Review: RECOMMENDED READ
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 01 7, 2012
When I read the blurb, and looked at the fantastic cover for this book, I thought that it sounded a lot like the movie "The Blind Side", so I was very curious to see what twist the author would put on such a similar theme. The only problem is, I kept falling asleep during the first few chapters of the book! Most of the first chapters are very much a football play-by-play. I'm not a sports fan and didn't find much enjoyment in reading this; therefore I think guys would enjoy reading it a lot more or even readers who understand American football. The terminology went way over my head, but I got the impression that Mr Rinaldo certainly knows his stuff when it comes to football.I'm sure the author had a great idea for this book and it was apparent that he attempted to write characters with depth, but the writing style was more that of a sixth grader, and thus I couldn't relate to the characters or immerse myself in the events in their lives, at all - which is a pity, because the author is on to a great story here. The only character whose story line I found fascinating was that of Eric's - a boy with Down Syndrome. He was sensitively portrayed as a person with a disability, but not as someone who are to be looked down on.One of the things that started irritating me after awhile, was one of the character's uses of the word "like". Like every fourth or fifth word in her dialogue, like contained the word like, which just like got on my nerves after awhile and it later like had me gnawing my teeth. Yes, she used that word like that many times! Was it maybe meant as a characteristic of that specific character? I don't know, and I fully understand that this is the way many young people talk today, but it was overused with this specific character and the reader just ends up disliking her for it.I'm not trying to slam the author here, as while reading "Hazardous Choices" it was clear to me that Joseph M Rinaldo has more than enough talent to write masterpieces; and with the right guidance he will be able to successfully accomplish what he set out to do in the first place with this book, and that is to write a novel that will touch readers on different emotional levels. In my opinion he only needs a little more practice and direction on how to convey fantastic plot ideas, without spoon-feeding it to the reader and leave a little for the reader's imagination.I'm hard-pressed to give this book a 3-star rating instead of 2 stars - but I'll go with 3 stars. Why? Taking everything I said above into consideration, it's not a terrible book (if you don't mind the abrupt ending). I recommend it for young adult readers (over the age of 16), especially boys who are into football and other sports. Also, the storyline was quite good and one that I believe most readers would enjoy, especially once you've gotten past the first five chapters. So have a go at it, and let me know what you think.