I have always had a problem with people who fight for money. The "sport" of boxing is incomprehensible to me. Mr. Zusak explains so much more than the sport. I think a lot of searching is done into the hearts of his characters. I'm already reading the next one. ( )

I have always had a problem with people who fight for money. The "sport" of boxing is incomprehensible to me. Mr. Zusak explains so much more than the sport. I think a lot of searching is done into the hearts of his characters. I'm already reading the next one. ( )

I adore Cameron Wolfe. What a fabulous young man. I hope to find out how he is doing in life! ( )

Not as good as his other books. Guess he was still developing his "voice". He still manages to inject some of the subtleties that I loved in his other books which is what made this a bearable read. ( )

The Wolfe family is struggling. Cameron’s father is unemployed, his mother is working overtime to keep the family afloat, his sister is recovering from a broken heart by partying all night and his eldest brother Steve has decided to get a place of his own. Meanwhile Cameron and his brother Ruben join a local boxing league and are duking it out to make some extra money.

There’s so much more to this story than boxing or teenage angst. At its core it’s a poignant story of the bond between brothers. There are crushes on girls and dog racing in between those moments, but the most important story is that of Ruben Wolfe; a boy who can’t seem to find happiness despite winning his fights. His brother Cameron is the one who tells us the story and he is the antithesis to Ruben. When Ruben wins, Cam loses, when he gets a girl Cam inevitable loses one, yet the two provide a balance in each other’s lives. They both have an immense love and respect for the other and when one is in pain, the other can’t help but feel it.

“It’s funny, don’t you think, how time seems to do a lot of things? It flies, it tells, and worst of all, it runs out.” ( )