Hank (Gunpowder Trilogy) [Hardcover]

Arch Montgomery (Author)

Book Description

Series: Gunpowder Trilogy | Publication Date: February 3, 2003

This book is for readers of ages 12 and above. Eighth-grader Hank Collins has quit his Little League team because he dislikes the coach, and now his summer promises to be long and boring. His divorced parents are preoccupied - his mother is happily smoking pot with her new husband and his father is having an affair with his secretary - and they pay little attention to Hank. Only his stepmother (Perfect-Lady-Karen) seems to notice him, and her attentions lead to preachy Bible sermons and little else. Hank spends much of his time near the Gunpowder River, where he meets two older men who invite him to join their paintball team. He enjoys this diversion, and agrees to join them for a weekend camp-out tournament. On the excursion, Hank finds out that the two men are gay; unfortunately, so do their Christian homosexual-hating campmates, who chase them and kidnap Hank. The boy escapes, and is rescued by his English teacher, who is coincidentally driving home from a summer retreat.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up-Eighth-grader Hank Collins has quit his Little League team because he dislikes the coach, and now his summer promises to be long and boring. His divorced parents are preoccupied-Mom is happily smoking pot with her new husband and Dad is having an affair with his secretary-and they pay little attention to Hank. Only his stepmother, "Perfect-Lady-Karen," seems to notice him, and her attentions lead to preachy Bible sermons and little else. Hank spends much of his time near the Gunpowder River, where he meets two older men who invite him to join their paintball team. He enjoys this diversion, and agrees to join them for a weekend camp-out tournament. On the excursion, Hank finds out that the two men are gay; unfortunately, so do their Christian homosexual-hating campmates, who chase them and kidnap Hank. The boy escapes, and is rescued by his English teacher, who is coincidentally driving home from a summer retreat. Hank's voice is fresh and believable; Montgomery's writing combines vernacular language, metaphor, and simile to present the colorful life of a young man discovering the world. There are plenty of teenage-boy details, such as Hank's fascination with breasts and descriptive sex scenes; interspersed are heavy-handed messages about acceptance and Christ. The book, the first in a trilogy, is a mixed bag for mature readers.
Angela J. Reynolds, Washington County Cooperative Library Services, Hillsboro, OR
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

All thoughtful adultswill find richness in this brilliant and superb debut novel. -- National Association of Independent Schools (David Mallery, Director of Professional Development)

Hank is a book I want other parents to read, because it is that haunting and brilliant. -- BUZZ BISSINGER, BEST-SELLING, PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING AUTHOR OF FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

Hank’s fresh and believable voice presents the colorful life of a young man discovering the world. -- School Library Journal

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 13 and up
  
• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Bancroft Press (February 3, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1890862223
• ISBN-13: 978-1890862220
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,173,441 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Bizarre, yet boring, April 4, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Hank (Gunpowder Trilogy) (Hardcover)

A sixth grade student of mine brought this book to me, as he had read it, and been somewhat disturbed by it. First off, let me say this is NOT a book that would interest kids under, say, 15.

Then again, I doubt this book would interest anybody. The fact is, it's boring. There is no discernable arc to the story, simply a group of events and a late-breaking attempt at a plot. The dialogue is clumsy and long-winded. I found myself alternately disgusted and bored by the characters. All of them are difficult to sympathize with, but are not fleshed out enough to be unpleasant in the charming way of Catcher in the Rye or Confederacy of Dunces. The politics are also troubling, while the intention is obviously good, the execution makes all the characters distasteful.

The author is a headmaster of a school in North Carolina, and I found myself wondering how his community reacted to this book. It is nothing short of bizarre.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars an admirable debut by a former teacher, June 28, 2003

By 

Alex T. (Baltimore, Maryland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hank (Gunpowder Trilogy) (Hardcover)

As a former student of the high school where the author was formerly the principal, I approached Hank with a sense of both eagerness and wariness. Did the man who ruled the halls of my old school have a creative bone in his body? I had to be careful not to let my admiration and fondness for the man get in the way of forming my own opinions about this book. This could very well have been nothing more than a feckless labor of love by a man in a mid-life crisis.

In many ways, I was blown away by Hank. Months after reading it, I still sometimes think back to particularly accurate and touching depictions of a young teenager's life. I even crack a smile when I think about Hank's poor verbal skills with a member of the opposite sex. The boy's insecurities, uncaring parents, and hunger for a role model, while certainly not new circumstances to coming-of-age stories, are nonetheless written skillfully into the fabric of a tragic character with whom we all sympathize. Hank is remarkably easy to like, even though he does not possess the charisma, magnetic personality, or precociousness that were trademarks of Holden Caulfield. The last quarter of the book is so frantic, disorganized, and bizarre that the reader may wonder if Hank's resolution is one that they even want to bother reading. But in the end, a hero comes along, in the form of (who else?) a teacher. At this point, I was left to simply chuckle. Of course, Arch (or should I still call him Mr. Montgomery?) would make the boy's saving grace a quiet, humble teacher who the boy admired. Neither what this teacher says or does is remarkable, but he is still the hero of the story, warming our hearts for the first and last time in the book.

It's easy to see the many raving reviews on the back cover and expect to read the next Catcher in the Rye. They lead you on to believe that this is a spectacular novel. Well, Hank is not a spectacular novel. In many ways, it fails to assert its uniqueness among the ranks of other films, short stories, and novels of the same genre. However, it is an enjoyable read that will surprise many at some points and satisfy even more at the end.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Well Done, April 21, 2003

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hank (Gunpowder Trilogy) (Hardcover)

This book will interest anyone who has a teenager or has been a teenager. Hank is a kid who is just trying to survive the awkward years of adolescence, while he balances the emotional extremes of his parents' homes. He gets himself into some unattractive situations but does well for someone who has no support system.

Hooking up with someone who is willing to give him a little love with a little discipline sets the stage for the next 'chapter' in this boy's life.