I was almost shocked by how much I liked this book. A story about a junior high school kid who wears thick glasses and plays soccer? But of course it’s so much more than that. It’s such a big, interwoven story, and both the immediate plot elements and the secret history that Paul is only beginning to remember are incredibly strong and interesting and engaging. It’s dark in a lot of ways, too, but there’s enough humor and heartwarming moments to balance out the darker aspects and prevent it from becoming bleak. I’m so glad this novel was brought to my attention through all the positive comments on the student forum; I would probably not have ever picked it up on my own, based on just the cover and jacket copy. ( )

I think Tangerine is a very good book [oviously...my screename!, haha]
As a hardcore soccer player myself, i can understand his feelings
in struggling to keep playing and his feelings toward the game, similar to the feelings i have towards it. This book has some very happy parts and extremely sad parts, but don't be fooled the happiness outways the sadnes(:
you should deffently read this book esp. if you love soccer(:

Reviewed by Mark Frye, author and reviewer for TeensReadToo.com

TANGERINE is a surreal novel strong in pacing and character development. From the opening page to the very end, Edward Bloor takes the reader on a breakneck course through one family's conflict with the past and its devastating impact on the present. Paul Fisher's nightmare experiences in the shadow of his older brother come to a climax after the family moves from Houston to Tangerine, Florida, a fallen Eden of sorts. He narrates his experiences in the new community with intensity and passion regarding the problems they face. A tension remains until the very end.

Paul is an outsider from the very beginning. He is the younger brother of teen football legend, Erik Fisher. Their father dotes on Erik, living out his own frustrated athletic dreams in a sad, pathetic manner. Their mother endures their father, holding the family together with equal parts denial, busy-ness, and critical intensity. She is hyper-involved in all of the family's business, a contrast to her husband, who is focused solely on Erik's success on the field. Both deliberately turn a blind eye to Erik's moral failings, which include a propensity for violence and a complete lack of empathy for others. He is a textbook sociopath and the world merely a gaggle of potential victims.

Bloor guides the reader through the novel's 300-plus pages building upon each character with incident upon incident that reveals their true nature and failings. Paul and his parents are forced to face their own cowardice and complicity at several key junctures of the story, particularly during the break-ins and the events that led to the death of Luis Cruz. Facing their failings leaves them broken, but broken for potential rebirth as a better family unit.

The novel's message builds upon itself through the evolution of each character: burying a wrong under a bushel of denial takes a terrible toll.

Highly recommended. ( )

Legally blind but really okay vision has made life for Paul harder, except in soccer. His older brother Eric has made life hell for Paul -- actually causing his vision problems when he was young. Although Paul doesn't really remember it all, it comes back to him piece by piece through Eric's violent actions.

A really good story but I'm afraid it doesn't really fit the theme.

Tangerine is Edward Bloor's first young adult novel which deals with physical impairment, sibling rivalry, competitive sports, and adapting to a new community and enviroment. All these challenges are faced by Bloor's fourteen year old protagonist Paul Fisher , who addresses the reader in an honest and open talkative style. As a child Paul had an "accident" where he looked too long at a solar eclipes, or so he was told. Bloor slowly unravels the mystery of how Paul's vision was impaired, as he developes the contentious relationship that Paul has with his older brother Erik. There is an inordinate amount of dialogue which makes the 299 page book a slow reader, but helps the reader get into the various characters heads and personalities as well as understand the bizarre weathrer coniditons of Tangerine.

Build on former tangerine groves, the Lake Windsor Downs community development is a study in large, uniform color coded houses and provides the setting for this popular novel. What should be an idea planned community is marred by Bloor's introduction of horrible weather coniditions...daily afternoon rains, muck fires, and infestations of termites in brand new homes. How Paul's family handle these issues and those of the locals are telling signs of who is concerned with their environment and who isn't. Bloor also uses this setting as an interesting contrast of the residents of this high end community and the migrant tangerine growers who love and work the land. Paul is the bridge to these two communities, his visual impairment, he seems to fare better with the latter group, who can idenity with his under dog status.

Where Bloor's story comes most alive is in his recounting the soccer and football plays throughout the book. Sports fans will get a very deatiled account of these games, and come to appreciate Paul's abilities as a player, competiting with a sibling who is a pro athelete and his analysis of his brother's role as a football kicker and potential recruitment as a young football college star. ( )