Throwback

by David Hall

It's been a year now, and the pain Ben Pietrak feels over the way his high school wrestling career ended just won't go away. During an aimless year in college he has an idea; what's to stop him from finding his way back into a high school lineup to atone for his mistake?First he must overcome an ethical dilemma. After some moral acrobatics he deludes himself into believing he was cheated out of an extra season on the varsity.Once back in high school he realizes that he has returned to a place of missed opportunities. He resists the self-imposed rigid social order and is rewarded in ways he never expected. Eventually he meets Judy, a student who he would never have had anything to do with the first time in high school. His success on the mat is tempered by a growing realization that his rationalization was flawed, but by then it's too late to turn back.Ben's moral and romantic difficulties converge with his struggle for wrestling vindication in Atlantic City at the New Jersey Wrestling Championships.How can he end up with everything he redemption, integrity, and the girl?

Genres: Fiction, Young Adult

250 pages, Paperback

First published December 8, 2004

About the author

An awkward interview
'So here's your opportunity to promote yourself. Go sell yourself to the readers.'
'Umm...I'm not good at that chest pumping stuff. I'm British.'
'Okay. Well, you don't have to 'chest pump', just tell us a little about yourself. Who is David Hall?'
'He's British.'
'Yesss, you've mentioned that. Anything else?'
'Such as?'
'Well, like where do you live?'
'In Britain.'
'Hmm, you're not really helping the reader to get a sense of you as an author. Tell us about the types of stories that you like to write.'
'Oh that's easy. Anything. well, almost anything. Nothing gory, I don't have the stomach for it'
'Right. But you must have a preference for a genre.'
'Oh you mean like ticky boxes... I see... then in that case, I like to write romantic-comedy-suspense stories. Short stories. Yes, definitely romantic-comedy-suspense short stories.'
'Okay, now we're getting somewhere. So that latest book of yours...err...what's it called again?'
'Love Line.'
'Love Line. Of course. Why should readers buy Love Line? What are they missing out on?'
'They are missing out on a romantic-comedy-suspense story. Sorry, short story.'
'Right. But isn't it a bit odd a man writing in the romantic genre?'
'No stranger than you asking that question in 2015.'
'Alrighty then, is that the time? We really need to wrap this up. Anything else you want to say to your readers?'
'Yes. Love Line will make you laugh, probably reach for a glass of wine, and give you goose-bumps with a delightful twist. I am not responsible for you spilling your wine at that time. Thank you.'
'There, that wasn't too bad.'
'Hmmm.'

Reviews

[Dennis Begley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn’t a super big fan of the ending, but the actual writing about wrestling was really solid and accurate. So I appreciate that.

[Sarah Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book on a Facebook page that I follow as a "freebie" book. I must have liked the synopsis that was given, because I found it on my Kindle to read.

A few pages into the book, I realized that it's about wrestling. I'm not really into reading books about sports, but figured that I would go ahead and keep reading this book. I'm glad that I did. It isn't just about wrestling in matches. The main character also wrestles with life issues.

Without giving away the story, let me just say that he has avenged a "wrong" that was done to his dad and moves away from it. He then meets a girl and wrestles with telling her the truth about his past.

It's a really good short read and I found myself not wanting to put it down.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 and I'm being truely generous.

Ok, this was a freebie on the nook, and typically not something that I would read. However, still going strong on my n New Year's Resolution to clean out lingering books on the nook, I made myself read 430 pages of this book. It is not the worst book I've ever read, but I felt like a junior high student wrote it. It just meanders and goes down useless, fluffy, or stupid avenues that isn't revelant to the plot. It's a short story blown WAY out of control.

I am proud I finished this one, but I won't be reading it again. Like ever.

[Leo Polovets · Rating 2 out of 5]

I downloaded this book because it was free, and then wasted time reading it. I guess there’s no such thing as a free lunch. It’s not clear from the Amazon page, but I think this is a book for young adults. Perhaps because of the intended audience, the characters are amusingly one-dimensional and the plot is thin. Disappointingly, the one plot element that seems interesting and promising is left unresolved at the end of the story.

[Starla B · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book. I was a bit dissapointed in the ending...I felt that there were a number of things left unresolved. However, that happens a lot in life, so maybe the story was more true to life than most.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a wrestler from New Jersey who's name is Ben and he recently move from Colorado. He joins the wrestling team from New Jersey and he is trying to fit in because he is new to the high school. But he has a dark secret back

[ShawnLynne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea. Couldn't finish.