Losing Is Not An Option

by Rich Wallace

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. In nine interwoven stories, award-winning author Rich Wallace brings a small-town high school to life through the sharp, spare voice, and the heart-pounding defeats and triumphs, of an athlete.

Genres: Sports, Young Adult, Fiction

144 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Ryan Pugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Losing is not an option

The book I read was Loosing is not an option and it was written by Rich Wallace. It was published by Random house children’s books in New York. My opinion of the book is good because of the setting, the characters and the lot. It was a fiction book so the setting was at a high school and with made up characters. The main characters of the story were Ron and Gary. The story begun with Ron competing in a school race. The conflict was Ron wanted to be the best and fastest runner in the nation. I liked how the conflict was resolved because Ron practiced all the time in order to win nationals. My favorite part of the story was the ending because ron won states. A powerful quote was “Nothing could stop him. No one would catch him. Every step he’d taken had been worth it” (wallace127). It was important because Ron had gotten what he had been working tords. I think the team that the author is trying to get across to his/her readers is practice makes perfect because the story talks a lot about how Ron practices for his races. This book reminds me of the movie forest gump because forest Gump is always running just like Ron. I gave the book 5 stars because I really like everything about the book. I really recommend this book because it’s a great book

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book caught my attention because of the title, losing is no longer an option. This title is rather long but is summarizes how a person should act. Losing really isn't an option for those who are competitive and want to achieve a lot. While this is virtually impossible, the idea is to win as much as you can.
This book is about Ron, a multisport star in a small town. Ron happens to excel in these sports because he has started training at a very long age. He has a strong group of friends who daily competition help to push Ron further in his multisport development. While the literal theme is obvious, the book raises some key ideas about teenage years.
The teenage years can be very hard because of how we are suddenly put into a world that we are unfamilar with. As children, we have very little if anything to worry about. Do children worry about college applications, or making the high school varsity team? The answer is no. When we start to grow up, more responsibility is placed on us. This is obvious when we become young adults.
The book dicusses young girl-boy relationships, drug and law issues, interfamily issues, peer pressure and society expectations and more. This book offers exciting stories about sports but tells us more more.

[Monica Caldicott]

Ron pushes himself. He wants to win. Whether it is in running, basketball, getting attention or just sneaking into the football game without paying - for the 10th time in a row! -he does not consider losing.

Read p. 32. "We were charging up that last hill …"

In a collection of connected short stories, the author lets us see Ron and how he makes it around the rack of life and crosses the finish line a winner.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Losing is not an option
Rich Wallace
127 pages
Random House, Inc.
ISBN: 0440238447

This book is written with 9 interrelated stories about a boy named Ron. The book starts out when Ron was in junior high and ends when he is a senior in high school. Ron is great athlete who likes to play sports especially running. Though out the book the reader gets to see how Ron has grown to a senior in high school. This book is mainly about Ron being involved with sports and dealing with adolescence. As the reader we get to see Ron’s relationship with his father and older brother. Also we get see Ron interacting with the opposite sex.

I thought this book was average because it was not really that interesting to me. I read other books by Rich Wallace which were amazing but this one was is below all of them. Even though I thought it was uninteresting it was overall a good story. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy reading about teenagers and sports.

[Noah Blevins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was good. It was about a boy who watched other people play the sports he loved and then he would play them. He was a great runner and his will to win was unprecedented to another kids. It taught me to fight on no matter what.

[Jesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was really interesting if you like running. It's about a normal teen who runs track and likes to have fun. He has a lot of friends who he hangs out with. He meets many new people throughout the book as well. He has problems with his family and friends and on his summer basketball team. Just like a lot of other teens, he also has problems with girls. It's a very exciting book that keeps you on your toes and you never know what's coming next. I recomend this book to anyone who likes sports books.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This 128 page book is a collection of sports short stories. I usually like this author, but I wasn't impressed by this collection. While the stories were intertwined, beginning with Ron when he's in 6th grade, and ending when he's winning the 2 mile at the state track meet, I didn't see the point of some of them. I thought the young Ron would turn off a lot of my high school readers. I know that I didn't like reading his petty thoughts that a junior high kid thinks. After reading the book, I just thought, "Humph." I'm not happy I read it. I didn't hate it, but I didn't like it either.

[Johnny]

The title itself is very motivating to an athlete. I believe losing is a state of mind. I didn't really enjoy reading this book because it wasn't interesting. For example, when Lander's team lost the basketball game, "Landers waves his arms in a crossing motion. 'Game is over. The score stands.' So we lose." I think Rich Wallace could have done a better job in being more descriptive towards describing how they lost.

[Jarednemeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book. It was about this kid named Ron who is a all around good athlete. He is mostly in running competitions during the book. This book would've great for teens because it deals with the everyday situations teens are put through. This book has Ron dealing with peer presure, family troubles at home, and he has also had some trouble with friends. Teens or young athletes would love this book. This is all around good. Highly recommended.

[Bagley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its very good all the competitive sports being played and how they are tords each other.
Ron's the main character he's an athlete he takes his sports very seriously he has a bad mouth when he gets mad about something.Ron and his brother gets into this big car crash n manage to get out safely they helped a lady and her kids there helpful and thats a good thing

[marie]

What i think of this book is it deals with teenagers and their problems. The book is a great book to read, its very interesting to read. This book reveals how teens deal with school, sports, family and how they deal with it. If you want a book that shows all about teenagers and their problems this is one great book to start with. I really recommend this book.

[BCPL Youth Services Librarian]

Click to see book in BCPL's online catalog

[Debrarian]

More Sturbridge tales. Short stories following the life of Ron, a cross-country runner and general guy. Okay, but not great.

[Steven Helmick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this book but personally I like mystery's but this book was really good for people who like sporty book types but I would give this three stars.