Home of the Braves

by David Klass

That was the truth I came to in that long and frozen moment. This was my life. Not the life of any of the people around me, clamoring for blood, but mine. I had to make the decision, and I had to make it now, or it would be made for me.

Genres: Realistic Fiction, Young Adult, Sports, Fiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published October 30, 2002

About the author

David Klass is the author of many young adult novels, including You Don’t Know Me, Dark Angel, and Firestorm (The Caretaker Trilogy). He is also a Hollywood screenwriter, having written more than twenty-five action screenplays, including Kiss the Girls, starring Morgan Freeman and Ashley Judd, Walking Tall, starring The Rock, and Desperate Measures, starring Michael Keaton and Andy Garcia. Klass grew up in a family that loved literature and theater—his parents were both college professors and writers—but he was a reluctant reader, preferring sports to books. But he started loving the adventure stories his parents would bring home from the library—particularly Jack London, Robert Louis Stevenson and Alexandre Dumas. After his sister twice won a story contest in Seventeen magazine, Klass decided he would win it too, and when he was a senior in high school, he did, publishing his first story, “Ringtoss,” in the magazine. He studied at Yale University, where he won the Veech Award for Best Imaginative Writing. He taught English in Japan, and wrote his first novel, The Atami Dragons, about that experience. He now lives in New York with his wife and two children.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/davidk...

Reviews

[Ryan Rood]

Ryan rood
Ms.Bjerke
English 4
January 30 2014
Home Of The Braves
David klass book Home Of The Braves is something of a sportsie romance Drama. I thought the book was good it had some girly scenes in it. It talked about how Joe liked a girl but she was more interested in someone else… come to find out the man she is interested in is one of his teammates. They had some manly parts which were fighting scenes and the rivalries between other sports teams in the school.
so Joe Brickman who is on the soccer team and wrestling team. his soccer team is not that good and might not make it to the playoffs until Antonio Silva. A.K.A “The Phenom” a somewhat of a jerk showed up he transfer from brazil and is amazing at soccer so now the their might be some hope for the team but then Kris a girl who Joe has a huge crush on for like the longest time is ask on a date by Antonio and says yes this angers Joe and starts a fight with him and soccer becomes cooler then football this angers them.
On Pg. 9 Kris say “I think you guys might actually have a chance in the league playoff.” So that got me thinking oh man this going to get inserting are they going to make it or are they going to get close and fail I must read on then On so on Pg.16-17 (Antonio’s books flew in the air, Antonio shifted his weight into his left leg and in the same fluid motion kicked out with his right one. it wasn't a soccer kick, and i don’t exactly think it was a karate kick either.) We also have romance scenes like you will see on Pg. 58 ( goofy childhood buddies suddenly twist up tightly into three long heartbeats ba-BOOM ba-BOOM ba-BOOM-- and we were looking right into each others eyes and the moment is there and i know its there and Kris knows it, too, and she is waiting. all i have to do is kiss her.)

So as you see this book has some girly scenes in it but also manly scenes too. You wont be different for reading this book, if you love sports and romance this book is PERFECT for you. I liked this because it has sports and i get into romance every now and then… but we all have different opinions on books so just go for it and rent it and see if you like it.

[VSL 8]

Friendship, social class, sports and family all build your character, right? Your character is everything. It tells people who you are. It gives people an opening into your life. Your character is your identity, and your identity is who you are. "Home Of The Brave" by David Klass is a book with a purpose that teaches you about life and tough decisions throughout life. Klass uses his writing to help young middle school readers understand life, character, and that sometimes failing is ok, but you have to live with what you've done.

Joe Brickman is the main character in this book and goes to a very tough school in New York, where with two towns attending the same school. Joe is the soccer team captain and outstanding center back; however, his team is very bad. At the begging of the year Joe gains a soccer player, Antonio “the phenom” Silvia, a skilled soccer star who also starts dating Joe’s girl, Kristeen. This flips Joe’s world around as he was planning to ask Kristeen out this year. This is where Joe shows composure and a tremendous amount of character. Ed the mouse, Joe’s friend, is a quirky high school senior and has been Joe’s friend since elementary school. Ed has been getting bullied at the high school and Joe is forced to stick up for Ed, but then pays the price in the future. This shows Joe being a good friend and standing up for what he believes in. Throughout the story, Joe changes as a character, and Klass does an exceptional job of demonstrating his change in mindset throughout the book in the way Joe looks at his life. From the start of his senior year to the end of his senior year, Joe makes tremendous progress in his character.

In conclusion, I would recommend "Home Of The Braves" to anyone from 8th graders to adults because this book teaches you about life, friendship, respect, failing, and being a good person. This book is a must-read.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joe is just an ordinary guy - mediocre student, decent athlete on a less than decent soccer team. At their high school, it's best to go unnoticed by the jock group - something Joe's best friend has a hard time doing. So when Ed is marked and must show respect, things get out of hand when Ed refuses. Meanwhile, a Brazilian student shows up at school and Joe immediately recruits him for the soccer team. But Antonio is arrogant and scoffs at their version of soccer. Then Antonio shows up at one of the games with Kristine, Joe's friend from forever. Now the jocks have "noticed" Antonio and are targeting him, too. All of this is leading to a showdown between Joe and Slade, which is a microcosm of the violence between these two "sides of town."

I'm not doing this book justice ... it was a great read!

[Cristian Gomez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Home of The Braves is a great book about a boy that comes from a small town, Lawndale. He is the soccer team captain and beings falling in love. Who we would believe his life is perfect, because he is part of multiple sports and is a popular kid. He feels pressured by a foreign exchange student named Antonio, He takes his spotlight away. He is forced to go through many ups and downs through his senior year. His dad is owner of a car wash and he is forced to work there on the weekends. He has to go through a rough time with his neighbor town, they are a group of rough people and make other people’s life miserable. He is forced to face them multiple times throughout the story. The situations get worse throughout the book. He also has to face his crush on the fact that she is having feelings for someone else. He feels threatened by this boy because he is the transfer student. Also the transfer student is cocky and stuck up. Joe tries to get him to come with him and the phenom just rejects him. This leads Joe to have to go through trouble with the neighbor town. He later on comes to find out that she is falling for him and is falling in love. Towards the book is when the book picks up the most tension and anyone reading it, be ready. Home of the Braves is five stars in my opinion.

[Miguelvaa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Home Of The Braves was an also filled with drama, even though the main character of this book is a boy. Don't let that think its just about fighting drama though because it has love drama friend drama and more.
His life seems perfect and that he is the coolest guy because he is the captain of the wrestling team and the soccer team when a foreign exchange student named Antonio comes and takes the spotlight away from him. He goes through so many ups and downs that I thought I was on a roller coaster

[Carlos Salas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very good and i enjoyed it so much. There were so many times where i wanted to make his decisions for him because he was making the wrong ones. The ending wasn't what i was expecting, but it was okay. If i was J i would have asked K out and it would have been a happy ending, but that's not what happened and it was kind of a bummer. The book was a 10/10 for me and i would recommend it to anyone because it was so good.

[Edgars · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paņēmu šo grāmatu no grāmatu kastītes vietā, kur gluži kā Kolkas ragā satiekas divas ūdenstilpnes - Ēri kanāls un Niagāras upe. Tāda kā jauniešu lasāmviela, bet labākā no tām, kas tur bija pieejama, tā man likās. Nebija jau arī slikta. Nekas īpašs varbūt nenotika, bet uzrakstīts gana labi, plūstoši, zināma intriga tiek noturēta līdz beigām.

[Cayden Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Home of the Braves is a good book. The main character in the story changed a lot through out the story with all the crazy stuff happening in their high school. With their best friend and that crush they had for someone their whole life. This book is different to other books that are in a highschool dome.

[J. Trott]

Going through books a school library was throwing out, I picked up a book about a soccer player. I'm humbled to think how many good books there are.

[Jake Fulton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jake Fulton
English E

Home Of The Braves

In the book Home of The Braves by David Klass, Joe Brickman’s school is separated in two groups. In one group there are the water rats. These are kids from Bankside who are known to be tough and mean. Then there are the kids from Lawndale who average out to be pretty normal.
The separation seems to grow when Antonio Silva, a Brazilian soccer star transfers to the school. Hoe the captain of the soccer team is really excited, but Antonio is uninterested when he is offered a spot on the team. When Antonio is confronted by two Bankside, football players who like to harass new kids, he proceeds to injure both of them and they can’t play for the rest of the football season. This really gets the Bankside kids angry.
After a while Antonio agrees to play on the soccer team. He immediately transforms the soccer team from really bad into one of the best in their league. Also soccer starts to become a “cool” sport. During this the tension between the two groups is getting worse and worse.
Joe becomes on of their targets after he stands up for his best friend Ed. The school is pressured into making extra safety precautions that include a metal detector and surveillance cameras in almost every room. Meanwhile, Antonio lead the team to the soccer playoffs for the first time in school history, but disappears back to Brazil right as the team starts coming together. The team does its best without its star, but has no chance against the better teams and is eliminated.
One day, one of the biggest, toughest water rats, Slade, challenges Joe to a fight. He agrees after Slade insults him. But, when they are about to fight, Joe thinks better of it and for the first time he thinks about his future. This proves to be a very good choice because just days later he is accepted on the Sea Gypsy, a program for high school graduated with strong science backgrounds.

Theme
The theme of this book is to think about your future. Joe does this by not fighting Slade and not giving in to the peer pressure. If he had gone ahead and fought Slade, he probably wouldn’t have been accepted on the Sea Gypsy or gone to any colleges. Thinking ahead is very important if you want to have a good future ahead of you. It doesn’t start when you’re in high school, you can always be thinking about your future. It can be by getting good grade or even not getting into drugs and alcohol.

**** I would rate this book four out of five stars. It was pretty good but sometimes it got boring and the ending wasn’t very good. The characters were realistic and for the most part it was a really good book. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes sports or just a good book.

[Rogelio]

Rogelio Morales
Ms.Bjerke
English 4
January 30 2014
Home Of The Braves
David Klass book Home Of The Braves is something of a romance Drama. I kind of like the book yes I am a man but I’m not gay for liking something that’s a little girly. But hey anyways the book has some beautiful moments in it. If you like books that are about the sports and the worrying if they go far in the season or if the main guy is going to get the girl and what of the douche that showed up out of nowhere then read on.
so Joe Brickman who is on the soccer team and wrestling team. his soccer team is not that good and might not make it to the playoffs. Until Antonio Silva. A.K.A “The Phenom” a somewhat of a jerk showed up he transfer from Brazil and is amazing at soccer so now their might be some hope for the team. But then Kris a girl who Joe has a huge crush on for like the longest time is ask on a date by Antonio and become boyfriend and grilfirend. and says yes this angers Joe and starts a fight with him. and soccer becomes cooler then football this angers them.
On Pg. 9 Kris say “I think you guys might actually have a chance in the league playoff.” So that got me thinking oh man this going to get inserting are they going to make it or are they going to get close and fail I must read on then On Pg. Joe tried to introduced himself to Antonio but Antonio did a jerk move on him “ I held out my hand for a shake. He ignored my hand. Kept walking.” So some tension arouse and on Pg.137 “Rumors began flying even before the auditorium emptied out. Some said a threating e-mail had been sent to the school. Others whispered about a fight between a student and a teacher. Some pointed put how many cops there had been the discovered in a locker. And then there was the story that I had first heard as I walked home from schooled with a bunch of my soccer teammates—the one that turned out to be true. It had nothing to do with Ed and Mouse, or friction between the soccer team and the football team.’’ And tell me that doesn’t hook you.
So if teenage drama, Romance, a sports team dreams and a rival between to sports is your things that peek your interest. Then I recommend the book. Like I said in my own opinion great book to read but there are sometimes it loses me but then again you’re not me so you might have a different opinion.

[Stephan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, like many of other David Klass novels, of which are highly recomended by me. "Dark Angle" & "You don't know me", are two other highly recomended books, by this author. I greatly admire the way that he looks through the lives of teenagers, getting inside there heads, exposing the common mind of the male teenager. I also like how he puts them in different situations, such as in this novel, he is trying to deal with a new Soccer Star that transfers to his school, and that's her's going out with his best freind, that he really likes. It shows the struggle through that. In "Dark Angle", he has to deal with his brother, being released on a tecnicality from a prison in New York, for murder. This completly changes his social life, with his Girl Friend, and at school. He also has to find out how to live with his brother, with his reputation. Lastly in "You don't know me", it's about this boy, who is constantly beaten, by his "dad", or the man his mom married, but not his real father. He has to learn to face that and over come him, which through a very different, vivid view of the world and how thing are. All of these books taking place through the same mind set, of a teenage boy, but with different scenarios, different problems, and seeking different results. Those three novels are HIGHLY recomended by me. I strongly urge you to explore this lititure of David Klass.

For those of you who go to "Sterling Montessori", in Morrisville, Mr. James had a copy of "You Don't Know Me", in his class, and i believe still does. I am sure if the novel is not in use that he would let you borrow it, to read it.

Stephan Haggy

[Casey anderson]

Home of the Braves by David Klass is one of the best books that I have ever read. In my opinion, Lawndale High represents the setting of high schools today. There is fighting, cliques, violence, and heartbreak in most high schools. I enjoyed reading this book because I can relate to almost all of the things that happened. The characters and conflicts between them are truly what made me want to read this book. Joe, the captain of the soccer team really likes Kris,(a life long friend) and he is about to ask her out but then Antonio "the Phenom" comes along and steals her away from him. This is a classic example of heartbreak. In Lawndale High like every other school their are cliques such as the popular clique and the dork clique. Ed, Joes best friend constantly gets picked on and the last thing that the Bankside kids did to him pushed him completely over the edge. The Bankside kids are all in the popular clique and Ed is the dork clique. At the end when Ed moved to Connecticut I was very surprised. I think that this was a great book. I would recommend this book to anyone who is a student in high school because it will be easy to relate to. Quick and easy to read and i finished it in no time. Mainly because i could never put it down!

[KateMP]

Kate M.P. 1/22/16
Home of the Brave by David Klass
I would recommend this book to people that like some drama just not too much. Joe is a junior in high school and captain of the soccer team. He lives in suburbs with his dad. Sadly his mother left them both when he was younger. He goes to a high school where all the stereotypes are true. For example the jocks. nerds, emos/goths etc. He doesn’t really fit into any of those categories I guess you could just say he’s athletic. Joe has had a crush on his close friend Kris for as long as he can remember and so did she, but all that changes when the “phenom” comes along. Many things happen with Joe's friends people get in fights, people cry, and a few fall in love. One strength of this book is that the Klass puts good detail in it and it’ll help you see exactly what’s happening.

[Amy]

Joe is the captain of the Lawndale high school soccer team even though they aren't the best team by a longshot. He and Kris have been friends for their entire life and Joe is begining to have feelings for her. Then one day Antonio "Phenom" Silva moves to Lawndale from Brazil where he was a soccer superstar. Joe jumps on the chance to have the phenom on the team, when Antonio finally joins the team he is a superstar and attracts lots of attention, Joe knows he should be happy that his team is finally winning but he can't get over what a showoff Antonio is .It gets even worse when Antonio and Kris start to date. Joe cant believe that he missed his chance with Kris and maybe even ruined their friendship. Not only does he have to worry about Kris, but his friend Ed is being bullied by the football jocks. At Lawndale High respect is a big thing and Ed is pushing the fine line between respect and being beating up.

[Cherylann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh.

Home of the Braves is mediocre at best. Klass sets Home of the Braves in a small high school in Northern NJ. The high school provides services to two towns - Lawndale and Bankside. The towns are markedly different - Lawndale being typical suburbia and Bankside being a tough "wrong side of the tracks" type of town. The kids from the communities struggle to coexist. And this is where the storyline becomes cliche and overused. We've seen this same storyline a million ways from Sunday. Most notably in SE Hinton's The Outsiders. I supposed one could say that Home of the Braves is set against a backdrop of sports - specifically soccer. But even that is somewhat cliche. I found the characters to be flat and the novel, while suspenseful toward the end, nothing overly special. Sadly, I probably won't remember this book in a few months.

[Max.d · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave this book four stars because this book is about this boy name Joe and he plays soccer and he is a wrestler. He is the captain of the soccer team and they are aren't very good this year so they look at this boy named Antonio. He is from brazil. Joe thinks that Antonio could help the team get better and aslo go to the playoffs. But at first Antonio is not interested. But he soon makes a descion. When he joins the team he is good really good. But when he meets this girl name Kris. He likes her and so he askes her out and she said yes. That made Joe really mad because he wanted to date her but he didn't have the guts to tell her how he felt. So Joe and Anotonio get in a fight and an arguement. But the rest is for you to find out I suggest you read this book because if I liked it I bet you will too.

[Mr. Curtis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mature Content: Crude Language

Lexile: 870L

Many people can look back on their lives and articulate the exact moment when they made a choice that changed their life. Joe, the main character of this novel, will be able to do that. At a school where tensions run high between cliques and factions, Joe walks the line of respect between the 2 sides of town. But through a series of events on and off the soccer field, he is eventually forced to make the choice that will save or condemn his future.

Klass knows how to write about the trials and tribulations young men must endure to "save face," be respected, and look hard. Not only is this a great, engaging story, it is also a glimpse into the minds of young men as they struggle with what it truly means to be a man.

[Joey W.]

This book was an exciting adventure for me in many ways. It was from the fights to the soccer playing phenom from Brazil, Antonio Silva. It all starts in Lawndale, New Jersey, and this all goes down in High school there. There was some intense things that went on there. From Antonio kicking, and Joe the main character kissing the love of his life Kris (K). But, on thing that made me a bit surprised how Antonio stole Kris from Joe in a heartbeat. This made Joe really made, but he was glad for Kris at the same time though. Anyway it was a really, really good book and you should read it. It was Great.

[Nick Goeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a guy named Joe Brickman. He is the captain of the soccer team and is popular. That all changes when Antonio Silva transfers from Italy. Antonio embarrasses him on TV, is named co-captain and steals his girl, Kris. The good thing to come of it is they start to win soccer games and they make the state tournament. Right before the semi-finals Antonio leaves without telling anyone. They get crushed in the game and are sent home. Kris finds a letter to her that Antonio had left, and it said that he got a chance to play for a professional soccer team in Europe. It also said that he couldn't pass up this chance.

[Neill Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joe tells this story about the failures and successes of the high school soccer team in a town long divided by socioeconomic pressures. Joe is middle class - he is not a member of the popular clique or the hard guys clique from the neighbouring town at his high school although he is captain of both the soccer team (a wussy sport) and the wrestling team. When a soccer phenom from Brazil comes to school tensions escalate. At the same time some of Joe's friends fall out with the hard guys and the school vice-principal brings in metal detectors, cameras, and security. Joe struggles to find his own way as his family's history and his own future begin to clash.

[Allie Z. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Home Of The Braves was a also filled with drama, even though the main character of this book is a boy. Dont let that think its just about fighting drama though, because it has love drama friend drama and more.
His life seemes perfect and that he is the coolest guy because he is the captin of the wresteling team and the soccer team, when a forien exchange student named Antonio comes and takes the spot light away from him. He goes through so many ups and downs that i thought i was on a roller coaster. Over all I thought this book was a great book and would defiantly recomend it to people if they are looking for a good book to read!

[Micah R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book! David Klass is a good author. The problem with this book is that it shows too much detain with the fealings of Joe, the main character. The book is about a boy who gets jealous because a soccor star from Brazil comes to his hometown in New Jersey and threatens to steal the girl he likes and his soccor team. Joe over the course of the book has to deal with a lot of stuff no one should endure. All in all the author made this story sound as if i was really listening to a person telling me about their life.

[Madison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave this book 4 stars because it was really good. I especially liked it because it was about soccer, and I play soccer. It was an easily relatable book for me. Also, it had a lot of action, and you never knew what to expect. It had a happy ending, which I liked. I think this was one of the best books I've read, but it was a little long. Some of the parts were hard to believe, and made me wonder if something like that would ever actually happen in real life. I would recommend this book to anyone who plays soccer, and even people who don't because it's a really good story.

[Jose M · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave this book a five because its a really goood book about a guy named joey and has a friend named kris. A new guy from brasil comes to there school and he plays soccer like joey. joey says he is a jerk because he asked if he wanted to be in the team and he said no. Now antonio is dating kris and joey is jelious and mad. the school puts new camaras and metal detectors because somebody said that they saw somone inthe school in the golf course. they have a big reunion and the parents are goimg mad and they are saying stuff back at the director of the police and principle.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Life is just fantastic for Joe when he is the star player and captain of the school soccer team, has pretty cool best friends, and is for the most part popular, nothing can make his life bad. Until a brilliant Brizilian soccer player moves to town. The Phenom is what he is called, making a great impression on himself, but when the Phenom takes Joe's girl Kris and is actually better than him in soccer, Joe get's jealous. Read this thrilling, fantastic book about what goes on in Joe's life when an enemy of his steals his fame.

[Hans · Rating 5 out of 5]

My rating is based on the intended audience and not my preference.

This story is directed at the tween crowd. It's message is something that would be useful for that age range. Many of the story elements would seem trivial to adults. Some events would seem more urgent if you were currently in a school setting.

With that said, I found the book to be a welcome read. It gave me insight on how my tween daughter sees the world. She is also reading the book and it provides us opportunities for thoughtful conversation.

[Jake H · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really good book, I don't even care if I think soccer is a boring sport. I also think one of the reasons I liked it was because David Klass wrote it. The most shocking part of the book is when Joe figured out Antonio drank alcohol and did drugs. My favorite part was when Joe had one of his best games defensively by not letting the other team score. This is a great book and I think alot of people should read it.

[Angélique (Angel) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 Stars. I enjoyed this book far more than I thought I would. Joe's thoughts and feelings were so well-developed that throughout the book I felt that I wasn't just reading about his life, but that I was really experiencing it. Klass also managed to present a very enjoyable and coherent plot line despite the many layers employed. All-in-all, a very pleasant read that I'm glad I somewhat impulsively picked up.

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave this book 4 stars because I like how it was about soccer and the author used words that made the book seem so real like actual teenagers were telling the story not some old man telling the story. I also liked how it wasn’t just about soccer it was about life and how high school can be tough especially where they went and that life will go on no matter what you plan on doing in the future. That is why I liked this book so much and why I gave it 4 stars.