Synopses & Reviews
Denn Doyle feeling lucky. His landscaping business is thriving, he's got money in the bank, his girlfriend loves him, and the city bus that ran into him that morning left him alive and well. Soon he'll turn sixteen and buy himself a car. Everything is going his way.
So when Jason Hicks and his buddies ask Denn to play a little poker, he says yes. The cards are dealt, the money is bet, and then the worst possible thing happens.
Denn wins. And he likes it.
Soon Denn is using a false ID to play in the local casino for ever-increasing stakes. As he enters the strange universe of high-stakes poker, the cards become his life: more real than his family, more important than his friends. Denn learns to read "tells" -- the tiny clues that give away other players' hands. He figures he can't lose.
But one other player -- the stonefaced, emotionless Mr. Kingston -- has no tells at all.
Denn soon finds himself in the biggest game of his life, head-to-head with Kingston and his cronies, with far more than money at stake. To win, Denn must put all his emotions aside and play "stone cold" -- but at what cost?
Review
“Fast paced and powerfully delivered, this novel is as taut and suspenseful as a high-stakes game.”—School Library Journal
Review
“Hautman’s anatomy of a teen addict is chillingly intensified by Denn’s narration…watch even reluctant readers ante up.”—BCCB
Review
“Swift and salacious, Hautman’s latest compellingly echoes gambling’s siren call.”—Publishers Weekly
Review
“A compelling read.”—KLIATT
Synopsis
"All I want is to play cards, to run my fingers over those slick, hard surfaces, to feel that cold power flowing in and out through my hands and eyes." Dennis Doyle is feeling lucky. His landscaping business is thriving, his girlfriend loves him, he's got money in the bank, and the city bus that ran into him that morning left him alive and well. Soon he'll turn sixteen and buy himself a car. Everything is going his way. So when his buddies ask him to play poker, Denn says yes. The cards are dealt, the money is bet...and the worst possible thing happens. Denn wins.
And he likes it.
Synopsis
Sixteen-year-old Denn Doyle's troubles begin with a seemingly harmless--and extremely profitable--game of poker with some neighborhood kids. Eager to join the adult world, Denn realizes that casinos and poker are a means to do exactly that. His "hobby" progresses to a habit and then to an addiction that threatens relationships with his parents, girlfriend, and best friend. Hautman explores the escalation of Denn's gambling without preachiness, dealing with his problem in a straightforward and knowledgeable manner.
About the Author
Pete Hautman is the author of Godless, which won the National Book Award, and many other critically acclaimed books for teens and adults, including Blank Confession, All-In, Rash, No Limit, Invisible, and Mr. Was, which was nominated for an Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America. Pete lives in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Visit him at PeteHautman.com.