Any fans of Ralph Macchio in the 1984ās Karate Kid? (And along with his New York/Italian accent, āStay green, golden boyā and āI killed the clerk? I killed the clerk?ā from his other classics.)
Karate Kid has nothing to do with the first five pages of Code of Silenceā¦ but it was my initial image as I read the first sentence:
āCooperās leering opponent inched closer, fists raised and ready to strike.ā
I donāt know about you, but when I read that first sentence, I had a huge smile on my face, let out a squeal and already knowing this was a book boy middle grade boys, my mind whirled: āOh my gosh, what is this?! Is he standing up to a bully at recess? Is he part of the wrestling team at school??ā
And then:
āFists raised? ā¦ Umm, I donāt know sports. Is there a boxing team at school?ā
But I had an image. And I had read only one sentence!!!
So far, so good!
And then I read further:
ā āHeās moving in for the kill, Coop,ā Gordy said.
Cooper didnāt budge. Cāmon, you big moron. He tapped the joystick. One more step.
The muscled fighter advanced. Swinging the control stick, Cooper drummed the punch and kick buttons on the arcade video game.
āYes!ā Gordy thumped Cooper on the back. āNice move!āā
As I read the second line, Gordy became Mr. Miyagi standing outside the ring, arms crossed, with his occasion grunt and nod.
And, Iāll be honest, I got stuck on ājoystickā in the third line. I donāt know sports (or video games, duh) and had to backtrack the three lines to the beginning of the chapter.
And here I was, thinking: Okay, so this is a sport in schoolā¦ where sometimes you raise fistsā¦ and sometimes you use aā¦ aā¦ something like a hockey stick?!?“
(This is why I normally donāt write āfirst impressionsā to the novels I read! Hahaha! Slightly embarrassing.)
At this point in the book, I got a bunch of impressions:
- Shoemaker leaps into action at the first sentence. Wowza. āOhhā¦ the first sentence as the āhook.ā I seeā¦ā
(Thank you, Shoemaker for spelling it out a few seconds later as an āarcade video game.ā)
But an image at the get-go (even if itās super wrong because the not-intended audience picked up your book!) is a must.
No description. No explanation. Just action that grips and pulls the reader in.
Also, I noted:
- Iām lovinā the voice. The āAmericanā dialect. Shorter, cut-up sentences. Itās how Denise Hunter writes too. Itās how I (attempt?) to write. Not only are the sentences shorter and dynamic, but thereās also less of them.
And I know this is going to a fun, easy read. Fast, punchy. Lots of action (so far…).
After a chuckle, I read a bit more. Learned that Gordy is Cooperās cousin, who is thirteen like him, but has had a growth spurt, while Cooper hasnāt yet.
(Ooh, some desire, some longing, some misgiving of the protagonist. Life isn’t so grand. I like it!)
Hereās another point that I noticed and liked:
- Each character is given time to get a good impression in the mind of the reader before introducing a new character. With a dash of bread crumbs. Mystery. Grief.
And four characters are introduced in two pages! Complete with last names and physical descriptions and bits of history. Aka, a complete picture.
Then, I decided to look at the cover a bit, admire the imagery of three boys on bikes and under the title is this sentence, ā2013 Top Ten Mystery for Young AdultsāSchool Library Review.ā
My heart stopped.
Mystery?
Young Adult?!
Oh, rats! I put the book down and sulked. Because I thought I was reading a middle grade adventure story. Another Curse of Purgatory Cove by OāDonnell. (See my review of O’Donnell’s debut book here Curse of Purgatory Cove:A4A.)
And here I was trying to avoid a Stephen King novelā¦
So, I stopped reading. That was two nights ago. And I’m a bit terrified to read beyond page 5.
But I plan on finishing the book in the daylight hours. Until next time, āLiving a lie comes with a price.ā Oh wait, thatās the tagline to Code of Silence.
The back cover is even more chilly: “Telling the truth could get them killed. Remaining silent could be worse.”
I meant to say: āUntil next time, stay posted!” Although I wonāt be sharing any more joystick-moments. Not anytime soon š
* goosebumps *
Like what you've read? I'm also on Facebook and Twitter!January’s theme of this book club is to read a book from a genre I’ve never yet read. Which genre have you yet to get your hands on? Are you willing to?
Cheryl,
I know you are not happy with this genre but I’m glad you are going to keep reading it. I think this will enhance your own writing.
Love you,
Mom