The Cardturner

By Sachar, Louis

Publishers Summary:
From Louis Sachar, New York Times bestselling author and winner of the Newbery Medal for HOLES, comes the young adult novel THE CARDTURNER, an exploration of the human condition. How are we supposed to be partners? He can’t see the cards and I don’t know the rules! The summer after junior year of high school looks bleak for Alton Richards. His girlfriend has dumped him to hook up with his best friend. He has no money and no job. His parents insist that he drive his great-uncle Lester to his bridge club four times a week and be his cardturner—whatever that means. Alton’s uncle is old, blind, very sick, and very rich. But Alton’s parents aren’t the only ones trying to worm their way into Lester Trapp’s good graces. They’re in competition with his longtime housekeeper, his alluring young nurse, and the crazy Castaneda family, who seem to have a mysterious influence over him. Alton soon finds himself intrigued by his uncle, by the game of bridge, and especially by the pretty and shy Toni Castaneda. As the summer goes on, he struggles to figure out what it all means, and ultimately to figure out the meaning of his own life. Through Alton’s wry observations, Louis Sachar explores the disparity between what you know and what you think you know. With his incomparable flair and inventiveness, he examines the elusive differences between perception and reality—and inspires readers to think and think again.

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ISBN
978-0-38573-662-6
Publisher
Delacorte Books for Young Readers


REVIEWS

School Library Journal

Reviewed on June 1, 2010

Gr 8-Up Alton Richards is resigned to spending a slow summer on his own after his girlfriend leaves him for his best friend and he finds himself with no money and no job. Unfortunately, his mother insists that he become his blind great-uncle's chauffeur and cardturner at local bridge tournaments. Though the 17-year-old has only met Lester Trapp on a few occasions, his mother hopes that this connection will inspire the wealthy old man to write the family into his will. Alton reluctantly agrees, even though he knows nothing abou...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

Horn Book Magazine

Reviewed on May 1, 2010  |  

When Alton's reputedly rich great-uncle Lester Trapp offers him a job as driver, Alton's parents insist he take it—they really want to be named in Trapp's will. Trapp has become blind due to diabetes, and he needs Alton not only to drive him to his beloved bridge club but also to serve as his "cardturner," telling Trapp what cards he has so the old man can make the right plays. Or play the right tricks, as bridge lingo would have it—and there is a lot of bridge and its rules, rituals, and strategies in this b...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

Horn Book Guide

Reviewed on January 1, 2010

Alton serves as his reputedly rich great-uncle Lester Trapp's "cardturner," telling Trapp what cards he has so the old man can m...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

Junior Library Guild

Reviewed on August 1, 2010

Louis Sachar invests The Cardturner with his trademark sense of humor—droll, warm, and attuned to his characters’ foibles. “According to my mother, we were Uncle Lester’s closest living relatives,” Alton narrates. “By this, I think she meant we lived the closest . . .” Alton is a genuinely likable narrator, and his intergenerational relationship with Trap...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

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