Review of Cotton
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Review of Cotton
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Cotton" by Mark S Harris.]
I'm used to rooting for my national team during championships like the football (soccer) world cup, but Cotton by Mark S Harris showed me something new. It's about the fever that can grip a small town in support of a high school sports team.
Our eponymous hero is Cotton Duncan, who had retired after his long football coaching career grew stale. When King's Fort High School desperately needs a girls' basketball coach, the board is persuaded that Cotton's the man to bring on. Although he knows nothing about basketball at first, he comes bouncing right back. Finding the Lady Lions to be a ragged group of individuals out for themselves, his overarching aim is to unify them as a team. The togetherness starts off tough, with the whole team running sprints if some members are late to practice or are not dressed in school colours.
The girls and even other coaches and parents protest in vain - Cotton holds the line. His character was one of the assets of this book. In defiance of his advanced years, the person he puts the most pressure on is himself. He works hard, learning a new sport and showing he cares about his players without going easy on them. Yet he's human and flawed, as is seen from his frequent mishaps, which become funny after the fact. For example, he goes back to his office too soon after setting off roach bombs and passes out. He doesn't stay in the hospital, though; he's back on court the next day, swallowing Aleve against the headache.
So he sets a stellar example to the Lady Lions, and another strength of this book is that it's inspiring. I read on eagerly to learn how Cotton would achieve unity and how that would impact the team's performance. Harris showed in detail how teenage struggles affected characters like top players Jennifer, Shaneka and Selene and how Cotton helped them make the most of their talent without getting arrogant. The many obstacles that made this story so exciting sometimes saw Cotton reaching out to the community, including men he'd coached in football decades prior. In that way, this book showed how team sports bring growth opportunities, not only for individuals but also for communities. I appreciated seeing Cotton as the stable pillar in a town that went through demographic shifts. With his sense of fair play, Cotton had a positive impact on the racial and other tensions that arose. I enjoyed the East Texas colour that filled the story. Cotton sports a Stetson and adds peanuts to Dr. Pepper - that's a new one I'd like to try.
The book was equally rich in details about basketball training and play. This and the many characters and events made this tale a slow burn. I was in two minds about that. On the one hand, as mentioned above, the details brought colour and texture. On the other hand, however, the many tangents and new characters popping up slowed the flow. Some of the dramatic twists featured a certain clumsiness that got more noticeable later in the story. I believe some plots and characters could be removed without making this story any less of a winner.
On the contrary, I feel that some cutting would improve the book by freeing up its flow. Another way to improve readability would be to divide the story into more, shorter chapters. The editing also needs work, as I found many errors throughout. These were somewhat distracting, with frequent misspellings of characters' names, for example.
Overall, this is a compelling tale with a heartwarming hero, plus many heroines, but I believe it needs improvements to its readability and structure. To reflect the balance between the strengths and areas for improvement, I rate this book three out of five stars. It is notable for showcasing the impact of sport on a community and how teamwork improves lives, on and off the court. I can recommend it as a read that will leave you enthused.
******
Cotton
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
I'm used to rooting for my national team during championships like the football (soccer) world cup, but Cotton by Mark S Harris showed me something new. It's about the fever that can grip a small town in support of a high school sports team.
Our eponymous hero is Cotton Duncan, who had retired after his long football coaching career grew stale. When King's Fort High School desperately needs a girls' basketball coach, the board is persuaded that Cotton's the man to bring on. Although he knows nothing about basketball at first, he comes bouncing right back. Finding the Lady Lions to be a ragged group of individuals out for themselves, his overarching aim is to unify them as a team. The togetherness starts off tough, with the whole team running sprints if some members are late to practice or are not dressed in school colours.
The girls and even other coaches and parents protest in vain - Cotton holds the line. His character was one of the assets of this book. In defiance of his advanced years, the person he puts the most pressure on is himself. He works hard, learning a new sport and showing he cares about his players without going easy on them. Yet he's human and flawed, as is seen from his frequent mishaps, which become funny after the fact. For example, he goes back to his office too soon after setting off roach bombs and passes out. He doesn't stay in the hospital, though; he's back on court the next day, swallowing Aleve against the headache.
So he sets a stellar example to the Lady Lions, and another strength of this book is that it's inspiring. I read on eagerly to learn how Cotton would achieve unity and how that would impact the team's performance. Harris showed in detail how teenage struggles affected characters like top players Jennifer, Shaneka and Selene and how Cotton helped them make the most of their talent without getting arrogant. The many obstacles that made this story so exciting sometimes saw Cotton reaching out to the community, including men he'd coached in football decades prior. In that way, this book showed how team sports bring growth opportunities, not only for individuals but also for communities. I appreciated seeing Cotton as the stable pillar in a town that went through demographic shifts. With his sense of fair play, Cotton had a positive impact on the racial and other tensions that arose. I enjoyed the East Texas colour that filled the story. Cotton sports a Stetson and adds peanuts to Dr. Pepper - that's a new one I'd like to try.
The book was equally rich in details about basketball training and play. This and the many characters and events made this tale a slow burn. I was in two minds about that. On the one hand, as mentioned above, the details brought colour and texture. On the other hand, however, the many tangents and new characters popping up slowed the flow. Some of the dramatic twists featured a certain clumsiness that got more noticeable later in the story. I believe some plots and characters could be removed without making this story any less of a winner.
On the contrary, I feel that some cutting would improve the book by freeing up its flow. Another way to improve readability would be to divide the story into more, shorter chapters. The editing also needs work, as I found many errors throughout. These were somewhat distracting, with frequent misspellings of characters' names, for example.
Overall, this is a compelling tale with a heartwarming hero, plus many heroines, but I believe it needs improvements to its readability and structure. To reflect the balance between the strengths and areas for improvement, I rate this book three out of five stars. It is notable for showcasing the impact of sport on a community and how teamwork improves lives, on and off the court. I can recommend it as a read that will leave you enthused.
******
Cotton
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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