Publisher Description

Seventeen-year-old Tony Antioch lives in Pleasant Meadows, a trailer park where questions aren't asked since everyone already knows the answers from their own experience. He dreams of rescuing his mother from her constant stream of abusive boyfriends but in reality can barely duck the punches that are aimed at himself. When Tony is coerced into joining his friend Rob's Mixed Martial Arts class, he is surprised to find that he has a talent that he actually wants to develop. But with a meth-dealing biker gang that is hungry for recruits and a vicious cycle of poverty and violence that precedes him, Tony is going to need a lot more than blood and guts to find a way out. Gritty, powerful, and unapologetic, Tap Out explores what it takes to stay true to oneself and the consequences of the choices made along the way in order to do so.

Author Biography

Eric Devine is currently a writer, high school English teacher, and educational consultant. He is also the author of This Side of Normal, a novel about a teen struggling with type 1 diabetes. He lives in Waterford, New York, with his family, and can be found online at ericdevine.org and on Twitter @eric_devine.

Table of Contents

Introduction Nicholas Thomas; Part I. Voyages: 1. Reimagining Juan Fernandez: probability, possibility and pretence in the South Seas Jonathan Lamb; 2. Images of monarchy: Kamehameha I and the art of Louis Choris Harry Liebersohn; 3. Art as ethnohistorical text: science, representation and indigenous presence in 18th and 19th century oceanic voyage Bronwen Douglas; Part II. Colonies: 4. The penitentiary as paradise Michael Rosenthal; 5. Under Saturn: melancholy and the colonial imagination Ian McLean; 6. Looking at Goldie: face to face with 'All 'e Same t'e Pakeha' Leonard Bell; Part III. Imaginings Beyond Colonialism: 7. Voices beyond the Pae Robert Jahnke; 8. The importance of birds: or, the relationship between art and anthropology reconsidered Diane Losche; Part IV. Counter-Colonial Imaginings: 9. Past present: the local art of colonial quotation Joan Kerr; 10. Australian icons: notes on perception Gordon Bennett; Afterword: clumsy Utopians Peter Brunt.

Review

"A boy who knows only grinding despair finds hope within the walls of a gym... This is bound to have huge appeal." --Kirkus Reviews "Devine instantly captures your attention and holds it until the very end... The storyline, the drama and the characters were all thoroughly put together."--School Library Journal Teen "From the first line, author Devine announces that he plans to hit hard and hit often, and most of the strikes hit home in perhaps the grittiest sports novel since Joshua C. Cohen's Leverage (2011)...this strong outing deserves plenty of readers.--Kirkus Reviews "Devine doesn't pull any punches."--Publishers Weekly "Highly recommended."--LifeIsBetterwithBooks.com "It is honest, raw and emotional, and deserves a place on every high school and public library bookshelf."--You Decide: Should I Read It or Not? blog "It is a wonderful tale of realizing you have to make your own decisions if you want your life to go anywhere." -- Barefoot Dokusha blog "[A] book that is relevant to teenage boys and one that they will read." --The Literati Press

Review Quote

Kirkus Reviews "A boy who knows only grinding despair finds hope within the walls of a gym. . . . This is bound to have huge appeal." School Library Journal Teen "Devine instantly captures your attention and holds it until the very end. . . . The storyline, the drama and the characters were all thoroughly put together." Publishers Weekly "Devine doesn't pull any punches." LifeIsBetterwithBooks.com "Highly recommended." You Decide: Should I read it or Not? blog "This gritting, life-on-the-edge novel of poverty and pain for mature high schoolers is a hard hitting, no holds barred of what it means to struggle and live life on the edge. It is honest, raw and emotional, and deserves a place on every high school and public library bookshelf. Its characters are heavy hitting, and any reader who has experienced even a modicum of pain in their lives can relate and understand their struggles as well as their victories. After you read it, pass it on to someone else. It struck an emotional chord in me. When life hands you nothing, and you struggle to exist everyday, "Tap Out" gives you a chance to breathe and know there's light at the end of your tunnel. Keep on keeping on. Don't give up."

Promotional "Headline"

Honest, raw, gritty, and thought provoking, Tap Out is the story of a teenage boy who finds escape in Mixed Martial Arts from the trailer park, his family, and uninvited trouble.

Details