What do you think?
Rate this book
The Boxer and the Spy
When a shy high school student's body is found washed up on the shore of a quiet New England beach town, an apparent suicide, fifteen-year-old Terry Novak doesn't know what to think. Something just doesn't add up, so he decides to do some investigating of his own with the help of his best friend, Abby. It doesn't take long before they learn that asking questions puts them in grave danger, and surviving is going to be a fight. Fortunately, Terry has been learning a thing or two about fighting, thanks to a retired boxer named George, who teaches the boy to use his head and always keep his feet set beneath him, lessons Terry takes to heart in more ways than one.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2008
195 people are currently reading
622 people want to read
About the author
Robert B. Parker
489 books2,296 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database named Robert B. Parker.
Robert Brown Parker was an American writer, primarily of fiction within the mystery/detective genre. His most famous works were the 40 novels written about the fictional private detective Spenser. ABC television network developed the television series Spenser: For Hire based on the character in the mid-1980s; a series of TV movies was also produced based on the character. His works incorporate encyclopedic knowledge of the Boston metropolitan area. The Spenser novels have been cited as reviving and changing the detective genre by critics and bestselling authors including Robert Crais, Harlan Coben, and Dennis Lehane.
Parker also wrote nine novels featuring the fictional character Jesse Stone, a Los Angeles police officer who moves to a small New England town; six novels with the fictional character Sunny Randall, a female private investigator; and four Westerns starring the duo Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch. The first was Appaloosa, made into a film starring Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen.
Robert Brown Parker was an American writer, primarily of fiction within the mystery/detective genre. His most famous works were the 40 novels written about the fictional private detective Spenser. ABC television network developed the television series Spenser: For Hire based on the character in the mid-1980s; a series of TV movies was also produced based on the character. His works incorporate encyclopedic knowledge of the Boston metropolitan area. The Spenser novels have been cited as reviving and changing the detective genre by critics and bestselling authors including Robert Crais, Harlan Coben, and Dennis Lehane.
Parker also wrote nine novels featuring the fictional character Jesse Stone, a Los Angeles police officer who moves to a small New England town; six novels with the fictional character Sunny Randall, a female private investigator; and four Westerns starring the duo Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch. The first was Appaloosa, made into a film starring Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 143 reviews
September 16, 2021
CW:
Well whilst the writing was a little bit stilted that was still a satisfying YA murder mystery.
I thought Terry and Abby made great sleuths as they tried to puzzle together the cause of a classmates death. Robert definitely set up an interesting premise from the outset with a clandestine meeting being overheard by our young victim. We as Readers know from the outset that it is a suspicious death but have to wait as our main characters put the pieces together to find out the who and whys of it all. This will be great for slightly older teens interested in boxing and murder mysteries.
Well whilst the writing was a little bit stilted that was still a satisfying YA murder mystery.
I thought Terry and Abby made great sleuths as they tried to puzzle together the cause of a classmates death. Robert definitely set up an interesting premise from the outset with a clandestine meeting being overheard by our young victim. We as Readers know from the outset that it is a suspicious death but have to wait as our main characters put the pieces together to find out the who and whys of it all. This will be great for slightly older teens interested in boxing and murder mysteries.
April 6, 2009
Full disclosure - I am a Robert B Parker fanatic. His Hemingwayesque style of writing is the key to the revealing of 'human nature truths' that is Parker's hallmark.
So, this is one of two books he has written for middle school/high school kids. Clearly, this is Parker's image of the 'birth' of his iconic Spenser and Susan Silverman characters - i.e. what they would have been like as 9th graders. Wise beyond their years, open to listening to adult mentors, learning how to be what they grow up to be. In fact, the whole novel's theme is to teach kids what it means to be a mature adult. Parker sets it in the context of boxing lessons (especially the mental discipline aspect of boxing), age old high school tensions between normal people and uber jock of the school, and covert criminal activities of public figures.
What I liked was that Parker imparted the lessons without dumbing it down. He 'preaches' through the persona of the boxing teacher, and with the dialogue allows the kids to divine the correct conclusions. It's very nice to see kids thinking about important stuff, and Parker portrays it as a skill that's useful, good, and worth picking up. The teacher and the kids have real conversations, albeit in a Parker spare style. It works wonderfully.
One line in the book, which I think functions as encouragement to teens - something like "they are learning how to be men and women." So it tells them that they are not yet there, but they are on the track at least.
If a teen kid picks this book up and moves on to the Spenser novels, he/she will learn a whole lot about what true love and respect for another person looks like, especially if that kid reads nothing else but Parker's dedications to his wife, Joan.
Robert B. Parker rules.
So, this is one of two books he has written for middle school/high school kids. Clearly, this is Parker's image of the 'birth' of his iconic Spenser and Susan Silverman characters - i.e. what they would have been like as 9th graders. Wise beyond their years, open to listening to adult mentors, learning how to be what they grow up to be. In fact, the whole novel's theme is to teach kids what it means to be a mature adult. Parker sets it in the context of boxing lessons (especially the mental discipline aspect of boxing), age old high school tensions between normal people and uber jock of the school, and covert criminal activities of public figures.
What I liked was that Parker imparted the lessons without dumbing it down. He 'preaches' through the persona of the boxing teacher, and with the dialogue allows the kids to divine the correct conclusions. It's very nice to see kids thinking about important stuff, and Parker portrays it as a skill that's useful, good, and worth picking up. The teacher and the kids have real conversations, albeit in a Parker spare style. It works wonderfully.
One line in the book, which I think functions as encouragement to teens - something like "they are learning how to be men and women." So it tells them that they are not yet there, but they are on the track at least.
If a teen kid picks this book up and moves on to the Spenser novels, he/she will learn a whole lot about what true love and respect for another person looks like, especially if that kid reads nothing else but Parker's dedications to his wife, Joan.
Robert B. Parker rules.
December 17, 2015
I have a friend who absolutely loves Robert B. Parker books. He rants and raves all the time and is constantly recommending them to me. I've read two of them and they just don't do for me, what they do for him. This was just okay for me, but the fact that it had a creative story line, I can give this 3 stars. I think I would have liked this developed a little more, especially the characters. This was heavy on dialogue, which I usually love, but I wanted to see and understand the characters more fully. This includes seeing what they were thinking or giving them some inner challenges.
May 9, 2013
Parker, R. B. (2009). The boxer and the spy [Recorded by S. Brick] [CD]. New York, NY: Listening Library.
Genre: Mystery
Awards:
Format: Audio (4 CDs, 4:12 hours)
Selection: Follett
Review:
In Robert B. Parker’s second young adult novel (Philomel, 2008) he takes readers to his hometown of Boston, where young Terry Novak and his friends try to discover why a quiet isolated classmate, Jason Green, would commit suicide. Terry is unconvinced that Jason committed suicide or that he used steroids, which starts Terry and his friend Abby asking questions that important adults don’t like. The football playing bully, Kip, is out to get Terry, but Terry is a boxer in training whose coach, George, is doing more than just teaching him to box. Terry shows he has a strong moral code and is unable to stop questioning until he knows the truth, even when he puts others close to him in danger. Readers will be cheering for Terry and Abby as they assemble a team of schoolmates to get one over on the principal and his gang of hoodlums. As the investigation heats up, readers are tensely waiting for the characters to discover what they already know- who the culprits really are. Narrator Scott Brick gives a sense of power and quietness about Terry and makes each of the other characters in the story, from friend and love interest Abby to each minor character, unique. Unfortunately, Robert B. Parker wrote only a few young adult novels before his death, but they may lead young adult readers to his popular Spenser novels. Recommended to reluctant and not so reluctant readers looking for a great mystery with strong sports content.
February 8, 2015
A fast easy read, written for young adults. I read it because I wanted to read all of Parker's books.
August 19, 2010
Jason Green overheard a conversation and soon after he was dead. Terry Novak and Abby Hall are on a mission to find out what happened to Jason. When some of their friends join in to help, they form a spy network and they are very serious about being detectives. But there is an adult who wants to put an end to their investigation and he’s using one of their classmates to keep them from finding out the truth. If he can.
Jason: He lost his father and his mother got drunk a lot. He didn’t like sports but he did like old movies and he liked to draw. He was taking the technical arts curriculum at William Dawes Regional and he wanted to be a landscape designer. He was believed to be gay, but his interests were the only reasons given. Those likes and dislikes made this young man gay? I couldn’t see why characters came to this conclusion.
Terry and Abby: They worked well together. Some thought they were a couple. They claimed they weren’t but the way they related to each other it seemed as if their close friendship would be more someday. I liked that Abby wanted her ‘first time’ to mean something.
George: Terry’s mentor doesn’t just teach him to box (quite a few boxing lessons take place in this story) but he also speaks words of wisdom because he wants Terry to make good choices.
Mr. Bullard: The principal of William Dawes Regional high school is not a likeable character.
This is the first Robert B. Parker novel I’ve read. The mystery was a page-turner not really because it was exciting or thrilling, but because I wanted to find out who killed Jason. Even though I didn’t get to really know him, I liked him. It was also a quick read; forty-seven of the shortest chapters I have ever seen in a young adult novel. There is a fight scene and the use of steroids is addressed. There is also a bit of profanity and the mention of sexual activity but it isn’t written in detail. Even though there are teenagers of high school age, this story is one I believe mature middle school students would enjoy.
Jason: He lost his father and his mother got drunk a lot. He didn’t like sports but he did like old movies and he liked to draw. He was taking the technical arts curriculum at William Dawes Regional and he wanted to be a landscape designer. He was believed to be gay, but his interests were the only reasons given. Those likes and dislikes made this young man gay? I couldn’t see why characters came to this conclusion.
Terry and Abby: They worked well together. Some thought they were a couple. They claimed they weren’t but the way they related to each other it seemed as if their close friendship would be more someday. I liked that Abby wanted her ‘first time’ to mean something.
George: Terry’s mentor doesn’t just teach him to box (quite a few boxing lessons take place in this story) but he also speaks words of wisdom because he wants Terry to make good choices.
Mr. Bullard: The principal of William Dawes Regional high school is not a likeable character.
This is the first Robert B. Parker novel I’ve read. The mystery was a page-turner not really because it was exciting or thrilling, but because I wanted to find out who killed Jason. Even though I didn’t get to really know him, I liked him. It was also a quick read; forty-seven of the shortest chapters I have ever seen in a young adult novel. There is a fight scene and the use of steroids is addressed. There is also a bit of profanity and the mention of sexual activity but it isn’t written in detail. Even though there are teenagers of high school age, this story is one I believe mature middle school students would enjoy.
December 5, 2020
This was fine, but it didn't really do much for me. Parker seems to be writing adult characters with teen limitations and it's weird.
September 23, 2020
In my opinion, this was by far my favorite book I have ever read. Everything about it is just amazing. Not once did I ever find myself even thinking about abandoning it. This book is geared more towards a teenage audience, mainly boys. I would recommend it to anyone that first of all enjoy boxing, and to anyone that likes a suspense book with a little drama here and there. (It gets really good at the end!!!) It's about a boy who does boxing but one of his school friends dies to what they suspect to be steroids. This boy may have gotten himself into a lot of trouble when he dove into this and started exploring to find out what really happened to his friend!
May 4, 2022
The audiobook was bogged down with "Terry said, Abbie said's"- so I switched to a (signed!) hard book from library. LOVED this teen drama! The good kids prove a classmate was indeed murdered to cover up a multi-layered criminality. Fun dialogues.
August 7, 2015
"Boxer” is the second of three young adult novels written by Parker late in his career. Like the other two, it featured a thoughtful and persistent teenaged high school boy and his similarly faithful friend (and budding girlfriend), in whom most readers would identify as young models of Spenser and Susan.
Terry Novak (the “boxer”) is taking boxing lessons from an old pro (George), who is slowly helping Terry learn to be a man, not just a fighter. When classmate Jason dies and his death is ruled a suicide, with overtones of steroid use, Terry doesn’t believe it for a second, and sets out with gal pal Abby (the “spy”) to find out what really happened. The school principal, a bully aptly named Mr. Bullard, and a senior football All-American, Kip Carter, seem to be involved, as well as maybe a local politician, Mrs. Trent. Like in many of the Spenser stories, Terry’s nosing around gets him warned off early and in trouble with Bullard, but his determined doggedness and winning a fight or two, and the “spy” ring Abby creates, eventually shed light on a big scam going down in town. How it relates to Jason’s death will unfold en route to a quite satisfying ending.
We felt this to be the most straightforward of Parker's three YA tales; and although Terry and Abby talk about their relationship turning more sexual, “Boxer” is still suitable for teenaged readers, not to mention us old codgers who enjoy almost anything Parker touches!
Terry Novak (the “boxer”) is taking boxing lessons from an old pro (George), who is slowly helping Terry learn to be a man, not just a fighter. When classmate Jason dies and his death is ruled a suicide, with overtones of steroid use, Terry doesn’t believe it for a second, and sets out with gal pal Abby (the “spy”) to find out what really happened. The school principal, a bully aptly named Mr. Bullard, and a senior football All-American, Kip Carter, seem to be involved, as well as maybe a local politician, Mrs. Trent. Like in many of the Spenser stories, Terry’s nosing around gets him warned off early and in trouble with Bullard, but his determined doggedness and winning a fight or two, and the “spy” ring Abby creates, eventually shed light on a big scam going down in town. How it relates to Jason’s death will unfold en route to a quite satisfying ending.
We felt this to be the most straightforward of Parker's three YA tales; and although Terry and Abby talk about their relationship turning more sexual, “Boxer” is still suitable for teenaged readers, not to mention us old codgers who enjoy almost anything Parker touches!
December 14, 2015
A few chapters in, started losing interest. Halfway through and all interest was gone.
The book wasn't exactly bad, I just found it poorly executed and all of the characters were boring.
There was nothing believable about any of it.
I was looking forward to a good young detective story and ended up with a group teenagers who think they know everything.
The Boxer and the Spy is about 15-year-old Terry who is convinced that he knows everything about his classmate whose death was ruled as a suicide. Why does he know so much about him? Because he talked to him once or twice. So based off of an assumption, he launches his own investigation to find out what really happened.
Terry, you barely knew the kid and all of your decisions are based off of assumptions. If your assumptions actually had reliable sources, maybe you would have actually passed as intelligent.
I'm not going to lie, I skimmed through the last half of the book. If you really want to read this book, all you have to do is read the first few chapters to know your characters, and the last few to know the ending. Everything else is just a dull filler episode to a mediocre TV series.
The book wasn't exactly bad, I just found it poorly executed and all of the characters were boring.
There was nothing believable about any of it.
I was looking forward to a good young detective story and ended up with a group teenagers who think they know everything.
The Boxer and the Spy is about 15-year-old Terry who is convinced that he knows everything about his classmate whose death was ruled as a suicide. Why does he know so much about him? Because he talked to him once or twice. So based off of an assumption, he launches his own investigation to find out what really happened.
Terry, you barely knew the kid and all of your decisions are based off of assumptions. If your assumptions actually had reliable sources, maybe you would have actually passed as intelligent.
I'm not going to lie, I skimmed through the last half of the book. If you really want to read this book, all you have to do is read the first few chapters to know your characters, and the last few to know the ending. Everything else is just a dull filler episode to a mediocre TV series.
October 24, 2011
Book Review
Jason Green, a shy high school student was found washed up on the shore of New England beach town; he committed suicide linked to steroids. Terry Novak a fifteen year old boxer in training doesn’t know what to think, he knew Jason Green and he knew that Jason wasn’t the type that would be doing steroids. With his best friend Abby’s help, they start doing some investigating of their own. Little do they know that asking question puts them in grave danger and they are going to have to fight to survive. Terry has learned a couple things about boxing from his teacher George.
Author’s Message: Don’t always trust in what people say, because it not always true.
Opinion of the book: I thought it was an interesting book.
Biography of Robert B. Parker:
Robert B. Parker is an author of the New York Times bestselling Spenser novels. "The boxer and the spy is his second book he wrote for young readers." Robert B. Parker lived with his wife Joan in Cambridge. He has two sons David and Daniel T. Robert B. Parker was born on September 17, 1932, in Springfield, Massachusetts. His most famous works are the Spenser series. He passed away on January 18, 2010, he was 77 years old.
Jason Green, a shy high school student was found washed up on the shore of New England beach town; he committed suicide linked to steroids. Terry Novak a fifteen year old boxer in training doesn’t know what to think, he knew Jason Green and he knew that Jason wasn’t the type that would be doing steroids. With his best friend Abby’s help, they start doing some investigating of their own. Little do they know that asking question puts them in grave danger and they are going to have to fight to survive. Terry has learned a couple things about boxing from his teacher George.
Author’s Message: Don’t always trust in what people say, because it not always true.
Opinion of the book: I thought it was an interesting book.
Biography of Robert B. Parker:
Robert B. Parker is an author of the New York Times bestselling Spenser novels. "The boxer and the spy is his second book he wrote for young readers." Robert B. Parker lived with his wife Joan in Cambridge. He has two sons David and Daniel T. Robert B. Parker was born on September 17, 1932, in Springfield, Massachusetts. His most famous works are the Spenser series. He passed away on January 18, 2010, he was 77 years old.
September 22, 2015
The Boxer and the Spy by Robert B. Parker (Philomel Books 2008) (Fiction - Teen) is one of the master's few forays into the world of mystery books for young readers. The plot revolves around a group of young high-schoolers who band together to solve a mystery in their hometown. Along the way they manage to overcome injustice and to defeat any number of prejudices of various sorts. The author's approach to this story is a step more sophisticated than the stories in the "Encyclopedia Brown" mystery series. Parker's audience will immediately recognize that he has taken the hard edge off of his prose, but his style shines through and hopefully will catch the whim of the next generation of readers. My rating: 4/10, finished 5/28/13.
March 4, 2015
I might be one of the few adults who hasn't read a Robert B. Parker novel, so why not start with one of his young adult titles? I remember discussion of this mystery at a Abe Lincoln book award meeting a few years ago so I thought I'd give it a try.
Terry Novak is fifteen and in training to be a boxer. When classmate Jason Green's body turns up dead on the shore, Terry starts asking questions. Unfortunately Parker uses the author's technique called All Adults Are Idiots, which I'm not a big fan of. But, hey, I'm not 13 either. Some authority figures are scamming the school and town and Terry and his maybe-girlfriend get right in the thick of things. Fists fly and mysteries are solved!
Terry Novak is fifteen and in training to be a boxer. When classmate Jason Green's body turns up dead on the shore, Terry starts asking questions. Unfortunately Parker uses the author's technique called All Adults Are Idiots, which I'm not a big fan of. But, hey, I'm not 13 either. Some authority figures are scamming the school and town and Terry and his maybe-girlfriend get right in the thick of things. Fists fly and mysteries are solved!
October 7, 2014
This book is a good book it has great great plots with some different things that i really did not see coming. It is a great book but it does have its dry parts like most other books. I had to figure out some of the reasons why the main character did what he did and why he did them because it had a lot of good juicy things that helped you picture what was going on the book. It had a cool book plot where it had the main story going on in one part of the book and then the next chapter could totally be a whole new thing but it would still go along with the story. But overall this is a general good book.
November 19, 2018
Oh, dear. This was disappointing. The premise was implausible and I thought the characters were written in a way that seemed caricature. First, the angry, larger-than-life bullies. Then the principal with the same temperament. Enter the beautiful politician with a muddled backstory and something to hide. And yes, while I do think some people have met the person with whom they are supposed to spend the rest of their lives at 15, it got wayyyyy too serious too quickly.
The one thing I do think the author got right is the sexually-charged nature of teenagers...wanting to be intimate but not knowing what or how that looks.
The one thing I do think the author got right is the sexually-charged nature of teenagers...wanting to be intimate but not knowing what or how that looks.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 25, 2010
The description of this book is for a different Parker novel. This is NOT about the Jesse Stone character.
I am presently at page 81 of the mystery. I have been a big fan of Parker's for many years. I will miss him. This is a library book listed for young adult readers but wanted to see how he portrayed stories to young people and how his writing entices them to read his other stories when they get older.
MY REVIEW:...this book should not be listed for young adults section in the library. Theme too adult for them.
I am presently at page 81 of the mystery. I have been a big fan of Parker's for many years. I will miss him. This is a library book listed for young adult readers but wanted to see how he portrayed stories to young people and how his writing entices them to read his other stories when they get older.
MY REVIEW:...this book should not be listed for young adults section in the library. Theme too adult for them.
June 18, 2008
This teen novel was somewhat disappointing. Parker wrote a simplified version of his popular Spenser novels. Boy boxer meets girl who hangs on his every word and is the love of his life. BLAH! I liked the plot but the charactors were silly and I could not picture 15 year olds behaving as he presented. Oh well!
September 11, 2008
If I were a teen who'd never read a Robert Parker book, I could judge this impartially and would probably give it a 3.
But since I've been reading his Spencer series since the 1980s, I am judging it against that. And that's an easy thing to do, because this book and the earlier Edenville Owls are clearly Spencer Lite.
But since I've been reading his Spencer series since the 1980s, I am judging it against that. And that's an easy thing to do, because this book and the earlier Edenville Owls are clearly Spencer Lite.
March 13, 2009
To me, this book was ok. I liked the diversity of the characters and some aspects of the storyline were good, but that's about it. It was very predictable and I knew who killed Jason from about the second chapter. There were no twists or turns, and I like that in a mystery story. I enjoy books that keep me guessing until the end. Overall, I was a little disappointed.
January 2, 2010
Poor character development.
Makes some good points about the nature of boxing,
via the sage and understated boxing coach's character.
Fine for a middle schooler. Rated PG-13.
Good read if you have to sit and wait at the DMV or
doctor's office--can finish in one day.
Makes some good points about the nature of boxing,
via the sage and understated boxing coach's character.
Fine for a middle schooler. Rated PG-13.
Good read if you have to sit and wait at the DMV or
doctor's office--can finish in one day.
November 16, 2014
Couldn't get into this. Obviously for people much younger than me (for teens). Tried the audiobook because of the reader Scott Brick, but even his talent couldn't make this an interesting book for me.
February 28, 2016
Mostly Parker-esque dialog, which, in my opinion, is a good thing. And blue butterflies. Damn, I'm sorry this man is dead.
February 17, 2017
Audiobook. Was just ok!
April 1, 2018
I read this to save it from being withdrawn from the young adult collection. I like Robert B. Parker's adult novels. This, not so much.
February 17, 2022
This book turned out to a young adult novel, the likes of Percy Jackson. I was listening to it on CD. It was pleasant enough and passed the time well.
May 1, 2023
RICK “SHAQ” GOLDSTEIN SAYS: “YOUTH MYSTERY IS A KNOCKOUT!!”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This book is written by the author of the world famous Spenser and Jesse Stone mysteries (among others) Robert B. Parker. This is his second book targeted for the youth market, but I’ll be the first to say adults will truly enjoy it also. The reader is first introduced to a shy, young, sad boy by the name of Jason Green. His Father had died and his Mother has buried what’s left of her life in a bottle. He didn’t like sports so a lot of kids in school thought he was a “sissy”. What he did enjoy was old movies and drawing. Each night at dinner his Mother would get drunk and then Jason would have the rest of his night down to a science. He’d go out for a walk down to the beach to a secluded spot to be by himself to think about things, and by the time he got home his Mother would be passed out drunk, and Jason would just go to bed like nothing happened. Then one fateful night while Jason was in his special spot he overheard a man and woman talking about some illegal endeavors, but they couldn’t see him. The man and woman were afraid of being seen together so the woman left first. Then the man saw Jason and said: “You heard everything.” Jason said: “I didn’t hear anything.”
The tide later brought in Jason’s dead body. The rumor around school was that he had used steroids and committed suicide. The cast of characters that are introduced on both sides of the law form the backbone of the story involving the unrelenting quest to clear Jason’s name and uncover the criminal element in William Dawes Regional High School. The main protagonist is fifteen-year-old Terry Novack who is working extremely hard learning how to box from George, a black fifty-five-year-old former boxer who works at the local gym. Terry is extremely dedicated to following all the rules, regulations, and training regimens that George sets out. The idea is to find out if Terry truly has the proper character to be a boxer before he actually gets in the ring. Throughout the story George is instrumental not only in the physical and mental part of boxing, but he also conveys sage advice to Terry in his own unique brand of English, that includes numerous sentences that are devoid of many integral verbs and adjectives. Terry’s trusty sidekick is his good friend and burgeoning love interest Abby Hall. Abby is a tremendous student, extremely cute, and becomes the “spy” to Terry’s “boxer” in this coming of age story of loyalty and the many obstacles in growing up in today’s young world of dwindling role models.
While just about all the other kids in school thought Jason was gay and didn’t care that he died, Terry remembered that years ago when his own Dad had died, that the day of his Dad’s wake, “there was a kid, by himself, Jason Green, wearing a suit coat and tie. He walked past the funeral parlor man at the door, who looked at him as if he didn’t belong, and came straight up to Terry. Hi, he said. I wanted to tell you something. My Father died when I was ten, Jason said, after a while you won’t feel so bad as you do now. Terry nodded. You’ll get used to it, Jason said. Terry nodded again. I just wanted you to know, Jason said. Thank you, Terry said. Thanks for coming.”
That memory empowered Terry to enlist his (girl) friend Abby and all their other friends as they fought the powers that be at the school that included the muscle-bound hot-tempered principal Mr. Bullard, All-State football player Kip Carter, and even Gubernatorial candidate Mrs. Trent, as Terry would not be stopped short of his goal of clearing Jason’s name. Terry, Abby, and their friends tackle the questions of steroid use, first kisses, and love and sex, at the right time in the right way.
I recommend this book to readers all across the age spectrum. Parents can feel very confident that if they give this book as a gift to teenagers that the right message will be presented. Older Robert B. Parker fans will take a small delight in recognizing characteristics in George that resemble Hawk, and Terry and Abby could almost be a teenage Spenser and Susan. A delightful book.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This book is written by the author of the world famous Spenser and Jesse Stone mysteries (among others) Robert B. Parker. This is his second book targeted for the youth market, but I’ll be the first to say adults will truly enjoy it also. The reader is first introduced to a shy, young, sad boy by the name of Jason Green. His Father had died and his Mother has buried what’s left of her life in a bottle. He didn’t like sports so a lot of kids in school thought he was a “sissy”. What he did enjoy was old movies and drawing. Each night at dinner his Mother would get drunk and then Jason would have the rest of his night down to a science. He’d go out for a walk down to the beach to a secluded spot to be by himself to think about things, and by the time he got home his Mother would be passed out drunk, and Jason would just go to bed like nothing happened. Then one fateful night while Jason was in his special spot he overheard a man and woman talking about some illegal endeavors, but they couldn’t see him. The man and woman were afraid of being seen together so the woman left first. Then the man saw Jason and said: “You heard everything.” Jason said: “I didn’t hear anything.”
The tide later brought in Jason’s dead body. The rumor around school was that he had used steroids and committed suicide. The cast of characters that are introduced on both sides of the law form the backbone of the story involving the unrelenting quest to clear Jason’s name and uncover the criminal element in William Dawes Regional High School. The main protagonist is fifteen-year-old Terry Novack who is working extremely hard learning how to box from George, a black fifty-five-year-old former boxer who works at the local gym. Terry is extremely dedicated to following all the rules, regulations, and training regimens that George sets out. The idea is to find out if Terry truly has the proper character to be a boxer before he actually gets in the ring. Throughout the story George is instrumental not only in the physical and mental part of boxing, but he also conveys sage advice to Terry in his own unique brand of English, that includes numerous sentences that are devoid of many integral verbs and adjectives. Terry’s trusty sidekick is his good friend and burgeoning love interest Abby Hall. Abby is a tremendous student, extremely cute, and becomes the “spy” to Terry’s “boxer” in this coming of age story of loyalty and the many obstacles in growing up in today’s young world of dwindling role models.
While just about all the other kids in school thought Jason was gay and didn’t care that he died, Terry remembered that years ago when his own Dad had died, that the day of his Dad’s wake, “there was a kid, by himself, Jason Green, wearing a suit coat and tie. He walked past the funeral parlor man at the door, who looked at him as if he didn’t belong, and came straight up to Terry. Hi, he said. I wanted to tell you something. My Father died when I was ten, Jason said, after a while you won’t feel so bad as you do now. Terry nodded. You’ll get used to it, Jason said. Terry nodded again. I just wanted you to know, Jason said. Thank you, Terry said. Thanks for coming.”
That memory empowered Terry to enlist his (girl) friend Abby and all their other friends as they fought the powers that be at the school that included the muscle-bound hot-tempered principal Mr. Bullard, All-State football player Kip Carter, and even Gubernatorial candidate Mrs. Trent, as Terry would not be stopped short of his goal of clearing Jason’s name. Terry, Abby, and their friends tackle the questions of steroid use, first kisses, and love and sex, at the right time in the right way.
I recommend this book to readers all across the age spectrum. Parents can feel very confident that if they give this book as a gift to teenagers that the right message will be presented. Older Robert B. Parker fans will take a small delight in recognizing characteristics in George that resemble Hawk, and Terry and Abby could almost be a teenage Spenser and Susan. A delightful book.
February 22, 2017
I enjoyed this book out of all of the other books I've read so far. The mystery adds suspense to the book and leaving you trying to figure out who the culprit was. I even noticed the five tools of suspense in this book! The book starts when a mysterious corpse washes up the shore of a New England beach town. The body was identified as Jason Green, and people believed he committed suicide because of the steroids he was taking and the fact that he was allegedly gay. The main character, Terry Novak who is 15 years old and his friend(almost girlfriend)Abby Hall who is also 15 tries to find the real reason of why Jason died as Terry knew Jason would not be the type of person to commit suicide. Terry is also learning to box with his sensei(teacher) called George. Terry and Abby also created a spy network who people who hate Mr.Bullard(the principal of the school) and Kip Carter(A supposed mean and buff senior that won a scholarship of the state of Illinois). They then traced it down and figured out the real culprit after a fight with Kip and Terry(Terry won). My favorite part in the story was when Kip and Terry fought. Terry is a freshmen boxer, fighting the toughest guy in school, and won against him by dealing a fatal blow. What was ironic was his teacher George and his kind of girlfriend Abby witnessed the whole fight. I would recommend mature junior high kids to read this type of book. It contains profanity, but also has a twist of romance as Terry and Abby builds their relationship. Some of the topics are really sexual, like Terry spying the culprit which resulted it him seeing the culprit "getting down", complementing another woman's legs, and occasionally making sex jokes or bringing up sex life. This is why I believe "mature" junior high kids should read this. Terry's jokes also turns into comedy as they are funny and is being used to annoy/tease Abby. This was a short book with 47 chapters and resulted it me finishing it in around 4 hours. It was also very interesting and entertaining as I kept turning pages to see what would occur next.
August 7, 2022
This was Robert B. Parker's last novel before he died. It targeted young adults, and I thought he did a good job of crafting a "whodunnit" with a bit of action that wasn't over the top for teenagers.
For those familiar with his "Spenser" series, Parker's work featured a hard boiled-but sensitive-private eye who had compassion for the afflicted but who would hesitate to put a shotgun in the mouth of a bad guy and pull the trigger. In "The Boxer and the Spy" Parker doesn't get that edgy. There is violence (fistfights between protagonists and evil-doers), but there is a moral justification for it that is beautifully articulated. Young readers learn the difference between self defense and being a bully. There is a murder, but the reader doesn't experience it...it's more front page news that everyone hears about, and learns the details about as the story unfolds.
I liked this book. I listened to the audiobook version of it, and thought it dragged a bit. I sped it up by .25 percent and it cruised along at a better pace with that. The narrator had a great skill set insofar as doing voices of different characters.
For those familiar with his "Spenser" series, Parker's work featured a hard boiled-but sensitive-private eye who had compassion for the afflicted but who would hesitate to put a shotgun in the mouth of a bad guy and pull the trigger. In "The Boxer and the Spy" Parker doesn't get that edgy. There is violence (fistfights between protagonists and evil-doers), but there is a moral justification for it that is beautifully articulated. Young readers learn the difference between self defense and being a bully. There is a murder, but the reader doesn't experience it...it's more front page news that everyone hears about, and learns the details about as the story unfolds.
I liked this book. I listened to the audiobook version of it, and thought it dragged a bit. I sped it up by .25 percent and it cruised along at a better pace with that. The narrator had a great skill set insofar as doing voices of different characters.
March 18, 2019
I listened to this book on audio cd, and I almost gave up after just a few chapters. I had a really hard time with the "he said" and "she said" constantly being stated. I realize that it's the writing style, but I struggled with it especially listening to the book. But, I was intrigued enough by the mystery, that I kept listening/reading. I ended up liking the book more than I thought I would. I realize that it is written for a YA audience and that the main characters are 15, but there were too many references to sex that just weren't necessary to the story. Some of them were a little too creepy, to be honest. However, I did like the lessons that George taught the kids along the way, and I liked how he said "learning to be adults". This is the first that I have read anything by Parker, and from reading others' reviews and such, I gather that this is typical for his writing style. It wasn't great for me, but I can see how reluctant readers might get into this book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 143 reviews