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A review by briarrose1021
The Sports Pages by Jon Scieszka
4.0
A collection of short stories that all center around kids in middle school who play sports, from baseball to basketball to football to MMA fighting, each story was wonderful for different reasons. My favorite, though, would have to be "I Will Destroy You, Derek Jeter" by Chris Rylander. I laughed in so many different places, most especially at the end, that it was a great story to end this book on.
My only problem with this book is that it's included in a series called "Guys Read." I get that the stereotype is that boys are going to be more likely than girls to read a book about sports, but I would think that a book published in 2012 wouldn't lean into that stereotype so much. Even in the one story that featured a female pitcher (the only story with a female protagonist), the phrase "throws like a girl" was used multiple times - and used as a put-down. Disappointing - and it cost the rating a star. Especially when I, a female, loved reading books about sports as a kid.
So, that problem aside, I enjoyed the stories, and I would encourage anyone - female or male, athlete or not - to read these short stories.
My only problem with this book is that it's included in a series called "Guys Read." I get that the stereotype is that boys are going to be more likely than girls to read a book about sports, but I would think that a book published in 2012 wouldn't lean into that stereotype so much. Even in the one story that featured a female pitcher (the only story with a female protagonist), the phrase "throws like a girl" was used multiple times - and used as a put-down. Disappointing - and it cost the rating a star. Especially when I, a female, loved reading books about sports as a kid.
So, that problem aside, I enjoyed the stories, and I would encourage anyone - female or male, athlete or not - to read these short stories.