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The Bass Factory
Rock and Eddie, best friends and teammates, were poised to make history as the first ever bass fishing state champions at Polk High School. Last year, they finished in the top ten, but this year their eyes were on first place. During the summer, the pair spent many hours on Rock's boat, perfecting their fishing skills. The many lakes throughout Texas kept Rock occupied and happy. When he was on the water, he was at home.
This was also set to be an epic year on the gridiron for the Polk high Panthers. The state of Texas is known for many things, and football is definitely one of the m. The football players were local celebrities. Desmond Ward, the senior quarterback, was a fan favorite and had already accepted a full ride scholarship at Texas A&M. His high school passing records ranked him at the top with some of the greatest players to come out of Texas.
Rock wasn't interested in Desmond, his scholarship, or his records. In fact, he despised him. He didn't despise the game of football. Rock actually studied it and loved it. He just wasn't good at playing it. He was good at bass fishing, though, and he knew his time to shine was this year.
His hopes and dreams quickly unraveled when a freak accident changed everything. Polk High's fishing dream team was no more. Rock was put in an impossible spot. He was either going to come out the hero or the laughing stock of the school. This was not how he envisioned his senior year.
This was also set to be an epic year on the gridiron for the Polk high Panthers. The state of Texas is known for many things, and football is definitely one of the m. The football players were local celebrities. Desmond Ward, the senior quarterback, was a fan favorite and had already accepted a full ride scholarship at Texas A&M. His high school passing records ranked him at the top with some of the greatest players to come out of Texas.
Rock wasn't interested in Desmond, his scholarship, or his records. In fact, he despised him. He didn't despise the game of football. Rock actually studied it and loved it. He just wasn't good at playing it. He was good at bass fishing, though, and he knew his time to shine was this year.
His hopes and dreams quickly unraveled when a freak accident changed everything. Polk High's fishing dream team was no more. Rock was put in an impossible spot. He was either going to come out the hero or the laughing stock of the school. This was not how he envisioned his senior year.
132 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2021
12 people are currently reading
30 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 28, 2024
So, I saved The Bass Factory for last. If you've read either of my prior two reviews on Lane Walker books you will now why I start with that statement. If not, it's OK...this will remain a stand-alone review. The Bass Factory was actually the first book in the Lane Walker fishing series that I read to my son and we laughed the whole way through it as he pointed out what was wrong with the book and why people would not, or should not do what the book was saying...in that regard the book was a good "negative" lesson for him...that's why it wins my very first "ugh" for the bookshelf, and may be the only book to do so.
Why do I hate this book so much? OK...I'll jump right to the point. There is a scene in the book where the star quarterback for the high school Team gets caught spray painting the opponent's school. Rather than paying the price and accepting his suspension, which most likely will cost the High School the state championship...the Principal and the Coach find a loophole in the system where if Desmond (the starting quarterback) fishes with Eddie, this somehow counts as him sitting out a game (fishing in this book is a school sport), allowing him to play the final tournament game and circumventing the suspension. The Principal and Coach coerce Rock the fishing kid to cheat the system against his will (well, he really doesn't put up much of an argument).
There are so many things wrong with this in a young adult book. This is TRUE how the system happens...it's real world...I saw it in my junior high school economics class, taught by the assistant coach...I walked into class one day first and overhead the coach and a player talking about how they were going to "beat the system" due to some cheating they both had got caught at.
However, Lane Walker needed to point out for kids how wrong this was...or make Rock stand up for himself and change the ending of the book. We hate Rock the rest of the book after this, not that we ever liked him anyway. Rock is jealous of Desmond...however, the book portrays Desmond as the demon who broke their friendship, which was never true, but the book never points this out. Rock to me is the villain, and Desmond is just the jock being used by the system. In fact, we end up liking Desmond better than Rock and wished the book had been written from the quarterback's perspective and that Rock was just the insignificant kid used to cheat the system.
Spoilers ahead, if I haven't already given any. Personally, I don't care if anyone reads this book and would advise them not to. I have no idea how it got the 4+ stars.
Desmond goes on to win the state championship (duh, as if we didn't know that was coming) but causes Rock to lose the state fishing championship. Now if you are a fisherman out there, which I am my son are avid local fisherman, neither of us and neither would you do what Rock did...lose the bass tournament on purpose so that the high school could win the State Championship. Oh, but you say Rock didn't have a choice...um...yes he did, which is something the book fails to point out - we all have the right to make good or bad choices...we all have choices. The book tried to make Rock look like a victim of circumstances which is not true. All of us who are REAL fishermen, would have kept on fishing...sorry Desmond, you're going to lose the State Championship, but I feel like fishing today. Couldn't happen? It was Rock's boat. Fish or Swim Mr. Jock Star.
Sorry, so many things wrong with this book. It just adds to the fact why we home school our son and not get caught up in school politics. It happens everyday, read the newspapers, schools always trying to beat the system for sports and getting caught.
My former manager who was a high school coach for a team his son played on...it was a Cinderella season and his team made it to state...against a Catholic school. How did the Catholic school beat the system...any athlete in the state could play for them, tuition free. They actively recruited and that's why they had a nearly unbeatable team season after season. No, Cinderella didn't win, they were actually their own undoing...they lost to themselves by their own fault.
Lane Walker states he is a Principal and an educator...then use this book to educate against such things rather than support.
In the end, fourth down and seconds to go, Rock gives Desmond a fourth down play that he uses against his coaches instructions. Really? Like that will ever happen in a high stakes football game.
Why do I so despise this book? I was so excited to read this book to my son who was 6 years old at the time and loved to fish. It was such a disappointment. Fortunately, there is no "stupid" review on Goodreads...that was my son's most common phrase while we read the book..."well, that's stupid."
Why do I hate this book so much? OK...I'll jump right to the point. There is a scene in the book where the star quarterback for the high school Team gets caught spray painting the opponent's school. Rather than paying the price and accepting his suspension, which most likely will cost the High School the state championship...the Principal and the Coach find a loophole in the system where if Desmond (the starting quarterback) fishes with Eddie, this somehow counts as him sitting out a game (fishing in this book is a school sport), allowing him to play the final tournament game and circumventing the suspension. The Principal and Coach coerce Rock the fishing kid to cheat the system against his will (well, he really doesn't put up much of an argument).
There are so many things wrong with this in a young adult book. This is TRUE how the system happens...it's real world...I saw it in my junior high school economics class, taught by the assistant coach...I walked into class one day first and overhead the coach and a player talking about how they were going to "beat the system" due to some cheating they both had got caught at.
However, Lane Walker needed to point out for kids how wrong this was...or make Rock stand up for himself and change the ending of the book. We hate Rock the rest of the book after this, not that we ever liked him anyway. Rock is jealous of Desmond...however, the book portrays Desmond as the demon who broke their friendship, which was never true, but the book never points this out. Rock to me is the villain, and Desmond is just the jock being used by the system. In fact, we end up liking Desmond better than Rock and wished the book had been written from the quarterback's perspective and that Rock was just the insignificant kid used to cheat the system.
Spoilers ahead, if I haven't already given any. Personally, I don't care if anyone reads this book and would advise them not to. I have no idea how it got the 4+ stars.
Desmond goes on to win the state championship (duh, as if we didn't know that was coming) but causes Rock to lose the state fishing championship. Now if you are a fisherman out there, which I am my son are avid local fisherman, neither of us and neither would you do what Rock did...lose the bass tournament on purpose so that the high school could win the State Championship. Oh, but you say Rock didn't have a choice...um...yes he did, which is something the book fails to point out - we all have the right to make good or bad choices...we all have choices. The book tried to make Rock look like a victim of circumstances which is not true. All of us who are REAL fishermen, would have kept on fishing...sorry Desmond, you're going to lose the State Championship, but I feel like fishing today. Couldn't happen? It was Rock's boat. Fish or Swim Mr. Jock Star.
Sorry, so many things wrong with this book. It just adds to the fact why we home school our son and not get caught up in school politics. It happens everyday, read the newspapers, schools always trying to beat the system for sports and getting caught.
My former manager who was a high school coach for a team his son played on...it was a Cinderella season and his team made it to state...against a Catholic school. How did the Catholic school beat the system...any athlete in the state could play for them, tuition free. They actively recruited and that's why they had a nearly unbeatable team season after season. No, Cinderella didn't win, they were actually their own undoing...they lost to themselves by their own fault.
Lane Walker states he is a Principal and an educator...then use this book to educate against such things rather than support.
In the end, fourth down and seconds to go, Rock gives Desmond a fourth down play that he uses against his coaches instructions. Really? Like that will ever happen in a high stakes football game.
Why do I so despise this book? I was so excited to read this book to my son who was 6 years old at the time and loved to fish. It was such a disappointment. Fortunately, there is no "stupid" review on Goodreads...that was my son's most common phrase while we read the book..."well, that's stupid."
December 11, 2025
In the beginning there is a kid named rock and he is going into his senior year of high school. But this year is special. He said that this year is the year he is going to win it all. Because he is on the bass fishing team with his best friend Eddie and he and Eddie are great fishing partners. They go on into the book and we meet Desmond Ward. He used to be Rock's best friend but he got bigger and was the star quarterback for their school, the best in Texas. Rock does not like Desmond because he picks on him now that's man vs. man but he does that because he’s good at football and really popular. But then both Desmond and Rock start succeeding at their sport and they start winning. Both of them are going to the state championship. But before rock goes there they fish in a tournament and they take out early because the weather is bad man vs. nature and Eddie slips and falls and breaks both of his arms. So the Rock says that he is not going to fish in the state championship. Then Desmond's and some of his team mates get caught spray painting their opponents school and they can't play. But they found a loophole and they did it. What they did was they persevered and Desmond fished with rock on Sunday of the tournament but they had to miss Saturday so Desmond could play later that day.
This book does connect to my life most of it does but some of it just does not fit. I like to fish, especially bass fish. I love to fish bass and the setting of this story is on a lake. To me there is nothing in the world better than that, maybe hunting that is a close second. But anyways I do unload the boat off of the trailer for my dad and load it for him too. I also like to cruise around the lake sometimes and try to find new spots like in the summer you move around and find new spots. Like they did with trying something new and going to a new spot.
I really liked this book because it had a lot to do with my personal life and there are a lot of things I like about this book. But what I like most about it is it has a lot to do with my life. There are not that many books about the outdoors already, especially rushing or hunting. But this book is about fishing and sports. Even though I do not play football it is still about sports and something’s better than nothing. But all in all I like everything about this book there is not one thing that I could come up with bad about it if my life depended on it.
This book does connect to my life most of it does but some of it just does not fit. I like to fish, especially bass fish. I love to fish bass and the setting of this story is on a lake. To me there is nothing in the world better than that, maybe hunting that is a close second. But anyways I do unload the boat off of the trailer for my dad and load it for him too. I also like to cruise around the lake sometimes and try to find new spots like in the summer you move around and find new spots. Like they did with trying something new and going to a new spot.
I really liked this book because it had a lot to do with my personal life and there are a lot of things I like about this book. But what I like most about it is it has a lot to do with my life. There are not that many books about the outdoors already, especially rushing or hunting. But this book is about fishing and sports. Even though I do not play football it is still about sports and something’s better than nothing. But all in all I like everything about this book there is not one thing that I could come up with bad about it if my life depended on it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 29, 2024
Very Very slow paste, but overall ok.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews