Author: Louis Sachar

Genre: Contemporary, YA

Blurb: When Alton's ageing, blind uncle asks him to attend bridge games with him Alton agrees, mainly because his mother reminds him it is good to be on the right side of your rich uncle. Not expecting much from the outings Alton soon finds himself getting to know a lot not only about his uncle and his family's history but also about himself.


It was very hard to get my head around the bridge gibberish. I tried very hard to like the novel but I was just about interested enough to finish the darn story despite being overwhelmed at times with the thought of DNFing.

Personally, I don't necessarily think that this is a bad book, it just does not appeal to me like Louis Sachar's other books.

I didn't understand how Alton and Cliff were best friends. They did not seem close at all. I also did not understand why Alton was so fascinated with Toni Castaneda apart from the fact that she was 'pretty'.

I did, however manage to like Alton and his little sister Leslie. I found them somewhat cute. I also appreciated Alton's growing relationship with his gruff uncle. I also enjoyed the conversations they would have on subjects such as religion.

"We may be surrounded by some greater reality, to which we are oblivious. And even if we could somehow perceive it in some entirely new way, it is extremely doubtful we would be able to comprehend what we perceived."

There is also some magical realism in this book if you're interested in that.

3 stars out of five