Triangle Choke

The Dojo #1

by Patrick Jones

Hector's father used to be a Golden Gloves champion boxer. Now he's an unemployed alcoholic. Hector is trying to stay focused on winning his first amateur MMA fight, but it's not easy when his dad is MIA, his mom is against his training, and his best friend and girlfriend have betrayed him. Can he find the right moves to win over his opponents inside the cage and out?

136 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Patrick Jones is the author of five realistic teen novels, most recently Stolen Car((Walker / Bloomsbury, 2008). His first young adult novel Things Change (Walker & Company, 2004) was named by the Young Adult Library Services Association as a best book for reluctant readers, and was runner-up in the Teen Buckeye Book Award selected by Ohio teens. His second novel Nailed was published by Walker / Bloomsbury in spring 2006 and was a runner-up for the Great Lake Book Award. His 2007 novel, Chasing Tail Lights, is nominated for the Minnesota Books Awards. His most recent (and last) professional publication is Connecting with Reluctant Readers (Neal-Schuman, 2006). In 2006, he won lifetime achievement awards from both the Catholic Library Association, and the American Library Association. Jones is a frequent speaker at library conferences, having visited all fifty states, as well as in Canada, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand. Jones grew up in Flint, Michigan, but now lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Read more at his web page www.connectingya.com, including FAQs about Things Change and Nailed (perfect for book reports!). NOTE: After a bruising experience with another author, he's limited his reviews on Good Reads to only raves as not to disturb the "fellowship" of YA writers.

Reviews

[Emilio Ramos · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was fairly good, it was easy to understand but didn't have a huge meaning. He wanted to be a MMA fighter since he was fifteen years old and he knew how to box because his dad was a golden gloves champion in high school. Hector is the main character and has a conflict with others around him. The book had some exciting parts when they would go into good detail, it almost was hype in other words. A moral of the story I think is just because others give up doesn't mean that you give up on yourself or on them as well. I would recommend this book to somebody who enjoys this sport. I was drawn to this book because I used to do MMA.

[Kaden Foote]

This book is definitely worth your time, it’s called Triangle Choke by patrick jones. This book is about Mixed Martial Arts which is a type of fighting. The main charter is Hector Moralas and his trainer Mr.Hodge. In this book hectors father and his mother started out married then came to some complications. His father was a bad alcoholic and his son made a bet with him that he had to stop before he could come watch him fight. Before his last fight his dad came to the back door and gave him this robe that he used when he used to fight. Before hector took it he made sure his dad was sober. In the end his father becomes a sober and hector continues his fighting career.
I think hector and his trainer Mr. hodge are good people and like to keep their noses clean. His mom is very nervous about everything hector wants to do. She doesn’t go to his fights because she doesn’t want to watch him get hurt. Hector’s Dad is an alcoholic and can’t get off of it. Hector keeps positive do his dad will stop drinking as much.
What I love about this book is Hectors attitude. He never gave up on his dad or anything he wanted to accomplish. They had arguments, but they always got through them. I loved how the family never separated all the way and just got through it. It’s crazy to think about how strong they had to be to get through it all. I definitely recommend this series of books and I’m only on number 1!