Title: The Cardturner
Author: Louis Sachar
Date Published: May 11th, 2010
Pages: 336
Goodreads Synopsis:
From Louis Sachar, New York Times bestselling author and winner of the Newbery Medal for HOLES, comes the young adult novel THE CARDTURNER, an exploration of the human condition.
How are we supposed to be partners? He can’t see the cards and I don’t know the rules!
The summer after junior year of high school looks bleak for Alton Richards. His girlfriend has dumped him to hook up with his best friend. He has no money and no job. His parents insist that he drive his great-uncle Lester to his bridge club four times a week and be his cardturner—whatever that means. Alton’s uncle is old, blind, very sick, and very rich.
But Alton’s parents aren’t the only ones trying to worm their way into Lester Trapp’s good graces. They’re in competition with his longtime housekeeper, his alluring young nurse, and the crazy Castaneda family, who seem to have a mysterious influence over him.
Alton soon finds himself intrigued by his uncle, by the game of bridge, and especially by the pretty and shy Toni Castaneda. As the summer goes on, he struggles to figure out what it all means, and ultimately to figure out the meaning of his own life.
Through Alton’s wry observations, Louis Sachar explores the disparity between what you know and what you think you know. With his incomparable flair and inventiveness, he examines the elusive differences between perception and reality—and inspires readers to think and think again.
Initial Thoughts:
I went into the library not planning to pick up this book. I went to the library bookstore, like usual. Then, on a whim, i decided i wanted to check out some books. I wanted to do something different, so i decided to just take the first 3 books on the shelf. This was one of them. I had never heard anything about this book before, so i was excited to read it.
After Thoughts:
I didn't have high expectations for this book because i didn't know anything about it. If you read the synopsis, than you know that the book is about bridge. Well, not the whole book, but it is centered around the game. Before this book, i didn't even know bridge was a card game, so i learned that right off the bat, lol! As for the story, i didn't really understand where it was going. It was kind of just going round and round with the same plot, just different locations. I also didn't understand the game of bridge, so whenever they talked about it in depth, i just skipped over it. Now on to the positives. I liked the main character, Alton, a lot. I felt the same emotions as him, and he did things that i would have done in certain situations. Now that i think about it, i actually liked most of the characters a lot. The author also makes you laugh a few times, which is always good. One thing i still don't understand after reading the book is what the cover means. Why is he laying on a bench with a book? Overall, it was a good book, and i suggest you read it. i gave it a 3/5 stars!
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