I enjoyed this book much more than I thought I would. I'm not a huge fan of wrestling (the real kind…though I'm even less of a fan of the professional fake stuff) and I don't know much about it (well, I didn't, but I'll get to that later). The only wrestling I've ever seen is a couple of Olympic matches on TV. But Throwback isn't just about one boy-man's quest for wrestling success, it's also a growing up story and a love story.

Let me start from the beginning. Ben's senior year in high school culminated in a missed chance in his wrestling career and he's felt cheated ever since, even though it was mostly his own fault. At age nineteen, he comes up with a plan to go back to high school to reclaim his wrestling glory. His friend tries to talk him out of it, warning (perhaps prophetically) him about how difficult it will be to walk away once you've gone back. But Ben decides to do it anyway. He's carrying too much regret around not too.

So he comes up with a new identity and a plan and inserts himself into high school in New Jersey, far away from his home base of North Carolina. He joins the wrestling team and tries to keep a low profile, but that becomes harder the more successful he is on the team. It also becomes harder once he meets and befriends Judy, a girl that he never would have given a second glance to his first time around in high school.

In fact, he's taking his second chance in a whole different direction than his first one. From the perspective of a college kid, he now knows that the cliques that seemed so all-important then really don't mean anything and that some of the most interesting people are the ones in the shadows. The funny thing about all of this, for me, is that he constantly berates himself for taking advantage of 'kids' with his worldly manhood self-confidence. But, from the perspective of a 30-something year-old, at nineteen, Ben is really still just a kid himself. Sure, he's more mature than the high school kids, but he's still got a lot to learn.

Readers follow him onto the mat for move-by-move action. I thought these scenes would tire me out, but they were quick enough and interesting enough to keep a non-wrestler intrigued. I'm sure wrestling fans would eat them up.

The relationship with Judy progresses along with his wrestling prowess, but with many stops and starts along the way and a jealous boyfriend and over-protective (and rude) father. Everything culminates at the finals, but I won't give any more details away. The ending was a little bittersweet for me and I would have done some things differently, as it opened up many more questions than it answered. But, all in all, the book was a very satisfying read.

I recommend this book for ages 12 and up and especially for wrestling fans. The love story doesn't get in the way of the action, so even teenage boys allergic to romance will find themselves barreling through the book.

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