#17--Athletic Shorts

Bibliographic Information

Athletic Shorts: Six Short Stories by Chris Crutcher. Greenwillow Books. (1991).

Price: $7.99 for paperback

Pages: 208 for paperback (published in 2002)

Plot Summary

A Brief Moment in the Life of Angus Bethune

·         The first short story ever written by Crutcher, A Brief Moment follows the tale of Angus Bethune, a wise cracking, obese high schooler with four parents all of whom are homosexual. Angus is used to the constant taunts of his classmates but when he is voted Senior Winter Ball King as a joke he just wants one moment where he can enjoy himself while dancing with the girl of his dreams.

The Pin

·         Johnny Rivers has always had a difficult relationship with his father especially when he becomes a wrestler just like his father was in college. With a father/son wrestling match fast approaching Johnny will finally get a chance to get even with his father for every slap and insult he’s received from him. But will it all be worth it in the end?

The Other Pin

·         Petey Shropshrire is dreading the day he must wrestle Chris Byers. This is because:

·         A) he must drop a significant amount of weight to do so

·         B) Chris is a girl which means Petey is constantly teased about the match-up

·         C) he’s convinced that Chris is going to win especially since

·         D) he just accidentally said sexist things about her to her face.

Goin’ Fishin’

·         Lionel Serbousek has managed to survive for the last three years after the death of his parents and brother in a boating accident on a combination of rage and friendship. When his family’s killer approaches him asking for forgiveness Lionel will either have to find it in himself to forgive him or risk losing his best friend.

Telephone Man

·         Jack, a.k.a. Telephone Man, knows his father is one of the smartest men there is so he believes him when he tells Jack that while all minorities are tricky and mean African Americans are the lowest of them all. But Jack must reconsider his father’s notions when several of his African American classmates help him out of a jam. Is the world really like what his father paints it to be or is it altogether different?

In the Time I Get

·         Not all of us get enough time. Louie is especially cognizant of this fact after losing his girlfriend in a car accident which is precisely why his co-worker Darren trusts him with the secret that he is dying of AIDS. Louie must now decide whether to become friends with Darren which would result in him losing both his homophobic best friend and Darren or steering clear of Darren until he dies.

Critical Evaluation

Athletic Shorts once again proves that Crutcher is not afraid of wrestling with serious issues that affect more teens than adults would like to imagine. In his collection he addresses the difficulty of living with parents who are considered strange, growing up obese, dealing with anger appropriately (as well as angry, abusive fathers), and a host of other issues. Each story is succinctly told with not a word misused or out of place. In fact, these short stories are some of the most tightly woven, well-paced stories I’ve had the pleasure to read. No doubt those who read them who have not read the novels the characters are previously featured in will want to visit the library soon to check them out. I certainly plan to!

Reader’s Annotation

Chris Crutcher revisits some old characters from previous novels (Stotan!, Running Loose, The Crazy Horse Electric Game) and introduces some new ones in this collection of six short stories.

About the Author

It is easy to see why Chris Crutcher won the prestigious Margaret A. Edwards award for lifetime achievement in 2000 as his books have helped thousands of teens know that they are not alone in the horrors they have experienced in life. Crutcher’s books are difficult but very important to read as they are therapeutic and informative about the evil that is all too prevalent in our world. As a result, he is one of the most frequently banned authors in North America. When Chris Crutcher is not writing he enjoys running, swimming, and playing basketball.

To learn more about Chris Crutcher and his books visit her website here and here.

Genre

Realistic fiction, Short stories, Sports stories

Readalikes

Every Man for Himself edited by Nancy E. Mercado

·         Another collection of short stories about guys

Stotan! By Chris Crutcher

·         Contains characters mentioned in Athletic Shorts

The Crazy Horse Electric Game by Chris Crutcher

·         Contains characters mentioned in Athletic Shorts

Tags

AIDS, artist, Coeur d’Alene, ID, country music, friendship, forgiveness, high school seniors, homosexuality, homosexual parents, football, loss of brother, loss of parents, orphan, overweight, racism, school dance, swimming, wrestling

Awards Won/Lists On

1992—Michigan Library Association Best Young Adult Book

1992-1993—Nominee for the Maine Student Book Award

1995—Nominee for the Garden State Teen Book Award

2000—Margaret A. Edwards award for Athletic Shorts among other titles

2004—Nominee for the Isinglass Teen Read Awards

ALA Best of the Best Books for Young Adults

ALA Best Book for Young Adults

ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers

SLJ Best Book

SLJ Best of the Best Book

Professional Reviews

Kirkus Reviews

Publishers Weekly

School Library Journal

Booktalk Ideas

Hear from all characters

·         Angus

o   Grandfather telling him to screw em’ (7-8)

·         Johnny

o   Loving & hating father (44)

·         Petey

o   Conversation with Grandfather (79-83)

·         Lionel

o   Difference between father…if I had known (108)

o   It’s funny… (114)

·         Jack

o   Scared a lot of time… (148-49)

·         Louie

o   The Rules (169-70)

Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness

These stories could be used to help those who have abusive parents, are overweight, have friends who are dying or who are dealing with the loss of a parent.

Reading Level/Interest Level

Reading Level: 6^th grade

Interest Level: 9^th-12^th grade

These levels are according to AR Bookfinder

Challenge Issues

This book includes the following potentially controversial elements:

·         Bullying

·         Lord’s name in vain

·         Mother wearing nothing but bra on top

·         Physically abusive father

·         Profanity

·         Racist slurs

·         Sexual comments

·         Slurs against homosexual people

Librarians can point out that while these stories may disturb some patrons they are honest, realistic portrayals of some issues such as AIDS, the tension between sons and fathers, the difficulty of being an overweight teenager, and the grief of losing parents, siblings, and first loves.

Why Was This Included?

I decided to include this book because I enjoyed reading Whale Talk in 2011 and wanted to read more of Chris Crutcher’s writing. I specifically chose Athletic Shorts because I enjoy short stories.