Out of Order (Bccb Blue Ribbon Fiction Books (Awards)) [Hardcover]

A. M. Jenkins (Author)

Book Description

Series: Bccb Blue Ribbon Fiction Books (Awards) | Publication Date: August 14, 2003

Baseball. I'm very good at baseball. Baseball is the only part of my life I have any control over. Baseball is the only reason I'm still in school.

Problem: I'm not out on the field. I'm in here. There's no way you can think about baseball when your body's trapped in a hard chair in a quiet room, and you can't move at all. When you can't feel the shock of the bat running up your arm into your shoulder. When you can't feel the whump! of the ball in your glove.

When the girl you've been in love with since seventh grade walked off mad, and as usual she's going to stay that way till you crawl like a dog.

In this new novel from the acclaimed author of Damage, Colt Trammel's life is falling apart. His girlfriend has dumped him (again), and his mother has told him that unless he can raise his GPA to a C, she won't let him play baseball anymore. The next six weeks will test Colt in a way he's never been tested before, and how he gets through them is hilarious, poignant, and powerfully believable.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up-In his sophomore year at his Texas high school, Colt Trammel feels that he's reached the top. After all, he's a baseball star and a leading jock, and he's part of the school's elite social group. Not that there aren't problems: Colt hates school (thanks largely to an undiagnosed learning disability), and his grades are so bad that his sports eligibility is in danger. Added to the mix are problems with his beautiful and brainy girlfriend, who stays rather prim during their makeout sessions. When a girl with green hair transfers to his high school, Colt is disconcerted by the fact that he finds her interesting when the school social code dictates that he should ignore her. Corrine ends up tutoring Colt in English and by the end of the novel they've formed an unlikely friendship. She manages to see that Colt is a good guy underneath his aggressive surface, and he comes to respect her independent spirit. The best part of this novel is the portrait of Colt. Every part rings true, from his rough language and obsession with sex to his need to act cool at all costs. It's also a very funny portrait, without ever lapsing into stereotypes or becoming too broad. Readers looking for a dead-on look at high school will enjoy this novel.
Todd Morning, Schaumburg Township Public Library, IL
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 8-10. Colt Trammel, popular baseball player and sophomore-class wise guy, knows in his gut that he's a dumb jock, much dumber than most of his classmates and his sexy girlfriend, Grace. But he is determined to cover up his inadequacies with his good looks, athleticism, and clever comments and stunts. His carefully crafted persona begins to crumble when Grace jilts him and his failing grades could mean that he won't be eligible to play ball. Then comes intelligent, green-haired Corrine, who becomes Colt's tutor and saddleburr. Colt's fast-talking first-person narrative paints a humorous, poignant portrait of a young man with learning disabilities who is savvy yet self-destructive. The well-drawn young characters will hook both male and female teen readers, who will recognize the high-school insider-outsider culture: its lies and cruelties, and its ultimate preparation for the real world. Frances Bradburn
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  
• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: HarperTeen; 1st edition (August 14, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0066239680
• ISBN-13: 978-0066239682
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 4.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,337,659 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars OUT OF ORDER is a realistic book., July 26, 2004

By 

Teenreads.com (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Out of Order (Library Binding)

Colt Trammel is trying to make sense of his high school world. His classes are like gibberish, his girlfriend Grace freaks after he tells her he loves her, and his lab partner is a new girl with green hair, for Pete's sake. The only time Colt knows what's going on is when he's playing baseball.

A.M. Jenkins is a master at drawing readers right into the characters. Colt is not a simple jock stereotype. His love for Grace makes him vulnerable, and the failures he experiences in his classes make him feel perpetually stupid.

Colt's struggle with the romantic poets from his English class becomes crucial when his grades drop below what is acceptable for playing athletes. He finds a tutor in Chloe, formerly of the green hair. Jenkins writes their tutoring sessions with humor. Anyone who has struggled to understand classic poems will especially enjoy these parts of the books.

It is also nice to see in a book the boy's side of a painful dating relationship. Readers will sympathize with this supposed tough guy as he pines for Grace, who doesn't treat him well.

Jenkins gives us a three-dimensional character in Colt, who is likable despite some bad choices that will have the reader cringing. OUT OF ORDER is a realistic book, and readers will want to see more of what happens to Colt.

--- Reviewed by Amy Alessio

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A character driven teen book that works very well., May 26, 2004

By 

Andrew Heiz (NYC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Out of Order (Library Binding)

I didn't know that this book was a "Teen" book until I was half way done and read the cover blurbs. I was rather surprised. While it is an easy read it is deeper than it seems to be. This is a truely character driven book, so much so I could see it as a drama. The characters are rich and deep. Every scene (it really could be a drama) is set up to learn something about the "starring" character. This book is about teens growing up, experiencing their world and learning the ins and outs. The best of all we aren't left feeling sorry or happy for characters. They react to their environment and we are left with characters that have grown since our introduction to them. A. M. Jenkins does a great job of letting the characters do what they do without unnecessary actions. At the end we leave Colt's world very different from the one we came in on and allow it to follow its own unpredictable path.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully crafted portrait of a boy in trouble, September 9, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Out of Order (Bccb Blue Ribbon Fiction Books (Awards)) (Hardcover)

A. M. Jenkins, author of the highly regarded DAMAGE, is known for depicting the world of today's young adults with unflinching honesty. But more than that, her writing conveys her genuine affection and caring for her subject. In Colt Trammel, Jenkins has created her most memorable character yet.

On the outside, Colt is popular, athletic, smart-mouthed, always on top. On the inside, he is desperately in love with Grace and struggles to cover up a learning disability. But he's beginning to lose both Grace and his battle to hide his disability when "Chlo," a green-haired girl who can see right through him enters his life.

Jenkins never descends into sentimentality in her portrait of Colt. Similarly, his faults and his failings are drawn without judgment. Colt's voice is clear and compelling without being too self-aware. A worthy successor to the author's previous works.