James Ross (9)

I read this book via an Amazon-US KINDLE Unlimited download.

As young, urban boys who sometimes have nothing do except occasionally commit some mischief, Justin Ventimiglia and Keith Puccio got involved with and got picked up performing an act of property destruction. Naturally, these two juveniles had to be taught that they need to pay for what they’ve done, and the St. Louis authorities felt the best way would be to give them summer jobs at the Prairie Winds Golf Course on the east side of town.

The story this book contains is a coming of age one as these two protagonists experience a life outside of the dysfunctional one they’ve become used to living in. The shenanigans of the eccentric adults with their drinking, gambling and smoking they witness causes them to have some interesting reactions. This creates a somewhat special bond between all involved.

When you throw in a young man fighting the dreaded disease of cancer into the mix, you get an emotionally touching story of life and death, as Justin and Keith begin to have an understanding of the tests life can throw in front of you along with the love for the game of golf itself with the challenges it gives to those who play it.

While this book seems geared to those who are golfers, it’s a story which can be enjoyed by anyone. Although this book reads like a stand-alone, it’s the second part of the six-book series [Prairie Winds Golf Course] written by the author, James Ross.

For having given his readers, this poignant coming of age story, I’ve given Mr. Ross 5 STARS for his endeavor here.… (plus d'informations)

Owen Purler Jr., who later gains the nickname of Opur, is the only son of a dysfunctional marriage between an alcoholic trucker who is rarely home and his high-school sweetheart. The constant, almost comical conflict between his parents when his father is home has driven Opur to become withdrawn, unsure of himself, and a consistent stutterer. However, when his mother takes him to a summer instructional program at a local public golf course, the club’s pro, J Dub, discovers that Opur is a child prodigy with the golf clubs and takes him under his wing. J Dub guidance helps Opur navigate family discord and tragedy through his teen years to the point of Opur’s turning pro and facing the number one ranked player in his first major professional golf championship. For readers, this 400+ page story can be broken down into two sections, Opur’s childhood and life overcoming adversity to rise to a professional golfer and the final day head-to-head, hole-by-hole competition between Opur and the current number one player at the major golf championship. The author provides a good sense of character that helps draw in the reader to quickly empathize and become interested in the growth of Opur and his fellow characters. However, some sections in the story, including the opening, appeared to be extraneous to the main drive of the story, slowing the story and proving a small distraction to the reader. At the same time, there are other elements that are brought in to enhance conflict which appear a bit unrealistic, even as they hype up interest in the competition. I felt it would be comparable to seeing two royal flushes appear in the same poker hand, somewhat exciting to see, but unlikely to truly occur. Yet, the main theme still held my interest.… (plus d'informations)

This is the first book I read from Mr. James Ross, and definitely will not be the last. In a very well written book, Mr. Ross creates a rich environment, full of characters that you learn to love during the development of the story. The plot of this story is simple and easy to follow. Two special-need teenagers (Pabby and Shae) are hanging around at Prairie Wind Golf Course, part of a summer youth program in an attempt to learn how to socialize (they are autistic at a certain level). The regulars at the golf course interact with them and their caretakers (Carla and Aiesha). They have special abilities. Shae knows every information related to countries, states etc and Pabby knows everything about animals, although he is very afraid of the small ones. During their stay at the golf club, some events happened. An unethical attorney tries to sue the owner of the golf course (J.W.Schroeder) claiming his client got hurt while playing golf there. To make things worst, the administrator of the orphanage where Pabby and Shae live is the wife of a judge that has questionable behavior, being not impartial when dealing with cases from our unethical attorney's firm, as he has a relationship with another attorney from that firm. And the story goes on, full of twists and plots. You will love how the special ability of Pabby will be developed into use for benefit of the regulars of the golf club. It is a very entertaining book, easy reading, and took me around 16 hours to read the whole book.
I recommend this book to the permanent library of all readers that love a good plot, with mystery and drama and very "rich" characters, like the regulars at the golf club (Pork Chop, Uncle Woo, T-Berry and many others).

This book was written by James Ross and it was published in October 2011 by Nightengale Press. The author was kind enough to provide me a copy for reviewing, through Pump Up Your Book. Thanks, Dorothy Thompson!… (plus d'informations)

In the latest installment of what's happening at Prairie Winds Golf Course, the quirky golfers welcome two special needs teenagers, Pabby and Shae, along with their caretakers Aieshia and Carla. The golf course is participating in a summer youth program, "Teens In Need," in association with the Footprints of Hope orphanage. Pabby and Shae are borderline autistic with savant tendencies (the ability to memorize and recite facts). The intention of the summer program is to attempt to socialize the teens with the public. Both Pabby and Shae have special abilities: Pabby knows everything about animals, but he is scared of little animals; and Shae knows everything about geography (state info). The golfers welcome and interact with the teens and their caretakers, they even teach Pabby how to read horse racing forms!

The summer proves to have some interesting events happening on the east side of St. Louis. The owners of the golf course, brothers JW (J Dub) and Curt Schroeder are sued by Frankie "Booby Tat" Mastralacci and his shyster attorney, Tanner Atkins, who make a bogus negligence claim against them. An ethics complaint has been filed against the attorney's firm: Atkins, Blum and Charles, and the Illinois ARDC (Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission) is investigating them for ethic violations in an estate case. Meanwhile, Pam Porter, the administrator of Footprints of Hope orphanage is having an affair with Farley Bend, an elected 4th District Alderman on the orphanage's grounds, while her husband, Judge Buchanan Porter engages in unethical (partial) behavior in his court decisions and is friendly with the law firm.

So come inside Prairie Winds Golf Club and see what happens next in Pabby's Score!

Pabby's Score is a humorous sports fiction novel that has an interesting mixture of suspense and drama. This entertaining storyline has subplots that are intriguingly interwoven and provides a lot of twists and turns that engage the reader as they turn the pages. This is definitely a very busy novel, but it is fast-paced and easy to keep up with. There are a lot of characters, I had to write their names down so I could remember who was who, but I must say that the author does give the readers quirky characters that are just plain fun to get to know. I really enjoyed getting to know the lovable golfers: Capt. Jer, Dr DV, Lemuel, YouWho, Scottie, Fred, BT, Elia, Paul, Paco, Pork Chop, Uncle Woo; and the golf course owners and staff: J Dub, Curt, Julie and Bow Tye. The characters' antics are very entertaining, their dialogue will keep you laughing. I really loved how they welcomed and embraced Pabby, Shae, Aieshia and Carla into their little group.

Within the pages of Pabby's Score, the author provides a wide range of social issues to keep the readers engaged: special needs children, dementia, alcoholism, greed and corruption in the police and justice system, lurid affairs and internet dating services. I was intrigued with this author's writing style, the social issues were like puzzle pieces that when woven together provided a really fascinating puzzle of a story.

Pabby's Score is the fifth novel in the Prairie Winds Golf Course series, but each novel can stand alone. I found this novel to be an entertaining read, I will have to go back and read the first four novels in the series! I would recommend Pabby's Score to anyone who likes to read sports fiction with a twist of mystery and suspense!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author / publisher in exchange for my honest review and participation in a virtual book tour event.

Virtual Book Tour Event: On Monday, May 14, 2012, in association with Pump Up Your Book! Virtual Book Publicity Tours, author James Ross participated in a virtual book tour event with an Author Guest Post on Jersey Girl Book Reviews. http://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot.com/2012/05/author-guest-post-james-ross-a...

http://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot.com/2012/05/pabbys-score-by-james-ross.htm...… (plus d'informations)