The First Ten Focus Group Feedback for Dad in a Cheer Bow
Because Dad in a Cheer Bow was Book of the Day, some of our most trusted members have carefully looked over the cover, the description, and other aspects of this book as a part of purchase-intent focus group. We then asked each participant in the focus group if they planned to buy and read the book, and why they planned to buy and read the book or not. Their answer to that question and reasons are displayed below. We call this awesome feature The First Ten Focus Group.
Keep in mind, the responses from the members are not reviews. This is purchase-intent focus group which means the participants are people who have NOT yet bought or read your book. A purchase-intent focus group is an important and extremely useful marketing tool for any product, not just books. For other products, you might walk on the street and show people an item in a package and poll them about whether they would buy if or $X or not. These kind of focus groups are one of the ways big marketing companies find the ideal price points for products and test the effectiveness of different packaging. The focus group can help you identify your market so you how to target ads of your book, and it can (but may not) provide you new useful info about your "packaging" (e.g. your book cover, your book synopsis on Amazon, etc.). The point of the focus group comments is to give you information from people who have not bought or read your book about why they plan to buy your book which will help you in marketing the book. These are not reviews or critiques of your book because they are not from people have read the book. This is a marketing tool, not reviews. The trick of book marketing and book advertising is that you have to convince people who have not read your book yet that your book is worth buying and reading. For marketing, it doesn't matter much if people love your book after reading it if you cannot convince potential buyers before they read it that they will love it.
IMPORTANT: Any score over 10% is considered very good. And any score above 0% is acceptable. This is because we only poll about 20 or so readers, and all readers have to say "no" to almost all books. Over a million books are published each year. Even a very active reader cannot come close to even reading 1% of books out there.
This is also why publishing books is such a tough industry.
Jeremie Mondejar
I'm glad that I'm a part of this program, and I read the sample based on the title. The title is quite obvious, though I never participated in any cheerleading competition. I enjoyed reading the sample with the father and daughter relationship. I appreciate the father's enthusiasm in encouraging his daughter to participate in any sports she likes. I will not read this book because I'm not into sports, so I decided to skip this one. I don't see any errors or anything for improvement. I disliked nothing because this memoir has a good flow. The book has an OBC review that presents the book well, but it doesn't affect my decision.
First Ten review added on October 23, 2022, at 5:32 am by Jeremie Mondejar.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Ekta Kumari
The book details Patrick's experiences and memories of coaching a cheerleading team that also included his daughter. While I wasn't much intrigued by the blurb, the thing I liked the most while sampling is the author's honest narrative. His love and support for his daughter's pursuits are quite evident. Well, I wouldn't have read the book at first based on its genre, as I don't take much interest in reading a memoir. So, the cover page didn't intrigue me either. The book starts with the author talking about his daughter's interest in diverse activities. I enjoyed how enthusiastic he sounded when talking about the memories with his daughter while also praising her for her determination and commitment where it's justified. The Walt Disney quote at the beginning of the chapter is a nice touch. I found two grammatical mistakes. One is in the following sentence, "In 2014 we moved from Connecticut to New Jersey." A comma after '2014' would make more sense grammatically. But I would still rate the text as professionally edited as there weren't any errors significant enough to warrant another round of editing. I saw an official OBC review that was useful and detailed the book quite well. Though, my final decision would be to not read the whole book, as I wouldn't be able to appreciate the author's narrative completely due to my lack of interest in the genre. There's nothing much to point out for improvements based on the sampling, but I think a round of proofreading would be nice to clear up small errors.
First Ten review added on October 23, 2022, at 5:07 am by Ekta Kumari.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Mutai Marshal
I would have read this book based on the cover page and title only. The OBC review that I saw encouraged me to read. It would have been great if there was a blurb. But it did not affect my decision to read this book since I love memoirs. What impressed me most was Patrick's courage to take on the 'feminine' coaching job despite discouragement. This helped him bond with his daughter. I did not find any errors and I believe it is professionally edited. I have no suggestions for improvement so far. I will buy and read the book.
First Ten review added on October 23, 2022, at 4:57 am by Mutai Marshal.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Eunice Geres
I wouldn't have read the sample of this book based on its cover, title, genre, blurb, and OBC review. I don't think I would want to read a memoir about a cheerleader's supportive dad. I think it's a wholesome book, but I don't think it would hold my interest for long. The OBC review mentioned the lack of pictures. I think this type of memoir would be more interesting if there were many pictures to show his child's performance. I can feel the father's love and admiration for his child as I'm reading the sample. Anna is such an amazing child. She dabbled into almost everything when she was a child. I can totally see why her parents adore her. The author's writing is not boring. I didn't even notice that I'd read the whole sample because the author's writing actually kept my interest. I think I went through the sample quickly because it was actually just short. I still think I wouldn't enjoy reading the whole book. There's nothing I disliked about the sample. I was just not going to finish reading it because I'm really interested in the topic. I have nothing to recommend as I think the book is already great if given to an interested reader. I also didn't find any grammatical mistakes.
First Ten review added on October 23, 2022, at 4:54 am by Eunice Geres.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Manang Muyang
The cover shows a sweet daddy and his cheerleader daughter. I have gotten tired of memoirs, but the cover and blurb (that identified the author as a cheer coach) tugged at my heart. I would have peeked into the book even outside the program. The sample only included introductory material about Anna's cheerleading activities. I hope the author can add more pages to the sample or cut some of the earlier stuff. I did appreciate the family dynamics described in the sample pages, but the slow pace dissuaded me from reading the rest of the story. Unfortunately, the book had errors too. On page 7, "my story is a one that fascinates a lot of people" did not need "a" before "one." In the next sentence, "Divided into four sections" should have said "five sections." On page 15, "As one of the smaller girls on the squad and as one of the most flexible members, it was quickly determined that Anna would be a 'flyer. 'That meant..." misplaced the ending quotation mark after "flyer." Daddy Riccards needs to get a better editor for his book. The official OBC reviewer had mainly good things to say about the book, but the review did not make me change my decision to skip the book. The sample did not have enough action for me.
First Ten review added on October 23, 2022, at 4:53 am by Manang Muyang.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
va2016
The title "Dad in a cheer bow" and the cover that shows a father and a daughter indicate that the book could be about a dad. There are only two Amazon customer ratings, which is not a sufficient number for me to decide to sample the book. The Amazon summary states that the book is about a man who is asked to be the coach of nineteen girls. As I am not interested in the theme of the book, I would have skipped sampling the book if not for the First Ten program. As I sampled through the book, I found the narration describing the author's daughter Anna's personality and passions. As I am not interested in the overall theme of the book, I am not going to read this book in full. I found the sample professionally edited. There were no grammatical or mechanical errors in the sample. What I liked most about the book is its nice narration. I don't have any recommendations for the improvement of the book. Although I found one OBC review of the book, my decision to not to read the book is based on my own sampling.
First Ten review added on October 23, 2022, at 4:49 am by va2016.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Rita Nuncia
I would not have read this book without being a part of the first ten programs because I have read too many memoirs, and reading memoirs, autobiographies, and biographies now bores me. I honestly do not have any problem with the cover, title, customer reviews, and the official OnlineBookClub review. They were all praising the book. I found no blurb. After reading the first ten pages, I would say it seems like a good read with life lessons and interesting experiences. However, I’m not going to read the whole book because of the reason previously mentioned. The first few pages seem professionally edited because I didn't see any errors in them. What I like the most is how the cover of the book fits the content and title of the book. I have no suggestions for improvements. The OnlineBookClub official review gave a detailed look into the book, and it did not affect my opinion of the book.
First Ten review added on October 23, 2022, at 4:48 am by Rita Nuncia.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Asma Aisha Ansari
I was sceptical of sampling this book based on the cover, title, Amazon blurb, genre and the OBC review because of my lack of interest in cheerleading. But I'm glad that I sampled the book, as it turned out to be a good guide on parenting which is going to be useful for me in a few years. Besides, the writing is exceptional, and I loved how beautifully the author captured the fickle-mindedness of children. It's frustrating but also something that we should accept and learn to manage.
The book seems professionally edited, as I didn't encounter any grammatical errors so far. I've no suggestions for improvement to offer. There's nothing that I disliked about the sample. I'm going to read the rest of the book because I loved the bit I read. I didn't read the other editorial or customer reviews to make my decision.
First Ten review added on October 23, 2022, at 4:47 am by Asma Aisha Ansari.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Stellah Chege
I would not have read this book outside the first ten program based on the cover page and title only. I am not a fan of autobiographies or stories about people. This one is especially about a father-daughter relationship. It really did not interest me even after sampling the first ten pages. It is not something I want to read. However, it's commendable that Anna's parents gave her the freedom to choose what she wanted to do until she landed on cheerleading. I did not find any errors and I believe it is professionally edited. The cover page should maybe have a picture of Anna doing one of her routines, that may be more appealing. I will not buy or read this book.
First Ten review added on October 23, 2022, at 4:39 am by Stellah Chege.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Gabriella H
I wouldn't have sampled this book without this program because cheerleading isn't something I'm interested in reading about. While I considered it briefly some time ago, we didn't have cheerleaders at the schools I attended, so I never bothered with it. Therefore, the cover, title, blurb, genre, OBC official review, and Amazon customer review didn't attract me to this book. They influenced my decision. I really like Patrick's writing, which I found engaging and humorous. I like that he and his wife, Jennifer, didn't try to live vicariously through their children but allowed them to choose activities that interested them. I also admire his dedication to his daughter, Anna, and I was almost moved to keep reading it, but I don't want to read over a hundred pages about cheerleading. I will not be completing this one. The lack of an editorial review didn't influence my decision. I saw one error while sampling the first ten pages. There should be a full stop after 'something,' not a comma. This is the sentence, "One has to fail if one wants to excel at something, failure teaches a person how to succeed." (Page 10).
First Ten review added on October 23, 2022, at 4:30 am by Gabriella H.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Shrabastee Chakraborty
Despite the official OBC review and other published reviews, I wouldn't have read the book because of the genre. I found no errors in the first ten pages. The author described their daughter Anna's involvement in various sports. She was highly energetic. She tended to lose interest after a while but cheerleading caught and held her attention for a considerable period. I loved how the parents encouraged Anna to try everything, patiently waiting for the child to choose something she truly loved. I had no suggestions for improvement. However, since this is not my usual genre, I decided to not read the whole book.
First Ten review added on October 23, 2022, at 4:19 am by Shrabastee Chakraborty.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Soraya Bayah
Since I’m not interested in the topic of cheerleading and anything it entails, I didn’t find a reason to read the book. Still, I figured I would read the first pages. I never was interested in cheerleading and still is not, and so the main point of the book is not something I would enjoy reading. What I did enjoy was reading how children oftentimes try out a trillion activity until they finally settle on one in the most unexpected time. This had me giggling, as I know from myself I always picked up hobbies with enthusiasm and promptly lost feelings towards them in a matter of a few weeks. Still, since the book focuses on the dad’s role in his daughter’s cheerleading career, I will not continue it. If the focus was some other activity, say soccer or even ballet, I would have been more interested. This is my personal taste and has nothing to do with the execution of the book, especially since it was well executed. I found an error on page 12, “One has to fail if one wants to excel at something(,) failure teaches a person how to succeed.” - there should be a semi colon in place of the comma. Nothing needs to be bettered, as the narrative had a suitable pacing and the writing style was clear and inviting. There were only two comma-related errors which required more attention. I would not have picked up this book from the cover, title, genre, blurb, customer reviews, or OBC’s review, since the main topic is not my cup of tea. The sample gave me a reason to have great feelings toward the book. It elevated my view of the author and his daughter, and even though I will not continue the book, I am not doing so with bad feelings. I think this shows it was well done. I wish you luck with the sales of this book. Well written!
First Ten review added on October 23, 2022, at 4:17 am by Soraya Bayah.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Sou Hi
Even without this program, I would have sampled this. The ratings on Amazon, the official review from OnlineBookClub, and the blurb look fine. The book's premise is also my cup of tea.
I like the love the author has for his daughter. Being a male coach for young girls is not an easy job, but it seems he has done a good job. Still, I think another round of proofreading is needed. I found run-on sentences and misplaced punctuation marks. I will wait until this issue is resolved to buy the book. For now, I won't buy it. The OBC review was helpful in making my decision.
Error example: She reminded us of this during the summer before the start of third grade, and this time around, we were aware of the admission dates and signed her up for the 'Mighty Mites 'cheer squad. -> It should be [the 'Mighty Mites' cheer squad.]
First Ten review added on October 23, 2022, at 3:50 am by Sou Hi.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Carson25
I read the first ten pages of this book, Dad in a Cheer Bow, after downloading its sample. It is a non-fiction book. The book seems to be about a father (who is also the author) and his daughter, Anna. In the opening pages of the book, the author narrates how his daughter came to him as a third grader and asked him to coach her competitive cheer squad. I loved several elements in the first ten pages that I read. However, the cover was the element I loved the most. I liked how it was beautifully designed. In the first ten pages that I read, there was nothing that I didn’t like about this book. The editing seems to have been done professionally. This is because I didn’t find any errors in the first ten pages I read. Memoirs are among my favorite books. I’m adding to the list of must-read books. I’ll purchase and finish reading it later. This book has an official review on the OBC website. The review gave a detailed summary of what the book is all about. My decision to purchase and finish reading this book was based on the genre of the book. The cover and the official review had no impact on my decision. In my opinion, this book seems to be well-written and edited. Therefore, there is no need for further improvement.
First Ten review added on October 23, 2022, at 3:35 am by Carson25.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Annelore Trujillo
I would not have sampled this book based on the genre, OBC review, cover, title, and customer reviews. I don’t usually read non-fiction, and this book about a dad cheer coach didn’t seem to be for me. There wasn’t a blurb on the bookshelf page, and I didn’t see any editorial reviews. After reading the first ten pages, I won’t be finishing this book. I like the angle the author comes with. He had a unique perspective on coaching cheer as a male. He talks about the people that didn’t like his position, and he thanks the people that trusted him. However, the story of how this all came to be isn’t for me. There wasn’t anything specific that needed improvement. The book did seem to be professionally edited.
First Ten review added on October 23, 2022, at 1:09 am by Annelore Trujillo.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Scerakor
After reviewing the title, genre, cover, blurb, and review of this book, I would not have read this book. I'm not a fan of cheerleading at all. After reading the first ten pages I didn't change my mind and therefore will not be buying and reading the rest of this book. I enjoyed the first chapter's description of kids' interest; I couldn't help but think about my kids when they were bouncing between activities before finding cheer. That being said, I really don't think there's enough in this one to keep me interested. The book looked well written and edited; I didn't see any errors in the sample. The thing I would have improved from the sample I read is to put the dedication, about the author, and acknowledgements section at the end instead; I was excited to just get into the book. There was an official OBC review, but it did not affect my decision at all.
First Ten review added on October 23, 2022, at 12:03 am by Scerakor.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Damian Keyes
I would have sampled this book if I wasn't in this program because I find that Patrick is a wonderful father. The OBC official review is the reason I'm going to download this book. Patrick stopped his life to spend time and coach his daughter, Anna. In my reading of the sample, I love how dedicated Anna was to joining the cheerleading team that she practiced every day vigorously. I found the following error in chapter 1 on page 12, "...we were aware of the admission dates and signed her up for the ‘Mighty Mites ’cheer squad." The apostrophe should be at the end of the word "Mites". Í found nothing I disliked in this story.
First Ten review added on October 22, 2022, at 11:54 pm by Damian Keyes.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Sushan Ekanayake
Dad in a Cheer Bow by Patrick Riccards belongs to the Non-Fiction genre, which I usually do not read. The blurb revealed that this was an autobiography of a cheer leading coach. The title and the cover page revealed the same. I did not see any editorial reviews, but the customer reviews spoke highly about the book. Anyway, based on the above facts, I would not have sampled this book if I had not been a part of this program.
Then I read the first ten pages, which described the author's life with his daughter in her early age. I did not see anything unique to make me continue reading the book. So I decided not to continue reading further. Anyway, I liked the author's inclusion of inspirational quotes in the beginning of the chapters.
I did not see any errors in the first ten pages, and I did not see any area that could be improved. I saw the official OBC review. Although it highly appreciated the book, it was not influential enough to change my mind.
First Ten review added on October 22, 2022, at 10:49 pm by Sushan Ekanayake.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Kelsey Roy
The cover and title of “Dad in a Cheer Bow” do not interest me because they indicate the genre of the book. The book is a non-fiction memoir, a genre I do not enjoy. The blurb and OBC review praise the supportive parenting of the author, who volunteers to coach his daughter’s cheer team. Although this is admirable, I’m not interested in reading about the topic.
I found no errors in the sample. I enjoyed the author’s openness in expressing his uneasiness about coaching cheer. He did not want to do it at first but did it to support his daughter and found joy in the process. I had very supportive parents growing up, and I am still so grateful for the constant support they showed. Parenting can require great sacrifice. There is nothing specific I disliked about the book, the topic of parenting did not draw my attention enough to continue reading after the sample pages. I have no recommendations for the author.
First Ten review added on October 22, 2022, at 9:56 pm by Kelsey Roy.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Mariana Figueira
Before reading the book's first pages, I wasn't interested in it because nothing on the cover or the title got my attention. After sampling the book, I don't want to continue reading it because I'm not a fan of non-fiction. I like that the author became a cheerleading coach basically for his daughter, that's really sweet. This book seems professionally edited, and I didn't see any typos; plus, it has an official OnlineBookClub review, but that didn't affect my opinion about not reading the book. I didn't see anything that needed improvement.
First Ten review added on October 22, 2022, at 9:42 pm by Mariana Figueira.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
evraealtana
I tend not to read memoirs because they generally bore me, so I would have avoided this book for myself because it seems to be a memoir based on the official OBC review, blurb, and title. The cover photo, presumably of the author and his daughter, is very cute, but it doesn't induce me to read a book that otherwise doesn't interest me. Because I want to be able to form my own opinion about books rather than be influenced by others’ opinions about them, I choose never to read editorial or customer reviews other than OBC reviews, and so I did not read any about this book, either. At first I thought that the phrase "boy cheer coach" meant someone who was a coach of boys' cheerleading, which I assumed must exist as a separate division from girls' cheerleading. After reading the preface, I now know that the author is using the phrase for himself to mean that he was a cheer coach who happened to be a "boy"; I still think the phrase is confusing. I felt sorry for Anna when she mentally gave up horseback riding after a fall. I liked that the author and his wife were so gracious to Anna as she flitted around through different activities, trying to find her niche. I didn't like the discussion of Anna's progression through cheerleading because cheerleading as a sport is not interesting or relatable to me. Overall the sample didn't really grab my attention and make me want to know more, so I will not continue reading. I found one error in the first ten pages: a comma splice reading "While she did seem to understand the point of the conversation I had with her, horseback riding was still off the table, she was too scared to continue" (the comma before "she" needs to be a semicolon or a period because "she was too scared to continue" is a complete sentence and needs to be set apart from the preceding complete sentence by something stronger than a comma).
First Ten review added on October 22, 2022, at 8:30 pm by evraealtana.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Yvonne Monique
At first sight, I find the book cover somewhat disturbing, as I do not understand the context. That is why I would not pick this book up if I would see it in a bookstore. The customer reviews, blurb and OBC review give an excellent description of the book, but do not convince me to read the sample as I have no interest at all in cheerleading. The sample is not free of errors. In the dedication it says: "I thought you were kidding when your first asked if I would be a cheer coach." Your should be you. Although I admire the passion of Anna's dad to coach the cheerleading team, I do not feel the need to carry on reading, as I have no affinity at all with the world of cheerleading. That is why I will not buy this book. I have no suggestion for improvement.
First Ten review added on October 22, 2022, at 5:57 pm by Yvonne Monique.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
O-Brian
I wouldn't have given this book a second thought were it not for this program. The reason is that I don't know anything about cheerleading, let alone it being a sport. After reading the sample, my mind remains unchanged. However, I did pick up a few things. One, parenting is to be present for your child when they need you and when they don't. Two, discipline and hard work are vital for success. Three, goals are excellent motivators. Suffice it to say I like the educational side of the sample. I did not find any errors, and I have no suggestions for improvement. I read an OBC review of this work, but it did not influence my decision to pass this work up.
First Ten review added on October 22, 2022, at 5:00 pm by O-Brian.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
AntonelaMaria
I like to read nonfiction. This memoir sounds very interesting. While I initially wasn't convinced after reading the sample, I now want to read this book. There are a couple of favorable ratings on Amazon and a very helpful official OnlineBookClub review. I like how easy to follow this story is and it feels like the author was very genuine. I could tell he was a good and living parent. There is something special about the father-daughter relationship. Anna, like many kids, changed so many sports and interests, but cheerleading stuck and her parents supported that. I didn't notice any errors. I would change the layout and formatting of the ebook. It is my preference, but I like a bigger format that is easier to read.
First Ten review added on October 22, 2022, at 4:01 pm by AntonelaMaria.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Catherine Hsu
If I had not read the sample as part of the First Ten program, I would not have read the book. The Amazon reviews did not affect my decision. I really think this is a unique topic but I do not read non-fiction books. I think it was really great how Anna-centric the narration was, talking about her journey to start cheerleading instead of the parents' perspective after moving. It really added a feeling of innocence and nostalgia and it made the book more relatable to me. Therefore, after reading the sample, I have changed my mind. I would not change anything and I also really loved how linear the story was, which made it easy to follow. It was professionally edited. The official review on OnlineBookClub did not affect my decision, and I really love that this discusses how men can step outside their comfort zone for their daughters. I would recommend this to readers of memoirs as well, especially to those who are fathers to young girls.
First Ten review added on October 22, 2022, at 2:39 pm by Catherine Hsu.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Diana Lowery
The cover photo and the title are both catchy, but it would appear that the book would have a limited audience. The blurb was OK, but I was not convinced. The OBC review was positive, but I was still not interested. I like that the author had written other parenting/educational books. There was a run-on sentence on page 10. A semi-colon is needed, "One has to fail if one wants to excel at something [ ,] failure teaches a person how to succeed. " I am not going to finish reading because the book has a slow pace. There was not enough description of Ana for me to connect to. I do not have any suggestions for the author.
First Ten review added on October 22, 2022, at 1:48 pm by Diana Lowery.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Adrian Rondon Salazar
I wouldn't have picked this book as my next read because of the cover. The father-daughter photograph is adorable, but it's not the kind of cover that draws attention (a professional photograph with correct lighting and editing). After reading the sample, I have decided not to buy it. I hope I don't sound rude, but the content seemed a bit cloying to me; it is a father's duty to love and praise his children, but perhaps because I am single and have no children, I cannot empathize with the author. Errors: none. I congratulate Patrick for his father's work; I hope to become a father like him. Nothing that I liked, but I know that many parents will love this book. I would have liked the first pages to explain something about cheerleading: techniques, training, and movements. The official review helped me make up my mind.
First Ten review added on October 22, 2022, at 11:55 am by Adrian Rondon Salazar.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Sanju Lali
I was not able to guess anything about this book after seeing its cover, title, or genre. Without the program called the first ten, I would not have sampled this book. I could not find any editorial reviews, and the customer reviews appeared overly sugarcoated. It was only the OBC official review that made me read the sample of this book. After reading the first ten pages, I realized that the book was not professionally edited because I found some grammatical errors in the free sample. For example, the sentence, "Anna is a bright girl, and at age 7 she was exceptionally energetic." This sentence could be as follows. "Anna is a bright girl, and at age 7, she was exceptionally energetic." In this sample, I liked the idea of Anna's parents allowing Anna to choose the sports activity of her interest. From this sample, I learned that Anna was interested in cheerleading. To my dismay, I lost interest in reading as reading was strainful because of the inflexible font size in the Kindle sample. So, I will not buy and read this book today. My suggestion to the author is to make the font size flexible or larger. A round of professional editing can make this book better.
First Ten review added on October 22, 2022, at 8:53 am by Sanju Lali.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Kenesha Latoya Fowler
The book has a lot going for it: nice cover, catchy title, positive reviews, and a compelling blurb. But I wouldn't have sampled it because I don't generally go for memoirs. Anyway, my experience with the sample was pleasant enough. I liked the author’s style; his delivery was clear, articulate, and easy to read and follow. And it was obvious the author loves his daughter very much. If there was anything I didn’t like, it was seeing her sibling(s) only mentioned in passing. I get that the book is about supporting Anna and her fellow cheerleaders, but I would have liked to read something about Patrick’s other child(ren). The copy was well edited; I only found one minor error: “The little knowledge that I had of cheerleading stemmed from movies such as ‘Bring It On, ’so I knew enough to crack some jokes about spirit fingers.” (p.13) [‘Bring It On,’ so...] At any rate, the book is nice and sure to be liked by many. I won’t be buying and reading the rest of it, though. I think it’s wonderful when parents and their children have strong, healthy relationships with each other, and I applaud Patrick for how he stepped up for his daughter. I’m just not very interested in reading about it in this way. Plus, I prefer to watch cheerleading. The OBC review didn’t help me make this decision.
First Ten review added on October 22, 2022, at 7:08 am by Kenesha Latoya Fowler.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Smrithi Arun
As someone with wavering interests and concerned parents as a child, I relate to Anna on a whole new level. After reading the sample and the OBC review, it was clear that the book is from the father's perspective. Now I have a rough idea of how my parents might have felt when I constantly changed my activities! I am delighted that Anna had full support from her parents for all her endeavours, just like I did.
I would not have read this book on an average day as I'm not into non-fiction. There were minor errors in the sample. For example, "A group of nine-[unnecessary hyphen] to eleven-year-old girls[,] all trying to learn..." I connected with the characters on a different level, so I might actually continue reading the book.
First Ten review added on October 22, 2022, at 6:37 am by Smrithi Arun.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Rodel Barnachea
Upon going over the book’s Amazon page and official OnlineBookClub review, I decided not to purchase the memoir. I am not fascinated by what the author has to go through in order to be a cheerleading coach. I am not intrigued by the new things that I will learn about the sport of cheerleading and the myths and misconceptions that were debunked in this book. I am not interested in learning how Anna and her father's relationship changed after her father decided to support her interest in cheerleading. Perusing its Amazon sample failed to change my mind. I would not purchase it because nothing in the text had me wanting to read the rest of the book. The first ten pages include a preface and some pages of Chapter 1: How It All Started. My favorite part is when the author talked about her daughter was heavily into horseback riding. I was not able to identify any errors in the text. I believe the book is professionally edited. I have no advice to offer to the author.
First Ten review added on October 22, 2022, at 4:45 am by Rodel Barnachea.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Owuamanam Eberechukwu
The first chapter introduces the writer's family and her daughter, Anna. She is a passionate and enthusiastic young girl like her age. At a tender age, she tried many sports and gave up on them one at a time. The horse riding experience made it obvious to the father that his daughter Anna does not like losing. Fatherly affection and care are visible in the pages I read and I liked them. The ability of the author to convey his mind powerfully made the book engaging. To the best of my knowledge, the pages I read were exceptionally well edited. I also do not have any recommendations for the author based on them. The cover, title, genre, blurb, editorial reviews, and customer reviews are good enough to make me want to buy and read the book. However, I will not buy and read this book because its focus differs from my current reading needs. Maybe in the future I'll buy and read the book, but not this time. This is my personal thoughts and was not influenced by the cover, title, genre, blurb, editorial reviews, and customer reviews on OBC or not.
First Ten review added on October 22, 2022, at 4:42 am by Owuamanam Eberechukwu.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Danielle Briggs
I don't think I would have sampled this book outside the program, because I am not usually interested in cheerleading, especially within the nonfiction genre. I did like the cover picture because it made the book appear more personal. After reading the sample, I would not buy to continue the book. With no dialogue or introduction to characters, besides their names, I was unable to feel a connection to Anna or her father while reading. I also wished the author had been a bit more emotional in his telling of the story, because what I read felt more like fact-listing and came off very monotone. I did like the Disney quotes before each chapter and the author's effort at giving readers a full background of how his daughter got into cheer. I found no errors in what I read. The OBC review did not affect my decision.
First Ten review added on October 22, 2022, at 4:36 am by Danielle Briggs.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Jen Nghishitende
The book title and cover did not catch my instant interest; if those two aspects were the only ones I had to go on, I probably would not have read or sampled this book outside this programme. However, as soon as I started reading the first ten pages, I thought this would be an excellent book, mainly because I am a parent. I know I would learn a lot from how the author and his wife supported Anna in finding an activity she liked and would keep participating consistently. For Anna, it was cheerleading. I liked that the parents were so supportive and patient in allowing their child to go through different activities until she found something she liked. Based on the first ten pages, I will thoroughly read this book. I did not find any errors, and I did not find anything I disliked. after realising that I would be interested in buying the book and reading it just from the first ten pages, I decided to forego any other reviews such as OBC, editorial and customer reviews as well as blurbs.
First Ten review added on October 22, 2022, at 4:33 am by Jen Nghishitende.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Laura Ungureanu
I didn't know what to think about this book's cover. It was obvious that the book is a memoir, which is not a genre I like. I had no intention of checking out the blurb, OBC review, and Amazon reviews because I wasn't interested, so this program was my main motivation. I admire the author's dedication to his daughter, Anna. Only a great father would accept to do this for his daughter. Encouraging his daughter to try anything that she could enjoy is a wonderful mindset for parents. I wish more people would think like that instead of forcing their kids into their supressed wishes. I find the subiect of cheerleading to be unique because people often think of it as very simple and shallow. However, I'm not interested in learning more because I'm not American, so I've never even seen a cheerleader in real life. Because of that and because of the book's genre, I don't feel reading this book is for me, even though I admired the author's dedication and passion. There is nothing I would want to change. The book could benefit from another round of editing. Just in the first sentence, it seems 'your' should be 'you' in "I thought you were kidding when your first asked."
First Ten review added on October 22, 2022, at 3:35 am by Laura Ungureanu.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Vidhi Adhikari
The book makes a decent first impression with it's simple cover design, straightforward title, detailed description, and few customer and OBC reviews. Since I am not a fan of football and cheerleading, I was reluctant to read the sample. That said, I loved the heartfelt dedication section by the author. There were some minor grammatical errors, but nothing that would affect my reading experience (To all of my Wildcat cheer daughters, {remove comma} who saw that I could be both a dad and a cheer coach well before I ever figured it out.) Unfortunately, since the genre is not of my liking I will not finish this book. I would suggest making the content pictorial to better grab the reader's attention.
First Ten review added on October 22, 2022, at 2:33 am by Vidhi Adhikari.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Ari Martinez
If it wasn't for the First Ten program, I wouldn't sample this book based on its title, cover, genre, blurb, OnlineBookClub review, or other reviews because I usually don't enjoy reading memoirs. Also, even though I know a bit about cheerleading, it is not a sport I'm too interested in. After reading the sample, I will not read the whole book because I didn't feel it had the excitement or thrill I look for in a book. My favorite part of what I read was the author's honesty when it came to how he felt about his daughter's interests. Throughout the sample, the author came across as honest and respectful. On page 17, the ending single quotation mark after "flyer" should be above the period mark ("...it was quickly determined that Anna would be a ‘flyer. ’That..."). The book doesn't need improvement.
First Ten review added on October 21, 2022, at 11:24 pm by Ari Martinez.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Emy Katherine
Without The First Ten program, I would not have read the book based on the genre and Amazon blurb. I liked the unique cover and intriguing title, but I did not change my mind after sampling the book. As I am not fond of memoirs, the OBC review did not convince me to read the rest of the story, either. Throughout his memoir, the author shares how he embarked on a memorable journey after his tween daughter, Anna, asked him to coach her competition cheer squad. The writing style was clear and descriptive, and I particularly enjoyed the conversational, humorous tone as he shared how his daughter shifted from one sport to another before she committed herself to becoming a cheerleader. He also highlighted how coaching a team of tween girls taught him many valuable lessons and, more importantly, helped him strengthen his bond with his daughter. I only found minor errors that did not distract me from my reading. For example, there should not be a comma after "summer" in the following sentence: "We relocated in late summer, and didn’t realize until September that cheer practice began at the beginning of August." (location 13 of 18 • 54%) It should be written "the 'Mighty Mites’ cheer squad" in the following sentence: "We were aware of the admission dates and signed her up for the ‘Mighty Mites ’cheer squad." (location 14 of 18 • 62%) It should be written "an eight-year-old" instead of "an eight-year old." (location 16 of 18 • 78%) Despite the lack of editorial reviews, the book had two positive customer reviews. Therefore, those interested in reading non-fiction books about family relationships and cheerleading will find this book intriguing. All in all, the only thing I disliked was the Amazon blurb; it was too long and too descriptive. I would suggest that the author make it more concise.
First Ten review added on October 21, 2022, at 6:57 pm by Emy Katherine.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
MsH2k
The cover was cute, and it and the title reflected the story’s content. I read nonfiction often, and based on the blurb, I would have sampled this book to find out more about the story. The sample pages were written conversationally, and the author described his family and his and his wife’s parenting style well. I got a good picture of Anna and her personality. I chuckled at the author’s comment in the acknowledgments to the cheer coach at Eastern Regionals. Sometimes, it feels good to prove them wrong. I enjoyed finding out more about the story’s background, but I am not invested enough to buy the book. It may have been carefully edited, but I don’t think it was professionally edited. I noticed a few grammatical errors in the sample pages. Here are two examples on page 12. The last single quote is misplaced: “signed her up for the ‘Mighty Mites ‘cheer squad.” And a hyphen is not needed in this compound adjective: “a team of similarly-aged Mighty Mite football players.” Neither the featured OnlineBookClub review nor the other limited editorial reviews or customer reviews influenced my decision. I have no suggestions for improvement—the grammatical errors were not distracting.
First Ten review added on October 21, 2022, at 6:38 pm by MsH2k.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Hazel Arnaiz
I will skip this book outside the program. The cover, title, and blurb did not catch my attention. I seldom read memoirs, and cheerleading is not my area of interest. The customer review is enthusiastic. I appreciate that the book gives a fresh spin on a familiar topic. It looks into the world of cheerleading from the perspective of a father. However, sampling did not change my mind. The book is not for me. I will pass on this one. For improvement, I suggest adding photos to make it more relatable. For editing issues, here is an example.
Page 9. Grammar. It seems the article is unnecessary in this context. Consider removing it.
In the era of “girl dads,” my story is [a] one that fascinates a lot of people.
The official OnlineBookClub review is insightful.
First Ten review added on October 21, 2022, at 6:27 pm by Hazel Arnaiz.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Kajori Sheryl Paul
'Dad in a Cheer Bow' is a book written by Patrick Riccards. At the behest of his daughter, Anna, Riccards started being a cheer coach. Being a man in the cheer industry takes guts. Also, I like the sharp and engaging writing style. The way Riccards dished the cheer coach at Eastern Regionals in the "Acknowledgement" section cracked me up. I would not change anything about the book. The editing seems great. The OBC review is detailed. I would have skipped this book based on the cover, title, genre, blurb, editorial reviews, and customer reviews as I was not in the mood to read non-fiction books now. However, I have decided to read this book after reading the first ten pages as I am touched by the author's commitment to his daughter. I want to know his story.
First Ten review added on October 21, 2022, at 5:18 pm by Kajori Sheryl Paul.
Do you plan to read the whole book? Yes!
Heidi M Simone
If it wasn’t for this program, I would not have sampled this book. I don’t normally read many memoirs, so the genre itself would’ve turned me off. The cover and title are cute. However, that and the positive customer reviews and OBC rating of 4/4 would not have swayed my decision of not sampling this book.
While reading, it looks like the book could use another round of editing. On page 10, the sentence, “In 2014 we moved from Connecticut to New Jersey.”, there is a comma missing after the year, “2014”.
Throughout the sample, it’s clear to see that the author and his wife, Jennifer, are thoughtful parents in trying to support their daughter, Anna, as she has gone through a variety of activities/sports (i.e. soccer, Tae Kwon Do, horseback riding, etc.). Committed and patient parenting is definitely a plus for me. However, I can not become invested in the book due to its writing style. It’s a very much “tell, not show” style as the author reflects about his daughter’s beginning commitment to cheerleading. It was great to learn that Anna finally found something she wanted to stick with for more than a season/year, but again, the writing style isn’t for me.
Due to the genre and writing style, I do not plan on buying and reading this book.
First Ten review added on October 21, 2022, at 3:18 pm by Heidi M Simone.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Andrada Madalina
"Dad in a Cheer Bow" by Patrick Riccards is a non-fiction book that focuses on the cheerleading world and Patrick's struggles as a parent and coach. I liked the colorful book cover and found it suitable for its catchy title and informative blurb. I did not find any editorial review for this memoir, but I sampled it because of its positive customer review and excellent Official OnlineBookClub review. The book seems exceptionally well edited since I discovered no errors while reading it. I would not improve anything on the book because I liked its narrative writing style and appreciated that Patrick Riccards shared his journey as a cheer coach of his daughter, Anna. Nevertheless, I will not buy and read the whole book because I am not interested in stories about cheerleading and coaching.
First Ten review added on October 21, 2022, at 2:55 pm by Andrada Madalina.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Amy Luman
I was quite interested in the competition aspect of the book, but I won’t be finishing it. As Mr. Ricacrds pointed out, "true commitment is required." There were no editorial reviews that I could find, but the customer reviews were great. I also agree with the OBC reviewer about the Disney quotes (I only saw one because of the limited sample). They were very appropriate. My favorite part was when the author spoke of making Anna abide by her commitment and not quitting one of her activities in the middle, even if she was bored. I think this has been professionally edited. The cover and title are both intriguing since this is not usually how one thinks of fathers. No changes seem necessary since this looks like a well-written book.
First Ten review added on October 21, 2022, at 2:46 pm by Amy Luman.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda
I usually hate personal pictures on covers, but this one works well. It's adorable, actually. I usually also dismiss books that have mistakes in the blurb, such as this one. But the story is so incredibly cute and stereotype-breaking that I'm there for it. The ratings are perfect, and I would have bought the book based on my first impressions.
I love the author's humor (i.e. "And to the cheer coach at Eastern Regionals who once told me that men had no business coaching competition cheer, how do you like me now?") and his parenting style. My parents wouldn't allow me to quit any commitments to teach me responsibility. I'm quite responsible, but I once passed out during an English lesson because I had to attend no matter how sick I was. So I'm all for "They had to fulfill their commitment, but they didn’t need to make it a life-long one." I hate the format. This kind of fixed format makes it impossible for readers to continue reading on the Kindle app or any other smartphone app because the font is tiny and you can't change it. There are some editing mistakes too. For example, the quote above shouldn't have a hyphen in "lifelong." Also, if there are two Jennifers in the story, maybe the author should add last names because it seems confusing: "particularly Evelyn, Jennifer, Jennifer, Joei, Marianna, Stephanie, and Tisha" (p. 7). So the first ten pages, unfortunately, drove me away from this adorable story. I love the narrative style, but I do most if not all of my reading on my phone and I'll go blind attempting to read this book. I suggest fixing the mistakes mentioned and the opening sentence in the blurb: "The incredible lessons from this middle-aged man learned coaching a team of tween girls." The "from" is unnecessary or it should read "from this middle-aged man who learned to coach..." The official OBC review can't possibly change my issue with the format, so it didn't influence my decision.
First Ten review added on October 21, 2022, at 12:21 pm by María Andrea Fernández Sepúlveda.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Ohna Martin
I think I will skip this one, whether I was part of this program or not. I do not like the genre. Memoirs and non-fiction have never been my cup of tea. It is a beautiful picture of father and daughter on the cover and the name predicts comedy, which I am sure will be present. I liked the story itself and what it represents. Like many people, I stereotyped cheerleading and did not realise that is so intense and competitive. I found nothing I disliked about the book. I have no suggestions for the author. I found spelling or grammar errors. No other review, OBC or otherwise, or blurbs influenced my decision, this was solely based on the first ten pages of this book.
First Ten review added on October 21, 2022, at 11:42 am by Ohna Martin.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Bertha Jackson
I read very few memoirs, and the topic of cheerleading does not interest me. Therefore, I would not have selected this book based on the cover, title, or genre. The OnlineBookClub review, customer reviews, and blurb did not change my mind. There were no editorial reviews to influence my decision. I appreciated Patrick’s encouragement of his daughter, Anna, in any sport or activity she was interested in, whether it was soccer, horseback righting, or Tae Kwan Do. Although I found an error in the Dedication in the sentence, “I thought you were kidding when [your] (you) first asked if I would be a cheer coach,” the first ten pages of the story itself appeared to be error-free and professionally edited. I have no recommendations for the author. There was nothing I disliked in the first ten pages, but I will not purchase and read this book because I am not interested in the topic.
First Ten review added on October 21, 2022, at 10:23 am by Bertha Jackson.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Theresa Moffitt
The cover art and title of this book tell me exactly what the book is about. The photograph of the father and daughter is heartwarming. It would definitely appeal to fathers and daughters or people involved in cheerleading. Since I don’t fall into those categories, I would not have picked this book up based on the cover alone. The onlinebookclub.org review that I read was very positive and gave the book a rating of 4 out of 4 stars. It also confirmed that the book was about a father who became one of his daughter’s cheer coaches. Since this topic doesn’t interest me, the review did not increase my interest in the book. I didn’t read any additional reviews or blurbs. The first ten pages begin with the father explaining how he got involved as a cheer coach. He thought that his daughter was joking when she first mentioned it. However, he approached the coaching staff and was welcomed as part of the team. I saw a few errors in the first ten pages, so I don’t believe the book was professionally edited. For example, on page 4 it states, “To Minda Alena, who I shared the mat with for four consecutive seasons as assistant coach. I couldn’t think of a better partner for this crazy journey.” The period after “coach” should be a comma. I think the author could have improved this book with some additional editing. After reading the first ten pages, I think this book would be a great book for fathers and daughters to read, especially if they have an interest in cheerleading. However, I don’t have an interest in those topics. For that reason, I will not finish reading this book.
First Ten review added on October 21, 2022, at 10:21 am by Theresa Moffitt.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Chinazo Anozie
I knew I wouldn’t be interested in this book from the title, cover, description, genre, customer reviews, and the official OnlineBookClub review. I don’t read non-fiction, so I will not buy and read this book. However, I appreciated the author getting fully involved in his daughter, Anna’s life. From the little I read, she sounds like a spunky kid. This book seems professionally edited because I didn’t notice any errors from the few pages I read. I don’t think anything needs to be improved.
First Ten review added on October 21, 2022, at 10:15 am by Chinazo Anozie.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
IconReviews
I'm not into cheerleading so this is not a book I would read. I would not read it based on the cover, blurb, title, genre, customer review, or the official OnlineBookClub review. I liked how brave this guy was to become a cheerleading coach for his daughter. I liked the simple writing style the author used.
The sample needs no modifications and was professionally edited. I won't be reading it because I am not interested in its contents.
First Ten review added on October 21, 2022, at 9:09 am by IconReviews.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Timothy Rucinski
Nothing about the cover or Official OBC Review would make me want to read this book. I don't care for memoirs, and I certainly don't care for cheerleading as a topic of interest. I read no other reviews or blurbs. I read the sample on Amazon and realized that this was not a book for me, specifically for the reasons mentioned above. However, I did identify with the one episode in which the young girl is thrown from a horse, ending her interest in horseback riding. The same thing happened to me, and the passage resonated well. There wasn't anything about the writing that I disliked. I believe the book was professionally edited as I found no errors and have no recommendations for improvement.
First Ten review added on October 21, 2022, at 8:27 am by Timothy Rucinski.
Do you plan to read the whole book? No
Total ~ 18%
Dad in a Cheer Bow earned a score of 18%.
In other words, out of the top-level reviewers who read at least the first 10 pages of this book, 18% plan to read the whole book.
IMPORTANT: Any score over 10% is considered very good. And any score above 0% is acceptable.
Over a million books are published each year. Any given person could not even read .0001% of the books out there. This means readers have to be very selective. Even taking the time to look over reviews and blurbs, let alone read samples, is more time than most readers can afford for most books. The First Ten is a powerful focus group that addresses those issues. It creates a helpful tool for authors, publishers, and other readers.
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