Reviewed by Aaron Countryman, 14, Grade 8, Fairfield Middle School, Fairfield, IA

Copyright 1989, published by Dell Publishing. Athletic Shorts is a book of short stories about athletics. The story that impressed me the most was "Goin' Fishin'." Lionel Serbousek went fishing one day with his family. Lionel was the kind of kid who tried to make his father mad. But that day he wished he could go back and change it all. Lionel had just got in a fight with his father about the bait he was using, when one of Lionel's friends changed his life forever, and now three years later he has to save the kid who killed his family from the grip of drugs. I think this book Athletic Shorts is a very good book because I'm into athletics. But "Goin' Fishin'" is a serious story that shows the problem that kids today are having with alcohol and the bad things that can happen when kids use alcohol. Chris Crutcher 's description of the characters is great and you can get into the characters' thoughts and actually envision the peoples' lives.

"My name is Aaron Countryman and I'm from Fairfield, Iowa. I'm into athletics very much, so I could relate to these stories easily. I'm fourteen years old and I'm in eighth grade at Fairfield Middle School. My teacher's name is Mrs. Broz and she is an eighth grade English and reading teacher. My school's address is: 404 W. Fillmore Fairfield, IA 52556 FFIBROZ@aol.com"

Language Arts Teacher: Virginia Broz, Fairfield, IA

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