Redhanded

Rating:
Summary: The Final Battle
Review: A Review by Mikel

The man character Steven is a boxer and he fights for fun. In the beginning of the book Steven fights a guy named Del Toro. He is supposed to be the best fighter in his division. After the fight he starts to train a lot more because he is joining a tournament. But he does not have enough money to join yet. Eventually he makes it into the tournament so he doubled the time he trained. In the tournament he wins all of his fights and advances to the final round. But they do not tell Steven who he will face till he gets to the match.

I like how this book stayed mostly in one place. Like most of the book took place in the gym. Only one time they talked about going some where else then the gym. The book was very realistic. Like all the details in the book when Steven was in the ring fighting. The conflict in this story was pretty obvious in the beginning of the book that he does not like Del Toro. This book keeps you in good suspense. For example it does not tell you who he is going to fight in the last match in the tournament.

I would recommend this book to people who are interested in sports and especially boxing. I think this is a good book to read. It was also easy to follow along with the plot.

Rating:
Summary: Jarring, reminiscent of Cormier.
Review: Pulled in many directions at once, Steven must make decisions about events as mundane as losing his girlfriend to a fellow co-worker to life-and-death choices as to whether or not help Chad rob a liquor store with a gun. None of these plot lines are conviently wrapped up by the author. A wrap-up, however, seems less significant than the realization that Steven, at the end, moves from being acted upon--by his boxing coach, his friends, his girlfriend, and his father--than that he is finally moved to act out.

Steven's character is well drawn: being written from the first-person point-of-view helps readers understand his doubts about his new friendship with Chad, his passion to continue boxing, and his sincere feelings for his father.

As jarring as an uppercut, Michael Cadnum's novel depends upon its readers' intelligence to make inferences as to how Steven--a good kid who loves boxing and wants to go to the San Diego Golden Gloves tournament--travels down a path to being an accomplice to crime. The tension never breaks in this novel, which can be exhausting and perhaps mundane after some reading, but the ending provides a nice catharsis for readers who follow Steven's path.

In both style and content, this book is for readers sophisticated enough to deal with plot jumps and some short scenes of violence.

Rating:
Summary: The Final Battle
Review: Redhanded is a pretty good book. Just when you think the book is starting to get boring, something surprising happens. The book is basically about a really good boxer that doesn't have enough money to go places to box against other people. He tries a couple of different things to make the money but can't do it. His friend comes up with a plan to make the money. I think everyone should read this book because in the end they do something really stunning to get the money and Steven, the main character, uses his boxing skills to do something for another person. The author did a great job describing what was going on. There was never a point where I was confused. There are many reasons for you to read this great book so I recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Boxing is not only a bad thing.
Review: Redhanded is a pretty good book. Just when you think the book is starting to get boring, something surprising happens. The book is basically about a really good boxer that doesn't have enough money to go places to box against other people. He tries a couple of different things to make the money but can't do it. His friend comes up with a plan to make the money. I think everyone should read this book because in the end they do something really stunning to get the money and Steven, the main character, uses his boxing skills to do something for another person. The author did a great job describing what was going on. There was never a point where I was confused. There are many reasons for you to read this great book so I recommend it.