Customer Reviews

Tournaments, Cocoa and One Wrong Move (Real Life)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
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Tournaments, Cocoa, & One Wrong Move is the third book in the Real Life series by Nancy Rue. Each book, however, is pretty much a standalone. What if one mistake totally tears apart your life as you know it? Would you scream and rage? Give up? Or would you pick yourself up, and, with the help of God, family, and friends, fight through it? Such is the story of Cassidy Brewster in Tournaments, Cocoa, & One Wrong Move.

In this book, Cassidy Brewster, a basketball-loving, "perfect student" soon finds her world spinning out of control after an injury during a game leaves her unable to play. One wrong move drastically changes Cassidy's situation and he life spirals out of control, but will she find a way to make it through the words of a mysterious book? Will she ever leave "Loser Hall"?

I absolutely loved this book. Yes, I don't play basketball, but the author so artfully crafts this story in a way anyone can understand. You genuinely start being emotionally involved with the outcome of the story and the situation of the character. I won't deny it- I am a huge fan of Nancy Rue. I have been since the Lily series. Longtime fans will not be disappointed. Cassidy reads The Scarlet Letter in the story, and I could see parallels between the two stories. I absolutely love the characters of Rafe, one of the "loser" kids who becomes one of Cassidy's closest friends and Cassidy's mother, who encourages her through her difficulties. This book is a clean, meaningful book about not giving up, forgiving, and getting through hard times.

Note: I received this book freely from Zondervan Publishers. I am not obligated to write a positive review- only an honest one.

So this one was a little bit too mutch of a Christan Romance, the values it teaches are good for most everyone.

Loved this series. Although it was targted for teens, I really enjoyed it. It held my interest enough that I read them in one sitting each.

Once again, I was blown away by Nancy Rue's book. She challenges so much in her writing. Her books are very realist, sometimes painful to read, but she always points the way towards truth. No hiding answers here. God's Word, the Real Life book in the story and His quiet still voice inside Cassidy are truth and the answers to Cassidy's problems. She makes good friends, but Nancy Rue does not even leave it at that. Cassidy had to learn to turn to God for the wisdom she needed, not just have a good set of friends or good moral values as many Christian Teen Fiction books imply. I very highly recommend this book, especially to any young girls struggling with trying to be perfect. This is the 3rd book in her new series [Real Life]. - CTF Devourer
[...]

"Tournaments, Cocoa & One Wrong Move" is young adult general fiction with a romance. This is the third book in the Real Life series, but you can read the books in any order. The story was fast-paced, and the suspense grew as things got worse and worse in Cassidy's relationships at school and with her own family. Suspense also came from wondering if she'd get well enough to play again and, if so, if they'd override the rules to let her play again. I could hardly put the book down.

The world-building was also excellent, with the details about the setting, girls high school basketball, and physical therapy bringing the story alive in my imagination. The characters were realistic as were the pressures Cassidy faced. I even cried in sympathy with what she was going through. However, I thought the ending was a bit unrealistically tidy.

I was also concerned by the "bad boy" as Cassidy's romantic match. I'm all for getting to know people that are different from you rather than scorning them based on preconceptions. However, Cassidy's father was portrayed as unreasonable when he expressed concern about her friendship with the "trouble" kids. Granted, his stated reasons were bad ones (appearances), but I'd have a talk with my child if they started hanging out with "the bad crowd." Though it works out for Cassidy in the novel, peer pressure usually works the other way around in real life.

Christians and non-Christians were portrayed realistically with both the good and the bad. Cassidy finds a book, "RL," that's like a Bible and gives her guidance about her situation. The personalized & paraphrased stories seemed to be more loosely based on the Bible verses than previously, and I sometimes felt like the wording or conclusion was changed a bit to make it fit the author's point. Also, this time I usually didn't see how the stories even related to Cassidy's situation. Granted, everything was tied together into an a-ha moment near the end, but I prefer how the RL book was handled in the previous two books.

There was a very minor amount of bad language in the "he cussed" or "Don't say it!" style. There was no sex. Overall, I'd recommend this novel as well-written, clean reading.


I received an ARC of the book as a review copy from the publisher.

Reviewed by Debbie from Genre Reviews