An Even Break

by Sid Hite

It's tough getting work in a small town, but 12-year-old Frisk Tilden has managed to get the summer job every kid wants. He's manager of the back room of Billy Compton's hardware store. The back room has some pool tables and pinball machines, and nobody under 15 is allowed--except Frisk. Not only does Frisk have to rack up and clean up, but he must earn the respect of the teenage boys. Dan Breedon, the best pool player in town, helps Frisk earn their respect and even teaches him to play pool. On the day of the annual Wilma Eight-Ball Tournament, Frisk unexpectedly finds himself in the spotlight. All he needs to win is an even break.

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

“For me, writing books for a living is a grand privilege. I often feel as if I've won some sort of prize.”

Sid grew up in a family of seven in the small town of Bowling Green, Virginia. Sid says that when he was young he “had more energy than brains.” And further states that he “[wishes] it was still that way.”

Sid discovered his passion for novels in his teenage years and decided right then and there to become a fiction writer. He says that he is grateful now that he didn't know how much work was involved in being a writer then.

After high school he traveled for several years through more than twenty countries. Upon returning to the U.S., he worked at several jobs, including farming, bartending, and construction, before his first novel was published. He feels that writing for a living is a privilege.

Sid was named a Publisher's Weekly “Flying Start” for his first novel, Dither Farm. He currently lives in upstate New York.

Sid is a decent amateur juggler.

Reviews

[Dale Wagner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book An "Even Break" is about a redheaded boy named Frisk who scored a job as the back room manager in Billy Compton’s parlor in a small southern town called Wilma. Frisk a twelve year old boy gets a job to help his mother be able to buy a new house so they can move from there apartment. So, after getting a job at the parlor he is doing just that but with a little bit of a conflict. The rule in the parlor is that you must be 15 years old or older in order to enter so, getting the job that everyone wanted didn't make it any better. A man named Dan Breedon (a firefighter and part pro pool player) noticed Frisk a young boy with a whole lot of patience and thought he would make a good pool player and after hours taught frisk how to play on one of the three pool table that the parlor had. Skipping ahead Frisk noticed that Dan was always asking how his mother Shelly was doing, so he set up a plan to get them together for a movie. Skipping again Frisk mentioned that at the end of every summer Billy has a pool championship that gets super competitive. When the time came of the competition Dan Breedon and The local bank owners daughter were the last two duking it out at the end when suddenly Dan gets called to a fire so for substation he called frisk to take his place and beats the girl to win the competition. I would recommend this book to people who like the setting of an old southern town and prefer a quick and easy book. I gave this book five stars because i like who where and how it was set up and how everything happened in a way where you think you can predict it but you can’t.