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Tap Out
When Darwin's father went to prison for assault, his mom decided it was time to move him from his inner-city school to the elite Norfolk Academy. It was supposed to be a brand-new start for him. But old instincts die hard, and Dar is used to fighting for everything. Convinced by a new friend to take part in an illegal fight club, Dar starts competing in no-holds-barred matches between students. He quickly rises to become the best in the ring. When one match goes too far and a student is almost killed, Dar faces a choice. Everyone tells him he's a fighter, but he needs to decide for himself--who is he, and what is he fighting for?
- GenresYoung Adult
123 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2015
3 people are currently reading
312 people want to read
About the author
Sean Rodman
10 books9 followersI live and work in Victoria, British Columbia. I am the child of two anthropologists, which gave me a keen eye for observation and a bad case of wanderlust. My interest in writing for teenagers came out of working at a number of interesting schools around the world. In the Snowy Mountains of Australia, I taught ancient history to future Olympic athletes. Closer to home, my family and I lived and worked with students from over 100 countries at a non-profit international school.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 16, 2020
Click here to see this review and others on my blog Reading With Daniella
2.75 stars
Tap Out is a book that has been on my Goodreads TBR for years, but it’s not until now that I finally borrowed a digital copy from my library. I’ve always really liked reading books about sports or fighting, which is hilariously ironic because I couldn't care less about these things in my real life.
I only just realized how unpopular this novel is, with just 38 ratings on Goodreads. That is crazy low! It’s making me wonder where I even heard about this book in the first place.
It also makes me wonder why this book isn’t more popular. I think it should be! It wasn’t anything spectacular, but it was a quick and enjoyable read that I finished in just one sitting. It was suspenseful and difficult to put down, not to mention incredibly short and easy to read.
As a whole, the story felt a bit underdeveloped, especially toward the end of the book. Being just shy of 125 pages, this doesn’t really come as a surprise. In my opinion, a few more chapters to slow down the turn of events in the second half of the book would have been of great benefit. The story has a lot of potential, and with a little more development, I have faith that this story could have been fantastic.
There was also a very, very minor romance subplot, which I feel should have been expanded on. Elements of it were interesting, but it was so underdeveloped that parts of it didn’t fit into the story well.
The book was so short that it honestly read more like a lengthy short story rather than a novel.
Even if the execution wasn't flawless, I did really like the overarching story.
The fighting scenes were intense and frightening, which created a very gritty and dark atmosphere for the book.
All of the characters lacked dimension, but was still able to sympathize with Dar (even when I disagreed with his actions), and I rooted for him to make the right decisions.
I’m not dying to get my hands on any of this author's other books and it’s not the first book that I would recommend to someone, but I’m really glad that I finally picked it up.
2.75 stars
Tap Out is a book that has been on my Goodreads TBR for years, but it’s not until now that I finally borrowed a digital copy from my library. I’ve always really liked reading books about sports or fighting, which is hilariously ironic because I couldn't care less about these things in my real life.
I only just realized how unpopular this novel is, with just 38 ratings on Goodreads. That is crazy low! It’s making me wonder where I even heard about this book in the first place.
It also makes me wonder why this book isn’t more popular. I think it should be! It wasn’t anything spectacular, but it was a quick and enjoyable read that I finished in just one sitting. It was suspenseful and difficult to put down, not to mention incredibly short and easy to read.
As a whole, the story felt a bit underdeveloped, especially toward the end of the book. Being just shy of 125 pages, this doesn’t really come as a surprise. In my opinion, a few more chapters to slow down the turn of events in the second half of the book would have been of great benefit. The story has a lot of potential, and with a little more development, I have faith that this story could have been fantastic.
There was also a very, very minor romance subplot, which I feel should have been expanded on. Elements of it were interesting, but it was so underdeveloped that parts of it didn’t fit into the story well.
The book was so short that it honestly read more like a lengthy short story rather than a novel.
Even if the execution wasn't flawless, I did really like the overarching story.
The fighting scenes were intense and frightening, which created a very gritty and dark atmosphere for the book.
All of the characters lacked dimension, but was still able to sympathize with Dar (even when I disagreed with his actions), and I rooted for him to make the right decisions.
I’m not dying to get my hands on any of this author's other books and it’s not the first book that I would recommend to someone, but I’m really glad that I finally picked it up.
June 20, 2015
Dar knows how much his mother struggles to pay the rent in their low-income housing apartment complex (which is dirty, unsafe, lots of shady characters, including a drug dealer who is trying to recruit him) so when a boy at his new school (a private school) pushes him to join his fight club and make extra money, Dar thinks this is a way he can help his mother. His father is in jail and writes to Dar, encouraging him to be a fighter and not let anyone push him around. The more Dar thinks about it, though, the more he understands that he doesn't have to fight - he can walk away and it won't make him less of a man. In fact, fighting is what got his dad locked up, and he doesn't want to end up in the same situation. He also has a little brother and wants to make a good impression on him so he doesn't take to fighting either. He's been in trouble for fighting before at public school, and his mother is giving him a chance to start over at the private school, so he appreciates the effort she is making, while he knows he doesn't fit in with the private school crowd. Fight club makes him a star, but the more he fights the more he realizes there's no point, no point to the violence and the risk he's taking with his future. He decides to quit, but it's not that easy when he's high profile entertainment, earning money not just for himself but for those who bet on him. Hi/lo reader, fast paced - quick and easy read.
February 10, 2017
This is he story of a trouble young boy names Darwin. He lives in a very poor area and his father has been arrested. All these things make Darwin very violent and he is very quick to start a fight with the other boys at his school. To try and shape Darwin into a model citizen his mom sends him to the elite school of Norfolk. Here Darwin meets a student, Jonathan, who sees Darwin as a God. Jonathon knows that Darwin has extreme fighting capabilities and wants to exploit that. This story takes you along the journey of Jonathon trying to turn his life around, away from all the violence and crime. I would highly recommend reading this book.
December 12, 2018
Dar trying help his mom with the payments. He joins a fight club at his school he wins money when he wins a fight. He use to be involve with a lot of drug dealers. His dad is in jail he write him letters telling him to not let him get push around. He encourage him to fight and join the fight club. Every day after a fight he will think what’s the point of fighting or why am I fighting for? He has a younger brother but dar doesn’t want his brother to end up in the same spot nor same situation. Dar mother is letting him start over because he has been in a lot of trouble before she’s giving him a chance to change. He makes a good friend in the private school named Jonathan. At once he decided to quit fighting at the fight club. The reason he wanted to quit fighting is because he nearly killed a student from the school.
May 30, 2018
Darwin is definitely a kid with problems. His problems started when his dad went away to prison. Ever since then it seems like he is constantly in trouble. To go along with him constantly being in trouble, his family is struggling financially because of the school he goes to. To help out his family financially, Darwin starts fighting his peers during school for money. However, after almost killing a guy during a fight, Darwin decides to give up fighting.
October 4, 2017
3.5 ⭐️
July 13, 2015
This book is new, refreshing genre I have not yet read. It was an easy and light read. It dealt with real issues that teenagers face in life. While all teens may not have the exact out come, they are all searching for a purpose to life and what needs to be fought for.
August 25, 2015
I am really enjoying these new orca books. They are great reads and I think are great for reluctant readers of all ages.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews