Reviews

Waiting for Augusta by Jessica Lawson

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misspippireads's review against another edition

2.0

4 star audiobook narration
1 star story

Review available at http://adolescentaudioadventures.blogspot.com/2016/09/waiting-for-augusta.html

loffy81's review against another edition

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2.0

The idea of the story was great, but for me it was really hard to get into. The story seemed to drag at times and I felt the end was too perfectly wrapped up. Not my cup of tea. The cover is fantastic and some might really enjoy the story of Ben Putter and his struggle to come to terms with his father's death. I, sadly, did not.

pwbalto's review against another edition

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2.0

Gr 4-8 -- Eleven-year-old Ben Putter is kind of a weird kid. Not majorly crazy, but he does have conversations with inanimate objects. And in the months since his golf-obsessed daddy died, Ben’s been convinced there’s a golf ball lodged in his neck. And when Daddy pipes up from beyond the grave, asking Ben to scatter his ashes on the 18th hole of the Augusta National Golf Club, Ben, craving his father’s attention and understanding, runs away from home to do so. There’s a lot going on in this book, which is set during the furor over school integration in the American South. Ben feels guilt for not sticking up for his friend May, one of the first African American kids in his school. His fierce traveling companion, Noni, is secretive and maybe untrustworthy. And it seems like everyone they meet on their journey is grieving over their own losses. Best for readers who like the wealth of plot and Southern setting in Sheila Turnage’s Three Times Lucky books - possibly a little much for others. —Paula Willey

midwest_to_mountains_bookworm's review against another edition

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4.0

A beautiful story about grief and golf. Very fitting that I read this book on the Saturday of the Masters tournament this year. Loved the messages interwoven throughout the whole book.

yapha's review against another edition

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4.0

Ben Putter feels that he is a disappointment to his golf-obsessed father. Ben loves to paint and has a real talent that he hid from his father. After his father's death, Ben finds lump in his throat that won't go away (even though no one else believes it is there). But Ben knows it is a golf ball. And one night, he finally learns what he must do to get rid of it -- take his father's urn from Hilltop, Alabama to Augusta, Georgia and sprinkle his ashes on the 18th hole on the last day of the Masters' Tournament. As Ben is making his plans, a runaway girl named Noni overhears him and invites herself along. Noni is quick and crafty and makes the perfect partner to cautious Ben. Together they travel by bus, train, and stolen pick-up truck the 200 miles to Augusta. Along they way Ben learns new truths about himself, his father, and their relationship. Highly recommended to grades 4 & up.

eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss

schadenfreudes's review against another edition

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5.0

Rating: 4.5/5

“Some things are true whether other people believe you or not.”

I would never imagined, I like this book more than I expected. This is the kind of bildungsroman that would make someone sad. It's beautiful, the tale of second chances for people that you've wronged in your life. The closest people you get in contact with are the most likely to easier get hurt by ourselves. The male protagonist went to seemingly a wild goose chase, supervised by his father who have already been ashes in a pewter urn.

He only owned one book in the world, and it wasn’t the Bible. It was full of photographs and facts about Augusta.

His Dad is depicted as great man for other people in their café, but his love for golf always went overboard and got the better of him. In this book, Jessica Lawson tried to show how hard it is for teenage to process the death of the closest ones. Even though they claimed to hate them because of various things they did when alive, the process of letting it go sometimes make them seem strong without shedding any tears, but deep inside they are hurting.

“Golf is the closest game to the game we call life. You get bad breaks from good shots; you get good breaks from bad shots, but you have to play the ball where it lies.” (Bobby Jones)

There are some philosphical quotes about golf and life here and there, and I'm reading it delightfully. This book is a good rendition for golf athletes, lovers, and enthusiasts out there, with a touch of sentimental value of father and son bonding, including the friendship of Noni and Ben.

He sighed, and the disappointment hit me right in the gut, just like it always did. One sigh was all it took. I wondered if Daddy knew how much power was in his sighs, even his dead ones.

Benjamin Putter always feels his dad never really proud of him because he never really got into golf like his father expected to. Then suddenly, his dad died from the sudden surgery. He never shed a tear, and suddenly there is a lump in his throat as big as golf ball. After his death, Bogey Putter suddenly talked to his son from his ashes in the urn, asking him to take both of them to Augusta, where there is a biggest golf course in America.

But love isn’t a fact, it’s a feeling, and the feeling that my daddy loved me was like catching fog. It was there, but I couldn’t get a solid hold on it. I think maybe it was that extra word that made it all seem slippery. It was the anyway that made it feel like a lie.

This book showed how important wording is to everyone. Just a long sigh, unclear intention, the extra words, it could make the wrong impression towards the other party. The second chance that every one always need but don't deserve, is magically given to this boy.

Maybe I hadn’t said the right things either. Maybe I should have said more. Tried harder. Mrs. Marino showed up in my brain. It’s harder to be proud of something you don’t understand.

The struggle Ben had is happening to other teens as well, so I feel like this book is good for contemplating life for the adults too. I must admit this book is a bit heavy to be called middle grade because the philosophical value it holds.

“How come you’re never your charming self with me?” I asked.
“Still not funny.” She wrinkled her nose and handed me a cookie. “Showing you my true self is a testament to our friendship. Consider yourself lucky.”

Noni is a sheltered girl with too many privileges. Indeed she was being a jerk for some times, but after reading this book I must admit I'm touched by her tenacity to give her father the sign to move on with his life. To forgive her, to let her go and make peace with this world. Her attempt to befriend Benjamin is so typical for teenage girls, and I like it because it's so natural.

I’d wondered about Mr. Walter’s chair for months, staring at the spot in the café where he’d sat—a magic chair where it was easy to say things. I thought maybe Daddy and I could sit down and eat one day, and I’d sit in that chair. When I’d finally sucked down enough nerve to ask Mama about it, she’d said there was no magic chair. The thing that man was sitting in was his skin color. She said being white had made things easier for me, too.

Jessica Lawson brought out the racist issues back from the 70s, when the public schools were being opened for the colored people and the white people opened up private school so their children would be safe and sound. For the records, most of the bullying were done by the white supremacist children. Not the colored ones, like Benjamin said to his dad about these issue:

“Just because something’s allowed and it doesn’t break any laws, I don’t know if that makes it right.”

In the end, I give this book 4.5 stars because its complicated plot and heavy moral value. It's a good book, well written and worthy to read. It would give you a long time to contemplate life's meaning. Like Walter Hagen said: