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A new friend helps Hank adjust to his parents' divorce and fulfill his dream of being a successful tennis player.
Hank, the ninth-grade narrator of this lightweight novel, Eulo's children's book debut, has unhappily moved to a new town in the wake of their parents' divorce. He, his older brother and young sister are to live with their father; their mother, a tennis coach, travels all the time. Hank's delivery can be coy (Mom "calls every day and always sounds like she's got a cold when she hangs up") and the narrative strains for comic effect. Geeky Tremont, the "total social disaster" who lives next door, tutors Hank, who sets about improving his tutor's image. Tremont's makeover (which is overwhelmingly successful) includes talking back to the villainous algebra teacher ("I'm not going to... to put your... your old algebra on the... the dumb old blackboard") and punching out a classmate; the dialogue, which favors expressions like "danged" and "to heck with them," belies the Jimmy Dean swagger. In other plot lines that run to wish fulfillment, perceived wimps experience the thrill of victory over jocks, and the algebra teacher, driven from her job, suffers the agony of defeat. The author caps these overdone scenarios with a shopworn twist: Hank secretly enters his parents into a mixed-doubles tournament at a prestigious amateur event, in the hope of reuniting them. While the narrator's disdain for learning changes, his initial sneering may alienate book-loving readers at the outset, while tennis enthusiasts will wish for more court action. Ages 11-up. (Apr.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
| Price | Condition | Delivery | Seller | Action |
| $99.99 | Digital |
| WonderClub |
Rodrick Allen
reviewed Mixed-Up Doubles on June 26, 2013 Mixed-Up Doubles
When I began this book I was disappointed that we'd be following Hem rather than his sister Maerad. But then I stopped being disappointed, both because Hem is at least as interesting as Maerad, and because his part of the story is just as important as hers--in fact, it's fully half of the story. Who knew? It was pretty cut and dried in the first two books: Maerad was the one in the prophecy, and Hem was secondary. But no.
And watching Hem grow up in the course of the few months described in this novel is fascinating, too. He goes from a fruit-stealing, trouble-making ragamuffin to a responsible young mage in just a few hundred pages, and in some ways he does it more gracefully than his sister. I also was drawn in to the story of Zelika, a character I liked very much.
So now I'm just waiting for The Singing. Hurry UP, February, seriously!
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