Other editions of book Slot Machine

If you don't have a slot, what are we going to do with you? They call it Twenty-One Nights with the Knights. But for Elvin Bishop - fourteen, overweight, and a self- proclaimed non-athlete - the summer retreat is more like the twenty-one trials of hell. As everyone around him slips smoothly into a slot in his chosen sport, Elvin is pounded on the football field, slammed on the baseball diamond, and tortured on the wrestling mat. And he still can't find a slot.. From the acclaimed author of Shadow Boxer, here is a raw, darkly funny story about growing up and finding a place in the world. A Best Book for Young Adults.

Elvin just wants to fit in—but how can he find his place when he doesn’t know what to look for?Elvin Bishop is about to attend a three-week-long high school orientation camp, where each student is “slotted” or placed on an athletic team. Chubby, fourteen-year-old Elvin knows this is not the place for him. From the start, he’s told that some kids get picked on more than others, and to “try not to be one of those guys.” His friends encourage him to toughen up, to avoid being a geek by acting more confident. The trouble is, Elvin doesn’t quite know what kind of guy he is. And what if the kind of guy he is now isn’t the kind of guy he’ll be in four years? At times laugh-out-loud funny, Slot Machine is a keenly felt story of the push and pull of wanting to belong. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Chris Lynch including rare images from the author’s personal collection.

"If you don't have a slot, what are we going to do with you?"It's called Twenty-One Nights with the Knights. But for Elvin Bishop--fourteen, overweight, and a self-proclaimed nonathlete--this summer sports "retreat" is more like the twenty-one trials of hell.As everyone around him, including his best friends, slips smoothly into athletic "slots," Elvin is pounded on the football field, slammed on the baseball diamond, and tortured on the wrestling mat--always coming out a complete failure. But appearances can be deceiving. Sometimes real strength comes from breaking the rules rather than playing the game. And sometimes finding acceptance is less about fitting in than about making your own way--with grit and humor.All incoming freshmen at Flagship Academy’s summer program are suppose to find an athletic ‘slot’ for themselves. But there is no slot for Elvin, a wise-cracking, overweight sports incompetent who bounces from one humiliating game to another. How he discovers his own place for himself—with grit and humor—makes for "a funny, poignant coming-of-age story...[A] wry, thoughtful book [that] speaks with wisdom and heart to the victim and outsider in us all."—BL. Bulletin Blue Ribbons 1995 (C)1996 Best Books for Young Adults (ALA)1996 Best Books for Reluctant Young Adult Readers (ALA)Books for Youth Editors' Choices 1995 (BL)1996 Books for the Teen Age (NY Public Library)Young Adult Choices for 1997 (IRA/CBC)