From School Library Journal:
Grade 5-8?Frisk, 12, and his single mother live in a small rural town where the main excitement takes place in the "Back Room" of the hardware store, which is home to a few pool tables, some pinball machines, and a snack bar. Although the rules state that patrons are supposed to be 15 years of age to enter, Frisk, through remarkable persistence, manages to land the enviable job of Back Room manager for the summer. While at first a target for verbal abuse from the older clients, he stands his ground and is taken under the wing of 30-plus pool shark Dan Breedon, who gives the boy lessons on how to play eight ball. As summer ends, a bit of a romance is struck up between Dan and Frisk's mother. The climax of the story comes when Frisk is thrust into the middle of the annual championship game as a substitute for Dan, who's called away on an emergency. His opponent is 15-year-old Beverly Ferris, the first female who has ever played in the Back Room, much less enter the tournament. Hite sets the story in the mid-1970s and his yarn ambles along at a leisurely pace reflective of its setting. A bit of drama, an all's well ending, and likable characters make for a light, enjoyable read.?Tom S. Hurlburt, La Crosse Public Library, WI
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Publishers Weekly:
If the adult citizens of Wilma, N.C., feel sorry for Frisk Tilden for being fatherless and poor, the youngsters there envy the 12-year-old's good luck in landing a job at the town's only teen hangout, a billiard parlor located at the back of a hardware store. Although Frisk is teased unmercifully by his customers, he enjoys the benefits of his job, especially learning the game from Dan Breedon, the best pool player for miles around. Working diligently, Frisk accomplishes quite a lot during the course of the summer: he wins an eight-ball tournament, plays Cupid for his mother and Dan, befriends a misunderstood bully and earns enough money to buy a new bicycle. This down-to-earth novel (which explains the rudiments of eight ball in an afterword) is a departure from Hite's taller tales, Dither Farm and Answer My Prayer, yet the cast of homespun characters, the keen depiction of small-town life, and the all's-well-that-ends-well conclusion remain warmly familiar. From his humble beginnings, Frisk emerges nobly, a personable hero. Ages 9-12.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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