback for his high school. Ryan is basically a loner until Josh shows up and moves right next to him. I liked the book because how a loner and a popular guy in school can get along and become best friends. This book is a great book and i recommend this book to anyone. This book takes place in Seattle. Josh is kind of a bad kid and gets in trouble a lot. So if you want to find out what happens to Josh and Ryan, read Painting the Black.

Rating:
Summary: Painting the black
Review: I enjoyed this book so much that I think that I will buy it and read it again. This book is not only filled with baseball(which I personally love) but it is filled with frienship also I love to read books about baseball and this book is probably the best book about baseball that I have ever read before. I would not have changed a thing about this book at all. I simply loved this book! I also what to tell anyone interested in this book to get because they will not be sorry.

Rating:
Summary: Painting the Black
Review: I stongly recommend reading this book if you like sports and action. Dueker made this book a lot more intriguing then he did with "On the Devils Court", instead of being more of a fictional story based on ghosts and the supernatural, he made it more realistic. When reading this book it engaged me so much, but at other times it didn't engage me. For me baseball is life, without baseball I would be lost. I think that Josh Daniels feels the same way when he tells Ryan, "You have to keep the ball coming to me in the same spot. I can't be moving around and lose my concentration of your mitt. When I'm pitching I'm only concerned with the catcher's mitt. Not the batter, not the runners, not the infielders or outfielders only the catcher and his glove."

Rating:
Summary: Painting the Black
Review: I stongly recommend reading this book if you like sports and action. Dueker made this book a lot more intriguing then he did with other books, instead of being more of a fictional story based on ghosts and the supernatural, he made it more realistic. When reading this book it engaged me so much, but at other times it didn't engage me. For me baseball is life, without baseball I would be lost.

Rating:
Summary: Greatest Book
Review: In this book Carl Deuker uses great descriptive words and uses a great setting. The book is about a seventeen year old kid, Ryan Ward, who due to an accident in his childhood broke both of his legs. He swore he would never play baseball again until Josh. Josh Daniels became his new neighbor. Josh was also seventeen and he was one of those kids you just never forget because he was good at everything he did in sports. Ryan and Josh are both seniors at Crown Hill High School. They play baseball almost everyday from June to September. Josh was a great pitcher and Ryan was not really good at anything until later on that year.
Ryan and Josh made a great team and there freindship and their sportsmanship are but on the line in this great novel by Carl Deuker. Will Ryan make the school team or will he fail? That is for you to find out.

Rating:
Summary: English Class Novel Review
Review: Novel Review

"Painting the Black" was a great novel about two boy's friendship, high school sports, and the lessons that they had learned there last year in high school. Ryan and Josh meet the summer before their senior year. Josh moved into Ryan's neighbor hood in the middle of the night. Ryan was happy because he didn't have any friends in his neighbor hood to play with. So Ryan and Josh needed each other. Josh helped Ryan get on the baseball team and gain some self confidence. Ryan helped Josh get to know some people in school. In this novel the two boys' learn a lot of lessons about life. In the end the boy's test their friendship when they don't agree with each others actions.

This was a great book for people who like sports. The book was well written, easy to follow along, and to know what is going on. I would recommend this book to just about everyone! I give this book a 4.5 star out of 5.

Rating:
Summary: English Assignment
Review: Novel Review

The novel "Painting the Black" is about two boys and their high school dilemmas. One of the boys is Ryan, a teenager who didn't have many friends and just kept to himself. Ryan didn't have much of a social life; he always listened to his parents, and made sure his homework was always done. One night there were people moving in next door and Ryan saw "a kid who looked his age about seventeen or eighteen, who hopped out" of the truck to unpack. The next morning Ryan went to meet the boy. The boy's name was Josh. Ryan found out that Josh played baseball and he was a pitcher. Ryan played some baseball on the little league team. Ryan also played baseball with Josh, and Josh talked him into trying out for the baseball team. Josh helped Ryan find himself and thought that trying out for the team would be good for him. Josh told Ryan "you'll make- it you've got great hands." With Josh's positive attitude toward baseball it made Ryan want to become a better team player. Ryan was always there when Josh needed someone to talk to, but Josh took that for granted and Ryan had to decide what was more important: his friendship with Josh or turning Josh in for his bad actions. This left Ryan with no trust left to help him.

I thought that this was one of the best books that I read during my high school career. I give the novel four out of five stars.