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Tilt
Nominated for the Ottawa Book Award
Stan is an intense sixteen-year-old loner who desperately wants to make the junior varsity basketball team. And it seems that he may be about to do so, until he’s blindsided by the unexpected attentions of Janine Igwash. Suddenly Stan is no longer thinking about jump shots. Instead he is obsessed with Janine’s spiky hair, her milky white shoulders and the mysterious little tattoo at the base of her neck, not to mention the heat of her breath, her dark eyes, wide hips and . . . Then Stan’s father arrives on the scene with Stan’s four-year-old half brother, and things become truly insane. Tilt is a wonderfully droll and insightful story about a sensitive, intelligent and gently funny young man living through an impossibly absurd time of life. This book is a rare achievement -- a witty, sexy compulsively readable work of high literary quality.
Stan is an intense sixteen-year-old loner who desperately wants to make the junior varsity basketball team. And it seems that he may be about to do so, until he’s blindsided by the unexpected attentions of Janine Igwash. Suddenly Stan is no longer thinking about jump shots. Instead he is obsessed with Janine’s spiky hair, her milky white shoulders and the mysterious little tattoo at the base of her neck, not to mention the heat of her breath, her dark eyes, wide hips and . . . Then Stan’s father arrives on the scene with Stan’s four-year-old half brother, and things become truly insane. Tilt is a wonderfully droll and insightful story about a sensitive, intelligent and gently funny young man living through an impossibly absurd time of life. This book is a rare achievement -- a witty, sexy compulsively readable work of high literary quality.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
November 30, 2017
I would reccommend to boy readers.
The novel brings you inside the head of Stan, a high-schooler who is trying to make the varsity basketball team, take care of his family, and get together with a girl from his class. You really experience his thought-process and the narrative is not written from the first-person - now that's good writing.
Stan's little sister Lily, her stuffed Mr. Strawberry and the way she does math are hilariously adorable.
The novel brings you inside the head of Stan, a high-schooler who is trying to make the varsity basketball team, take care of his family, and get together with a girl from his class. You really experience his thought-process and the narrative is not written from the first-person - now that's good writing.
Stan's little sister Lily, her stuffed Mr. Strawberry and the way she does math are hilariously adorable.
May 25, 2020
Not what I was expecting, but I liked it.
January 4, 2012
Really 3.5 stars. Stan was an incredibly likable average teenage boy. Popular enough, talented enough, smart enough. My favorite scene took place when a teacher called him out for talking during class. Teacher asked him to explain himself and Stan used the opportunity to apologize to a girl he liked, for his fumbled attempts at talking to her on the phone. "Stand up." Mr. Stillwater's eyes never left Stan. Maybe this wasn't going to pass after all. Stan rose uneasily. "What does everyone know?" Stillwater pressed. "That I'm an idiot," Stan said. janine laughed. She was the only one. "Are you?" A little less heft in Stillwater's voice. The moment seemed suddenly to open to comic possibilities. "I'm talking with my idiot friend when I should be listening," Stan said. "That makes me an idiot, too. I'm sorry Mr. Stillwater. And sometimes I drop the phone when someone wonderful is on the other end," Stan continued. There's more but you get the gist. It was a great moment and it made me love Stan. It did not make the teacher love Stan and he gets his revenge another day.
I liked that everything didn't fall into place for Stan. More like real life. Is stan a good basketball player ? Sure. Should he have a spot on the JV team ? Probably. Does he deserve a spot on the varsity team ? maybe. But in real life, things don't always happen that way and Stan knows that.
Stan's family is complicated and maybe a little crazy. His mother is kind of pathetic and leans on Stan to hold the family together. His younger sister Lily is flaky. She tested off-the-charts at school for her "imaginative actualization" which just means she pretty much lives in a fantasy world. I didn't know they tested for that (or valued it).But the worst character has to be Stan's father. He left Stan's mother 5 yeras ago after he got another woman pregnant and has had no contact with his old family since. Ron, the father, does resurface and Stan has a chance to work out his feelings for his absent dad. I thought this was particularly well-done. Stan remembers a big, athletic guy and this older shrunken man he meets is someone completely different.
There is more (the love story) but I don't want to summarize the whole book. Definitely worth a read. It didn't knock my socks off but it was comfortable and believable.
I liked that everything didn't fall into place for Stan. More like real life. Is stan a good basketball player ? Sure. Should he have a spot on the JV team ? Probably. Does he deserve a spot on the varsity team ? maybe. But in real life, things don't always happen that way and Stan knows that.
Stan's family is complicated and maybe a little crazy. His mother is kind of pathetic and leans on Stan to hold the family together. His younger sister Lily is flaky. She tested off-the-charts at school for her "imaginative actualization" which just means she pretty much lives in a fantasy world. I didn't know they tested for that (or valued it).But the worst character has to be Stan's father. He left Stan's mother 5 yeras ago after he got another woman pregnant and has had no contact with his old family since. Ron, the father, does resurface and Stan has a chance to work out his feelings for his absent dad. I thought this was particularly well-done. Stan remembers a big, athletic guy and this older shrunken man he meets is someone completely different.
There is more (the love story) but I don't want to summarize the whole book. Definitely worth a read. It didn't knock my socks off but it was comfortable and believable.
February 15, 2012
Stanley is a normal teenage boy, struggling with constant erections and erotic fantasies of his crush, shooting hoops and playing cricket with his best friend. His home life isn't so hot, his mom and her boyfriend not really paying any attention to Stan or his little sister, Lily. Stan is responsible for keeping the family together, for making them seem reasonable on the outside.
When Janine, his crush, asks him to a dance, he wonders why on earth she would ask him. His best friend, Matthew, tells him why - Janine is tilted. She's a gwog. She's a lesbian. She's using him. But he goes to the dance anyways, and through a series of awkward conversations, they begin to date.
At the same time, Stan's sister Lily has been in communication with their estranged father, and informs Stan and their mother that dad is coming to visit with his new son Feldon. One more thing for Stan to deal with and make "reasonable."
Tilt is a powerful, humorous insight into the erotic, troubled mind of a high school boy - in one scene, perfectly paired with a cow's eye dissection in science class.
When Janine, his crush, asks him to a dance, he wonders why on earth she would ask him. His best friend, Matthew, tells him why - Janine is tilted. She's a gwog. She's a lesbian. She's using him. But he goes to the dance anyways, and through a series of awkward conversations, they begin to date.
At the same time, Stan's sister Lily has been in communication with their estranged father, and informs Stan and their mother that dad is coming to visit with his new son Feldon. One more thing for Stan to deal with and make "reasonable."
Tilt is a powerful, humorous insight into the erotic, troubled mind of a high school boy - in one scene, perfectly paired with a cow's eye dissection in science class.
May 25, 2017
The book I finished is “Tilt” by Alan Cumyn. When I got this book at the school library, it’s under sports when it should be love instead. Anyways this book focuses on a boy named Stan. He is a basketball player and wants to join the junior varsity basketball team. Throughout the book, Stan loses interest in basketball and his mind is now on this girl named Janine. She captures Stan’s attention with her wild colored hair and her tattoo that peeks through her shoulder. Later in the book she notices him and gets closer. They begin a weird relationship when she ask him to a dance. Meanwhile Stan’s dad appears on his doorsteps after 5 years leaving him and Stan meets his half-brother. I enjoyed this book because it surprised me. At first I thought this would be some jock trying to make it in life from basketball. Instead this book hooked me because of the young love which I love. I would recommend this book because it is realistic and no spoilers but towards the end really got me reading it like 5 times to make sure I was reading it right.
April 6, 2018
I didn't like this book. I really like The Secret Life of Owen Sky by the same author, but this book was too sexual, too caustic, and contained needless profanity. A real disappointment.
February 21, 2023
A book that shows a teens life through his eyes and shows that his life isn't as perfect as it seems. We follow him through trying to be on the varsity basketball team while also trying to get with the tilted new girl who's suddenly taken an interest to him.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 19, 2011
This book wasn't bad. I had a great deal of fun with Cumyn's "The Secret Life of Owen Skye" and I was expecting a similar feeling from this book, but I didn't get that at all. I mean, I did find this book an easy read. It didn't take me long to get through it, and there were definitely parts where I felt like I didn't want to put it down, but it wasn't amazing.
I liked Stan as a person, though I suspect he's much more sensitive and decent than your average sixteen-year-old boy. His interactions with Feldon and with Joe Igwash were actually my favourite parts of the book. The portrait of family life painted in "Tilt" is gritty and realistic, but I found that for most of the book I wanted to punch Lily in the face. That might be more a problem with me than a problem with the book, though.
I was disappointed with the way the basketball storyline played out -- or didn't. I would've liked to see something more from that. I actually expected, when I started the book, that the story would take place over a series of months covering the basketball season, but the whole book takes place in the span of about a week.
I think there did need to be more character development. I'm left with huge question marks in place of my eyeballs where Kelly-Ann and Ron are concerned. I can't even begin to fathom what actually happened there. Is Kelly-Ann a manipulative bitch? Is Ron just a giant douche bag? I don't know. I honestly don't.
In all honesty, I probably wouldn't read this again. Not because it isn't well-written. Just because this isn't really the sort of book I'd read if I got the choice. I read it for a school assignment. Overall, it fell somewhat short of my expectations, but it might be a good read for high school-aged boys.
Seriously, though, do sixteen-year-old boys actually think about sex that much? This is warping my entire view of my high school classmates.
I liked Stan as a person, though I suspect he's much more sensitive and decent than your average sixteen-year-old boy. His interactions with Feldon and with Joe Igwash were actually my favourite parts of the book. The portrait of family life painted in "Tilt" is gritty and realistic, but I found that for most of the book I wanted to punch Lily in the face. That might be more a problem with me than a problem with the book, though.
I was disappointed with the way the basketball storyline played out -- or didn't. I would've liked to see something more from that. I actually expected, when I started the book, that the story would take place over a series of months covering the basketball season, but the whole book takes place in the span of about a week.
I think there did need to be more character development. I'm left with huge question marks in place of my eyeballs where Kelly-Ann and Ron are concerned. I can't even begin to fathom what actually happened there. Is Kelly-Ann a manipulative bitch? Is Ron just a giant douche bag? I don't know. I honestly don't.
In all honesty, I probably wouldn't read this again. Not because it isn't well-written. Just because this isn't really the sort of book I'd read if I got the choice. I read it for a school assignment. Overall, it fell somewhat short of my expectations, but it might be a good read for high school-aged boys.
Seriously, though, do sixteen-year-old boys actually think about sex that much? This is warping my entire view of my high school classmates.
February 1, 2012
To read the original review along with others, go to http://www.myteenreads.blogspot.com
Stan is your average sixteen-year-old guy. He wants to make the JV basketball team and has a huge crush on Janine, who is supposedly "tilted" and a "gwog" (aka a lesbian). He lives with his mother and his younger sister, Lily ever since his father abandoned them when Stan was young. His father shows up one day with Stan's half-brother and things get confusing.
I really don't have a lot to say about this book. The characters weren't well-developed and just average. The plot was a little confusing and bland. I felt like the book didn't even reach a full conclusion, and could have continued on for longer.
The way the author wrote bothered me a lot, because pretty much every sentence was a fragment. Example: "Especially if Feldon was gone." Another thing I noticed was how the author wrote in a passive voice (we just learned this in English so I'm an expert lol).
There wasn't anything really special, and I can't think of anyone to recommend this one to. The only positive thing I can say about this is that Stan was likable and there were a few humorous parts. You're probably best off skipping this one. 2 out of 5 stars.
Stan is your average sixteen-year-old guy. He wants to make the JV basketball team and has a huge crush on Janine, who is supposedly "tilted" and a "gwog" (aka a lesbian). He lives with his mother and his younger sister, Lily ever since his father abandoned them when Stan was young. His father shows up one day with Stan's half-brother and things get confusing.
I really don't have a lot to say about this book. The characters weren't well-developed and just average. The plot was a little confusing and bland. I felt like the book didn't even reach a full conclusion, and could have continued on for longer.
The way the author wrote bothered me a lot, because pretty much every sentence was a fragment. Example: "Especially if Feldon was gone." Another thing I noticed was how the author wrote in a passive voice (we just learned this in English so I'm an expert lol).
There wasn't anything really special, and I can't think of anyone to recommend this one to. The only positive thing I can say about this is that Stan was likable and there were a few humorous parts. You're probably best off skipping this one. 2 out of 5 stars.
August 5, 2012
I wasn't expecting much from this book, but it was great! A lot of YA books like this can read like a bad episode of 90210. If Cumyn keeps this up I'll put him on my list of must read YA books, like those from John Green.
Stan's life changed five years ago when his dad walked out on them. Now it's about to change again over Janine, a spiky haired girl with a tattoo who people say is a lesbian. But if she is, why is she paying attention to him? All this confusion is compounded when his dad reappears at the front door with a four-year-old half-brother in tow.
Stan's narration of this brief period of his life is spot on. His confusion over Janine and the stupid things he does while trying to figure her out are both painful and humorous because they are so true. Their relationship moves hard and fast like so many relationships do at that time and Cumyn pulls no punches in describing it.
When it comes to the family drama, it plays out like a bad soap opera, but one that is happening to you and making you shake your head wondering how on earth this could be happening to you. I don't think anyone could help but be reminded about some strange time in their own family when they read this book.
Overall a great read, honest, funny, and touching.
Stan's life changed five years ago when his dad walked out on them. Now it's about to change again over Janine, a spiky haired girl with a tattoo who people say is a lesbian. But if she is, why is she paying attention to him? All this confusion is compounded when his dad reappears at the front door with a four-year-old half-brother in tow.
Stan's narration of this brief period of his life is spot on. His confusion over Janine and the stupid things he does while trying to figure her out are both painful and humorous because they are so true. Their relationship moves hard and fast like so many relationships do at that time and Cumyn pulls no punches in describing it.
When it comes to the family drama, it plays out like a bad soap opera, but one that is happening to you and making you shake your head wondering how on earth this could be happening to you. I don't think anyone could help but be reminded about some strange time in their own family when they read this book.
Overall a great read, honest, funny, and touching.
February 5, 2014
Tilt is the story of a boy struggling with the complete chaos his life has become....his mom is drinking too much and leaving too much on his shoulders...his dad left.....he has a crush on a girl that his friends say is a lesbian.....and he desperately wants to make it onto one of the basketball teams (though the cancellation of JV Basketball has destroyed that dream). So, when his father waltzes back into his life along with his half brother, Stan is completely overwhelmed. I really enjoyed getting to know Stan, who is lost and KNOWS he is lost but is really struggling with finding someone to just converse with, and hoping for a sign showing him what he is supposed to do while his world is crumbling around him and all the adults are less than trustworthy. My only complaint is that the end got a bit wonky for me, as it felt like the author wasn't sure whether to tie up all the loose ends or leave them dangling....so did a bit of both.....
November 27, 2011
Stan's family situation is gritty and tough emotionally for him, and his release from this is sexual fantasy. It makes sense in context of the story and actually works on some levels, but the problem on the whole is lack of character development. Stan doesn't change, though he acts upon his dreams at the end, and I felt like Janine was flat, flat, flat (she was "tilted," slang for lesbian, but she ends up sleeping with Stan...and there's never any emotion ringing from here on any of this).
The storyline beneath it all is Stan's desire to be part of the JV basketball team, but then the JV team is canceled and all the boys who want on that team have to try out for varsity. But the basketball storyline completely falls out about half way through in a very contrived sort of way. It never comes back together, which was disappointing.
The storyline beneath it all is Stan's desire to be part of the JV basketball team, but then the JV team is canceled and all the boys who want on that team have to try out for varsity. But the basketball storyline completely falls out about half way through in a very contrived sort of way. It never comes back together, which was disappointing.
December 12, 2011
I liked the main character, Stan. The situations going on around him were 100 percent believable. His life seemed realistic. I had one problem with the book, Stan seemed perceptive and insightful. Do 16 year old boys like Stan exist? I didn't grow up with any, I've never worked with any, and I've never taught any. I am curious if this book will have the boy appeal I hoped it would when I picked it up.
Although Stan thinks about himself he considers and is considerate of others, even at his own expense. The situation with his sister, Lili, his mom, his mom's boyfriend, Janine, and the other characters provide many opportunities for him to do something mean, although he wants to Stan never gives in to bad behavior.
I thought I'd recommend Tilt to boys, reluctant reader boys. Now I'm not sure. I need feedback.
Although Stan thinks about himself he considers and is considerate of others, even at his own expense. The situation with his sister, Lili, his mom, his mom's boyfriend, Janine, and the other characters provide many opportunities for him to do something mean, although he wants to Stan never gives in to bad behavior.
I thought I'd recommend Tilt to boys, reluctant reader boys. Now I'm not sure. I need feedback.
August 3, 2016
While not a book I could recommend to my Middle School students, I did enjoy Tilt and the crazy world of Stan and his friends and family.
The book is quite brave in its discussions about sexuality and the general angst of being a teenager. Janinie is not like any other character you will have read about in YA fiction, and Stan is a very funny (albeit quirky) character;you are never quite sure what's going on with him. That is, unfortunately, part of the problem of the novel. There seems to be an awful lot shoved into a short novel, and while the storytelling is strong, there is simply not enough time or room to devote to the stories to do them justice.
A sure purchase for a high school, and a great read for both boys and girls. More time or a second novel might have made for a stronger story.
The book is quite brave in its discussions about sexuality and the general angst of being a teenager. Janinie is not like any other character you will have read about in YA fiction, and Stan is a very funny (albeit quirky) character;you are never quite sure what's going on with him. That is, unfortunately, part of the problem of the novel. There seems to be an awful lot shoved into a short novel, and while the storytelling is strong, there is simply not enough time or room to devote to the stories to do them justice.
A sure purchase for a high school, and a great read for both boys and girls. More time or a second novel might have made for a stronger story.
July 5, 2012
This book is definitely a tale of 2 halves. By this I mean the first half of the book is somewhat slow paced and rather mild. The second half the pace quickens and so does the language and the scenes. I had high hopes for this book, but it really fell short of my expectations. It is as if two different authors wrote this. I was expecting more basketball and less "love" story. However, it was just the opposite. The book is certainly valuable to teenage boys going through some difficult times, but I was looking for a better book for some of my male students to read.
November 9, 2013
I knew I probably wasn't going to fall in love with this book, and I was right. I read this to recommend to my boy readers who are my toughest group to reach. I thought I'd bait and hook them with the basketball and sex that run throughout this plot line, but now I'm not even sure.
Like 90% of YA Lit, this book has waaaayyyy too much going on. I'd have liked them to simplify the plot a bit and richen the characters.
I can't think of even one student to recommend this to. :(
Like 90% of YA Lit, this book has waaaayyyy too much going on. I'd have liked them to simplify the plot a bit and richen the characters.
I can't think of even one student to recommend this to. :(
January 24, 2014
I like that this book was told from a male's perspective. I love to root for the underdog & so I really liked Stan. His home life wasn't great, he was dealing with male puberty issues and all the awkwardness that goes with that, he liked a girl who was taller than him... And, he made some questionable choices, yet he was so likable. I just wanted him to make the basketball team, fix his family and get the girl.
October 29, 2011
This was an interesting book. I had trouble at first with the way the author wrote, it felt scattered to me, but like most other things, as you read you get used to it. It is a pretty honest look into what it is like for a 16 year old boy trying to find himself. The book combined family trouble, girl troubles and sports trouble and did so pretty well- you rooted for Stan all the way through.
June 3, 2012
basketball playing high school boy meets strange, intoxicating girl while parents are fighting about everything and his half brother. picks up about half way in when things start to happen such as: in the pouring down rain, the boy and girl kiss. she runs away. he tries to get to the bottom of what it all means.
June 5, 2012
I enjoyed this book very much. I really loved Stan's character and the manic writing style suited his frame of mind. It was very frank about the, ahem, biology of being a 16 year old boy too, which was by turn funny and sad, sometimes both.
My only complaint is that the basketball aspect of this story felt a bit tacked on.
My only complaint is that the basketball aspect of this story felt a bit tacked on.
November 14, 2011
Oddly evocative of Kate Chopin's "The Awakening" in it's dreamy tale of sexual awakening amidst familial & life strife, this one won't appeal to every reader, but for those looking for something a little different, it'll surely suffice.
December 30, 2014
An excellent and honest story from the perspective of a 16-year-old male protagonist. Well done.
August 12, 2011
Good book but so not for my 5th and 6th graders. I am think high school would be an appropriate level.
January 30, 2012
I am reading a lot of good books this year.
Also, this isn't quite as racy as you may have heard.
Also, this isn't quite as racy as you may have heard.
July 23, 2012
Great characterization of a 16 y/o boy....sensitive and hormonal....yet real. Loved the spastic family...great read.
August 5, 2013
LOL ....
So cute;)
The crooks and crannies of adolescence.
So cute;)
The crooks and crannies of adolescence.
June 12, 2015
It felt very realistic and gave me one perspective of what a teenage boy going through puberty might experience.
July 22, 2015
Funniest teen sex scene ever, right up there with the BJ in Finding Alaska. And that's not the only good reason to read this one.
January 29, 2016
Finally a well written, truthful novel of what growing up must be for a young man in the 21st cent. Read my share of first sex from the male perspective but this one hits the mark.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews