The Cardturner by Louis Sachar

The Story:  Alton Richards' summer isn't going anywhere.  He's 17, without a job, heartbroken about his breakup, and his family's finances aren't exactly in check.  Then, to make matters worse, his mother volunteers him to drive his blind, diabetic, grumpy, old, great-uncle to bridge club every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday, in hopes of getting on Uncle Lester Trapp's "good side".  It seems as though everybody knows that he has only a couple of months left, so they are trying to weasle their way into his heart, and more importantly, his will.  So,  Alton has no choice to drive Trapp to bridge club and be his cardturner, meaning telling Trapp what cards he has.  Soon, he meets Toni Castaneda,  Trapp's previous cardturner, and it seems like his family isn't the only one that Trapp's close to.  Trapp is something of a bridge genius and is intent on winning nationals,  after a heartbreaking experience there 40 years ago.    Will Trapp win nationals or will he even live to play it?

Chloe's Critique:  This was actually a surprisingly good book!  When I first read the summary, I was skeptical.  Who wants to read a story about a card game- especially bridge!  Yet, when you get into the story, it doesn't talk about bridge- it talks about the effect that a simple card game can have on a group of people.    Sure, there's a bunch of bridge gibberish like, "One banana, pass, pass, two-no-trump."  There's also lengthy explanations about certain moves, but Alton has got us covered.  When you see Moby Dick, you can skip to this box that gives you a basic cliff notes version .  Full of quirks, philosophical questions, and humor, you'll feel yourself start to root for Trapp and Alton.

Rating:  4/5  Stars