Customer Reviews

Big Slick

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Andrew Lang may only be sixteen, but he's pretty sure he'd like to try making a living playing poker. It started with free games online and quickly became playing for real in the private games held in the town pool hall. Andrew's quick thinking ability combined with the professional advice from pool hall owner Shushie Spiegel have him winning pots any respectable player would envy.

Unfortunately, Andrew has hit a losing streak. To keep money in his pocket, he begins skimming money from the cash register in the family-owned dry cleaning business. Before he knows it, he owes $600, and his father is noticing something strange. When his dad begins talking inventory, Andrew realizes his days are numbered to be able to pay the money back without being caught.

With the help of his friend Scott, goth girl and fellow employee Jasmine, and a mint-condition 1970 Chevy Chevelle SS 454, Andrew hatches a plan to get back the money he owes his father and the dry cleaning business.

Can they possibly pass themselves off as eighteen, get into the Native American casino, and then sit at a poker table and win?

BIG SLICK is filled with colorful characters, poker action, humor, romance, and illegal deals that will keep you turning the pages. Teen readers - both guys and girls, poker fans or not - will be fighting over who gets this one first.

Reviewed by: Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"

This book had me laughing out loud, smacking my forehead in dismay, and shouting "Don't do it!" as I watched the protagonist, Andrew, dig himself deeper and deeper into a hole. It was a total blast of a read, one of those wonderful I-can't-put-this-down books that you hope will never end.

BIG SLICK is a fast-paced and fun read but don't let that blind you to some of the great themes lurking beneath the surface about relationships with our parents (and between our parents--and that "knowingness" that we come into as teens where we begin seeing our folks as real, flawed people instead of just "Mom and Dad"), the value of real friendship, and the joy and pain of first love. I have to commend the author for capturing, spot-on, the sometimes wacky decision-making rationale that teens use, and how, sometimes, we just have to move ourselves through those decisions--and the outcomes--to get to the other side and gain some much-needed insight (which is true for both teens AND adults). Thanks for a great read!

Awesome read -- Eric Luper has stacked the deck with all the cards you need for a thriller of a page-turner. I loved riding alongside sixteen-year-old Andrew as he dug his way out of a mess caused by his high stakes poker habit and "borrowing'" of cash from Dad's laundry business. Andrew is clever, honest, vulnerable and risky, all at the same time. Love interest Jasmine breaks the typical Goth Girl mold -- we get why Andrew is drawn to her sensitive soul. Andrew's buddy Scott is as quirky as they come (I dare you not to laugh about where he ends up!) And other poker playing characters are as salty as a can of mixed nuts. You gotta love these names: Shushie, Flying Squirrel, Bourbon, Lampost and Cleavage. But my favorite supporting character is Andrew's little brother. What's sweeter than a kid named Rooster?

If you love watching the fast paced action of poker on cable TV,
read this book.
If you're a sucker for sweet & salty tales that pull LOTS of punches,
read this book.

And finally,
if you're into poker, girls and vintage Chevy Chevelles, then go buy BIG SLICK faster than you can say No Limit Hold `Em!

I was pleasantly surprised. I read this book because I am a Myspace friend to the author. It's not really the type of book I'd read, normally. It only took one page to become addicted. It reads smoothly and the pace is perfect. The characters quirky, and the message heartwarming.

A young boy is a savvy card shark, but gets into trouble when he barrows, and looses money from his father's dry cleaning business cash register. The father/son relationship is rocky to begin with, but when the father accused his son's friend, a savvy girl he has a huge crush on, the adventure is on to win the money back. He the girl and the boy's dingy friend, go on an adventure full of thrills, suspense, and love.

The end brings with it a moral lesson and a closer relationship with the kids father and the possibility of love.

In poker terms, a big slick is when you start a hand of Texas Hold 'em with an Ace and a King showing. It's a strong starting hand, but in the case of main character Andrew Lang, things fall apart quickly. Lang is a boy genius of sorts -- the youngest player at Shushie's underground poker club, and he has a knack for the game. But he borrowed money from his dad's dry cleaning business to enter a tournament and digs himself deeper and deeper in trouble with every page. Add to that mix some family tension, a really cute little brother, a loyal best friend, and a hot goth girl who works with Andrew at Dad's dry cleaning business, and you have a seriously compelling plot.

This is a book that teenaged boys -- and girls, since there's a cool, strong female character, too -- will love. It's not one of those YA novels that you'll want to share with most middle school kids, though. The language is intense sometimes, and there's a pretty steamy romance scene. It's definitely more of a high school title -- and a perfect one for reluctant readers at that age.

Even though I'm not a poker player, I loved this book. Probably because it isn't really just about poker after all. When all the cards are turned, Big Slick is a fast-moving, gutsy novel about finding your way in the world, making mistakes, and making good.

This book has many sexual references that are inappropriate for teens in it. I would not recommend this book unless you want your children to have better ideas of how to become sexually active. I couldn't get past chapter 2's details of "Ribbed For Her Pleasure" condom reference. I teach English and this would certainly not be appropriate as an independent novel.