Out of Nowhere by Maria Padian

This was a slow starter for me. I felt it was going to be a “message” book masquerading as a sports book, and I was right, unfortunately. There was a good message in place:  accepting other people and trying to understand other cultures. But Ms. Padian also threw in skin-heads, rich vs. poor, drug and alcohol abuse, cyberbullying, and political activism. All of these things can be used to make a point, but it seemed like overkill to me. Not to mention that the romantic interest was a college sophomore girl falling for a 17 year-old-boy.

So will all of that, I’m glad I finished it, but I only did, because it’s on our Gateway possibilities list. I think I can target this to our few soccer players who are patient readers and willing to give a book time to get interesting.

Favorite Quotes:

Pg. 17 – Somali is a no-holds-banned language. Half the time it sounds like people are fighting each other, but it’s just that they get that animated. The hands go, too, emphasizing each word. I think you’d render a Somali person partially mute if you tied their hands.

                   (This is so me!)

Pg. 260 – Time is a lunging dog on a leash when you’re in an emergency room. It yanks you forward in ways you can’t control….