Flying Camels and Tiger Mothers Volume 1 Andy Schell Books
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The only thing sharper than a skater's blade is her mother. Mei Chen, an elite-level figure skater trying to qualify for the Olympics, is the daughter of an intensely focused Chinese immigrant mother, Ming. Raised in a hot-house environment, Mei's life is a torturous combination of practice on the ice and the piano bench, as she is required by her mother to not only skate to Rachmaninoff's Concerto #2 in C Minor, but to play it on the piano as well. When her mother's zeal causes her to cross the San Francisco Bay and practice at a different ice rink, in the town of Berkeley, a skating rivalry begins. Norma Gardner is a struggling single mother whose daughter, Tonya, is named after Tonya Harding. Tonya Gardner is now the only female skater in the US who has the triple Axel in her arsenal. Cleaning houses in Berkeley and selling home-baked cookies on the side, Norma is determined to provide her daughter with all she needs to win the national title and fulfill her destiny at the Olympics. But when Norma sees a new skater on the ice at her daughter's rink, she's prepared to do anything to protect her daughter's interests. Told through the eyes of one teenager and one adult, the drama of the white ice and its sparkling sequins is contrasted with its darkly comedic shadows. Flying Camels and Tiger Mothers is the story of two mothers at war with each other's principles, culture, and ambitions--and the affect this war has on their daughters. And when these mothers' actions ratchet up to felonious levels, like figure skaters jumping outside the circle, it is ultimately up to their daughters to straighten things up and bring everything down to a perfect landing.
Flying Camels and Tiger Mothers Volume 1 Andy Schell Books
I was first thinking I should only give 3 stars, in order to reserve the 4's and 5's for the serious books... the truly original culture changing stuff, but ... finally decided that this gets 4 just because I enjoyed it so much. Of the skating novels I have read, this one is by far the least trite and caricaturish... although, for sure, that comparison doesn't say much. But I found the characters here to be at least 2 dimensional, and the sketch of the 2008-ish elite figure skating scene seemed accurate and well-balanced, at least as much as my minimal exposure to it qualifies me to judge it, touching on that world's most well-known virtues and absurdities without cashing in on a total pig-out of any one of them. The author knows how to do suspense... I am long past caring who wins gold who wins silver who doesn't win at all, yet in this book that suspense motive totally held my attention, probably only because of the character dramas behind it. But I think what I liked most about the book, and what would make me recommend it to young readers - 9-14-ish say, is the author's ultimately compassionate point of view. The "baddies" are bad enough to make the book hilarious, but the main ones turn out to have sympathy-worthy reasons for being so, and the loyal friendship that develops between the two competing teenage skater protagonists is an example that is always welcome.Product details
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Tags : Amazon.com: Flying Camels and Tiger Mothers (Volume 1) (9780615610733): Andy Schell: Books,Andy Schell,Flying Camels and Tiger Mothers (Volume 1),Schell Books,0615610730,FICTION Family Life
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Flying Camels and Tiger Mothers Volume 1 Andy Schell Books Reviews
Flying Camels & Tiger Mothers is a funny, intriguing read that manages to balance the yin and yang, the sweet and savory, the tragedy and comedy of family relationships set in a not-so-fictive world of figure skating. The line between campy and real-life-is-actually-campier-than-camp is a fine one, and author Andy Schell's characters ride that line cleaner than a compulsory figure eight. It's a fast (think short program) and fun read. Parts of the book provide skating gossip, politics, and innuendo. Pure tabloid. If you like that kind of thing (and let's face it, I do!) you will enjoy the view from backstage as only someone who has actually been there can dish it old school. On the other hand, there is also some genuine and interesting technical information - accessible to a lay person - woven throughout a rich storyline. I won't ever look at an Olympics skating competition the same way again. (Changing your takeoff edge from outside to inside when landing a Lutz? Not on my watch!) I love that Schell doesn't pit the two teen protagonists against each other. The story he tells instead is a more rewarding and interesting read. Even the "villains" are multi-dimensional and hard to hate. Schell does a great job describing the diversity of his characters with both bold strokes and unexpected nuance. Differences in culture, family dynamics, socio-economic status,and even mental health issues make for interesting parallel storylines and create dynamite where they intersect.
This is not my normal read. I tend towards non-fiction (biographies, women's studies, South pole exploration, diaries of scientists or pioneers,...), and fiction that has been well-vetted by my friends or trusted reviewers. In this case, I am glad I broke out of my mold. I couldn't put it down. Read it and you will realize that is one of those fictions that is thinly-veiled reality. You just know some of this stuff happened. For real.
As an adult figure skater I loved this book. The description of the skating and the skating moms could be my rink or any rink I skate it.Okay his description of Coffee Club as a group of aging figure skaters was a bit harsh but it is so true. As a 47 year old skater I am the baby of Coffee Club.
I read this book in 2 sittings . It was so much fun. Even if you are not a figure skater you will enjoy the book. If you are a parent with kids in sports this is a must read. How many times do we see parents pushing their kids for sports when its the parents dream not the kids dream? He left the book open for a second book and I hope it comes soon. My only thing right now is I'm tempted to buy about a dozen copies of the book and hand it to various parents at my rink as a wake up call. Yes I've seen the parent yelling at the kid for not getting a jump when the one things I really want to do is say to the parent "why don't you put on skates and do what you are yelling at your kid for not doing" Buy this book and enjoy it. And yes Andy my lutz has turned into a flutz many a time .
There's a passage in a King book, I believe, where he talks about how, as a writer, the hole would open in the page and he would fall through it.
I fell into the hole created by this book in a big way. I didn't want to stop reading it at all. I enjoy watching figure skating and it was neat to get a little bit of a "backstage peek," as it were.
I was completely absorbed as the mothers went further and further and the daughters became more apprehensive and resentful. I started out with a lot of sympathy for Norma and less for Ming, and found that changing over the course of the book as the author revealed more about each person. This was done with a rather deft hand, in my opinion, and I appreciated what the author had done after finishing the book. (While reading, I was just caught up in "what happens next.")
I was half expecting a different twist to the girls' plan for Chicago, and was relieved when my suspicions were proved incorrect. I also liked the fact that the author actually finished the book. The last chapter was simply the last chapter - there was no "epilogue" or "afterword." It's a quirk, I admit, but it feels (to me, at least) like a cleaner way to end a book.
I have no typos or grammar errors marked for this book - either there weren't enough to distract me from the story or I was too absorbed in the story to notice them. This is somewhat unusual for me, as one may notice when reading my other reviews.
This was an entertaining way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
I was first thinking I should only give 3 stars, in order to reserve the 4's and 5's for the serious books... the truly original culture changing stuff, but ... finally decided that this gets 4 just because I enjoyed it so much. Of the skating novels I have read, this one is by far the least trite and caricaturish... although, for sure, that comparison doesn't say much. But I found the characters here to be at least 2 dimensional, and the sketch of the 2008-ish elite figure skating scene seemed accurate and well-balanced, at least as much as my minimal exposure to it qualifies me to judge it, touching on that world's most well-known virtues and absurdities without cashing in on a total pig-out of any one of them. The author knows how to do suspense... I am long past caring who wins gold who wins silver who doesn't win at all, yet in this book that suspense motive totally held my attention, probably only because of the character dramas behind it. But I think what I liked most about the book, and what would make me recommend it to young readers - 9-14-ish say, is the author's ultimately compassionate point of view. The "baddies" are bad enough to make the book hilarious, but the main ones turn out to have sympathy-worthy reasons for being so, and the loyal friendship that develops between the two competing teenage skater protagonists is an example that is always welcome.
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