Review of Losers Take All by David Klass

Klass, David.  Losers Take All.  Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2015.

At Fremont High School, aka “Muscles High”, if you are not an athlete, then you are a nobody.  The whole school—and the town of Fremont, New Jersey—is totally obsessed with sports.  They even have a whole week at the end of every school year devoted to honoring their athletes.

Jack Logan’s father and two brothers were talented football players, but Jack---well, not so much.  In fact, Jack doesn’t even like sports.  At the end of his junior year, his seventy-year-old principal dies of a heart attack during the annual “senior run” and is replaced Coach Muhldinger—the football coach.  As his first official act as principal, Coach Muhldinger decrees that all seniors must play some kind of sport.

When Jack is roped in to trying out for the football team, he ends up in the hospital, instead.  Jack and his girlfriend, Becca, decide to form a “C” level soccer team and ask the school’s part-time Latin teacher, Mr. Percy, to be their coach.   A whole group of unathletic seniors join the team with the goal of not winning, but just surviving the season without getting injured.  Hilariously, they lose games in fine fashion and become a media sensation via online videos.  .  The team attracts a whole group of fans that are against violence in sports and bullying.  This does nothing to enhance the team’s image with Coach Muhldinger, who seeks revenge on the team for the humiliation it has brought to him.

In Losers Take All, David Klauss has succeeded in capturing the essence of competitive sports, including the negative aspects of violence and bullying that sometimes go along with it.  He has tackled these hard issues “head on” and provided a thought-provoking look into how sports culture affects the mood of a school and a town.  He has also put a lot of humor into the plot with his descriptions of play-by-play scenes of the soccer team’s games.  Readers will find themselves cheering for the mix of misfits that are doing their best to lose every game they play.

The characters are extremely well developed.  Principal Muhldinger is your stereotypical coach—all business, gruff, overbearing, and opinionated about non-athletes.  Our main character, Jack, who is also the narrator, provides a genuine male teen voice.  He thinks he has no athletic ability, but discovers he has a true talent for soccer.  Even though it seems like his football-hero dad is not on his side, Klass shows that Tom Logan is a loving and supportive parent.

Sports fans and non-sports fans, alike, as well as readers who enjoy humorous fiction, will enjoy this book.  I recommend it for middle school, high school, and public libraries and give it four out of five fleur de lis!

Review of Leverage by Josh Cohen

Leverage by Josh Cohen.  Dutton, 2011.

Kurt Brodsky is recruited as a junior to attend Oregrove High School by Coach Briggs, who hungers for a state football championship. Kurt has grown up in foster care and has had some very bad experiences in his life, not the least of which is molestation by adults. In fact, at his last group home, Mr. Sandborn, aka “Crud Bucket”, was especially horrendous and evil in his abuse, killing Kurt’s friend, Lamar. Kurt escapes from his problems by lifting weights and becoming stronger, with revenge as his ultimate goal. However, he has a kind heart and a gentle soul, but also suffers from severe stuttering. He has a promising future as an offensive fullback.

Sophomore Danny Meehan, is a two-year member of Oregrove’s gymnastic team. He has set lofty goals for himself, hopefully ending in a full-ride college scholarship. Unfortunately, at Oregrove, football is king, and football players rule the school. The three football captains, quarterback Scott Miller, offensive tackle Tom Jankowski, and defensive lineman Mike “Stud” Studblatz, are extremely talented, but they are hyped up on Coach Briggs’s steroids. They terrorize the school, but mainly target the smaller athletes--the gymnastic team, the cross country team, and the swimming team.

Gymnastics coach Ted Nelson, a retired special ops military man, discovers his team budget has been cut by Coach Briggs, who is using the money to put a JumboTron up in the football stadium. Coach Nelson challenges the football players to a strength contest in the school’s weight room, with the winner getting to use the weight room whenever they wish. Much to the football teams’ dismay, they lose to the gymnasts, which sets off a series of pranks between the two teams. The retaliation between the two squads gets more and more out of control, leading to physical abuse and, eventually, a student’s suicide. In an unlikely pairing, Kurt and Danny team up with Tina, also a former foster care child, to expose the football bullies and mete out a kind of justice of their own.

This novel debut by Josh Cohen was a gripping, intense book, one I had to put down at times so I could ponder and absorb what I had read! The characters were extremely well-fleshed out and densely developed. A lot of thought went into their interactions; even the minor characters were complex! The book is told in alternating chapters between the two main characters—Kurt and Danny. I loved Kurt who, at first glance, seemed strong, imposing, and mean, but was actually a gentle giant underneath that hard exterior. Others’ perceptions of his being stupid because he stuttered only added an extra dimension to his likability factor.

Danny, as well, was extremely likable. I admired the way he set his goals to so high. The unlikely friendship that formed between Kurt and Danny was heartfelt and true. It was through Danny’s leadership and encouragement that the entire gymnastics team embraced Kurt’s inclusion in some of their activities.

Tina, the Goth techie girl whom Kurt knew from a previous foster home, was one tough chick. She was a super-hero in disguise! Not only did she know about music, computers and other technology, she was the defender of the weak! I loved how she and her friend, Indira, tried to take on Tom Jankowski in the hallway when he was bullying Danny. She also plays a huge part in the book’s climax.

The three football captains were vile, crude, and rude, and I absolutely hated them. I could not find a single redeeming quality in their personalities. However, at times, their behaviors almost seemed bully-stereotypical. I think that Cohen probably intended his reading audience to loathe the bullies, which was certainly the case, for me, at least.

The action scenes, both for gymnastics and football were extremely descriptive. The ending was awesome, although there is a surprising, unexpected twist! The novel is really about perceptions and expectations, how to overcome adversity, and acceptance of others. Due to the graphic nature of parts of the book I would only recommend it for mature readers, perhaps tenth grade and up. Those who do dive into this book will not be disappointed!