Pinned [Hardcover]

Alfred C. Martino (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 7, 2005

Ivan Korske and Bobby Zane couldn't be more different--they come from different backgrounds, different lifestyles, and they have very different values and ways of looking at the world and dealing with people. Yet they both have the drive, determination, and commitment to self-sacrifice necessary to become a champion. In the end, though, only one will stand in the center of the mat with his arms raised in victory.

Has each boy prepared enough? Sacrificed enough? Does each want to win enough? All the training, pain, running, and cutting weight ultimately comes down to a few short minutes on a wrestling mat--leaving one boy the victor, the other devastated.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up - Alternating story lines converge to introduce two very different, talented but flawed high school athletes whose sports careers peak when they meet in the finals of the 129-pound division of the New Jersey State Wrestling Championship. Bobby's dad is a lawyer, his mom a successful real-estate agent. He attends an affluent suburban school with a winning wrestling tradition and a first-class coach. As his season progresses, Bobby blossoms, becoming smooth, quick, and strong. Ivan, in contrast, mourns his recently deceased mother, chafes under the thumb of his old-school Polish papa, and seethes with unspoken anger. He is an outcast even on his own team, a brutish and intimidating force on the mat. Despising his coach, Ivan pins his hopes on a scholarship to take him far away from his depressing blue-collar town. Ivan adores Shelley, the devoted girl next door, while Bobby lusts after Carmelina, whom he met at the mall. Bobby gets her pregnant, which, along with the breakup of his parents' marriage, adds stress to his already taxed, starved, driven body. There is an uneven quality to the writing, which, like the athletes and the language they use, is a bit raw. But the portrayal of the dedication required and the varied motivations of student athletes is certainly on target. Many teens will identify with the boys' struggles both on and off the mat. Some readers may be irritated at the inconclusive, yet perhaps inevitable, ending, but this book is really about getting to the finals. - Joel Shoemaker, Southeast Junior High School, Iowa City, IA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 9-12. Alternating chapters explore the wrestling seasons of Ivan Korske and Bobby Zane--both high-school seniors and contenders for the New Jersey state title in their weight class. The young men are different in many ways. Ivan is the son of Polish immigrants from a poor town in the southern part of the state; Bobby is from the affluent north. While the wrestling scenes are well described in gritty, testosterone-influenced language, what sets this novel apart are the rich portraits of the central characters' lives away from the wrestling mats. The author doesn't shy away from using the rough language of the locker room or describing a sexual encounter in fairly graphic detail. Though the unresolved ending may leave some readers disappointed, the teens' personal quest to reach the season's final match forms the novel's compelling core. Todd Morning
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books; 1 edition (February 7, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152053557
• ISBN-13: 978-0152053550
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #718,480 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Hello,

I am thrilled to announce the November 1, 2011 publication of my newest novel, "Perfected By Girls," about sophomore Melinda Radford, navigating life while being the lone girl on her high school wrestling team.

"Perfected by Girls" follows my 2009 novel, "Over The End Line," and my debut novel, "Pinned," published in 2005.

My novels have been positively reviewed in Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, VOYA, Booklist, AudioFile and Kirkus. In addition, "Pinned" was chosen as a Jr. Library Guild Selection, Capitol Choices nominee, and nominee for YALSA's 'Best Book For Young Adults.'

I regularly have speaking engagements at public libraries and schools to discuss writing, being an entrepreneur, audiobook publishing, and the importance of education with middle and high school students.

I am a proud graduate of Duke University and The Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California, and the co-founder and president of Listen & Live Audio, Inc., the premier independent audiobook publishing company in the US.

With over 600 titles, Listen & Live Audio has worked with some of the finest narrators in the audiobook industry, including film legend Burt Reynolds, Penn Jillette of "Penn & Teller," Frank Muller, Grover Gardner, George Guidall, Simon Prebble and the incomparable Katy kellgren. The company has won 3 consecutive Odyssey Honor Awards, 10 Audie Awards, and dozens of AudioFile 'Earphones' and Publishers Weekly 'Listen Up' Awards.

The company has also had the privilege of recording many high-profile books, including the New York Times bestseller "The Jane Austen Book Club," "The Darwin Awards" series, "The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook" series, as well as, authors Donna Hanover, Carol O'Connell, David Rosenfelt, Leil Lowndes, LA Meyer, Barbara Corcoran, Karen White, and Cassandra King.

A native of Short Hills, NJ, I have has been a resident of Jersey City, NJ, since 1998. Most importantly, I am the proud companion to two wonderful rescue dogs, Daisy and Sara.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A novel that dispels the dumb jock stereotype, June 8, 2005

By 

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

This review is from: Pinned (Hardcover)

Wrestling isn't just a sport to Bobby Zane and Ivan Korske. It's a way of life. From the midnight runs to the cutting weight to plotting maneuvers in their sleep, wrestling is all they think about during the winter sports season. Both compete in the 129-pound weight class, and both refuse to let anything stand in the way of the state championship title.

Beyond their mutual love of wrestling, however, Bobby and Ivan couldn't be more different. Bobby's school wrestling team is known throughout New Jersey for its winning record. His family, though rich, is troubled by his mother's long working hours and his father's infidelity, and news that Bobby's girlfriend might be pregnant leaves Bobby wondering exactly where his life is headed.

Meanwhile, Ivan and his small-town farming father are grieving his mother, who was a strong influence in both their lives, and Ivan's anger and loss are felt by everyone except for his neighbor Shelley, who encourages Ivan's talents. Ivan's only hope of leaving his backwater town of Lemmings is a scholarship to Western Arizona University, but his father wants him to attend college close to home.

Each chapter alternates a point of view, taking the reader through both Bobby's and Ivan's journeys to the state championship. Alfred C. Martino, a wrestling fan, brings the excitement of their matches into the story. Both characters have depth and devotion to the people they love, even though their commitment to wrestling sometimes eats away at their relationships. Reading this book will make you think twice about the dumb jock stereotype.

   --- Reviewed by Carlie Webber

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a wrestler's review, November 16, 2008

By 

Nick Krumpolz (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pinned (Paperback)

Pinned is the brilliant conquest of two wrestlers determined to be state champions. Alfred Martino captures the hardships, and triumphs that a true wrestler faces, when he archives the wrestling season of the two best 129 pound wrestlers in New Jersey. Bobby Zane, and Ivan Korske. Both wrestlers have made wrestling their primary focus, and everything else just revolves around it.

Alfred Martino tells the stories of both wrestlers' wrestling season, with great lucidity. Chapter one begins Ivan Korke's story, and chapter two begins bobby Zane's. The chapters alternate between characters. The reader learns that Bobby and Ivan come from completely different backgrounds, and situations, and the only likeness they share is their fixation on the state title.

Ivan Korske lives in a more rural farming town with his father. They are still in the grieving process since the passing of Ivan's mother who was a big part of the family. Still, Ivan focuses on his goal, but the byproduct of his loss, is anger, which he unleashes on everyone besides his neighbor, Shelly. They have a friendly relationship, which really helps Ivan, but with the stress of winning state, for everyone in the community, he begins to make the relationship complicated. Is he better off without her?

Bobby Zane on the other hand, comes from a rich family, although he also has mother troubles. His mother is bound to her demanding job by long hours away from home. His high school is known through out the state for winning nearly every meet. Bobby spends a lot of time with his girlfriend, Carmelina. Just when he thinks it's time to dump her, so he can focus on wrestling, their relationship (and lives for that matter,) take a HUGE turn.

In the final stages of the book, as everyone expected, the state finalists are Bobby Zane, and Ivan Korske. As the reader now loves both wrestlers, this is a gut wrenching moment for the reader, because they know one must lose.

I read this book during my wrestling season, and I was so impressed by the true wrestler's experience that went into making a book. It is impossible to replicate the emotion of a wrestling season, unless you have been through them yourself. Alfred Martino and I know, we're wrestlers. We put our bodies and souls through so much, it hurts. But nothing compares, in any other worldly happening, to winning a wrestling match, and having the ref raise your hand. Pinned does a stellar job at capturing this feeling, and sharing the experience.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Yea Pinned, April 21, 2005

By 

Bennet Pomerantz "Bennet Pomerantz, AUDIOWORLD" (College Park, Maryland) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Pinned (Junior Library Guild Selection (Listen & Live Audio)) (Audio CD)

Mark Shanahan kept me interested in Pinned (six CDs, seven Hours, unabridged Fiction, Listen & Live Audio). I remember the movie in the 1980's called Vision Quest which was about wrestling. This audio book sounded similar to that. This Young Adult Book kept me enthraled with the concept of two diverse boys and their ideals, I knew nothing of Wrestling since my High School days, I called my local High School and asked when the next match was, after hearing this. Great piece of audio work-Bravo for the writer and the narrator--Bennet Pomerantz, AUDIOWORLD