Center for Teaching & Learning

Gym Candy is about a boy named Mick who is struggling through high school and his athletics as his dad pressures him to be the best he can possibly be at football. Mick looks up to his dad and sees a former superstar NFL player, and feels that he has to be as good as him. Under this pressure, he feels he needs to take steroids. Coaches and players all suspect him of using them because his bench-pressing weight doubles in a very short time. While he is still trying to hide the steroids from everyone, he finds out that his dad was a fake and never played a NFL game in his life, instead choosing to skip practice and party. Mick is overwhelmed by everything that is happening in his life and Carl Deuker does a great job of wrapping it all up with a great cliffhanger ending that made me want to read the epilogue.
I totally rate this book a ten because of the cliff-hanger ending. Carl Deuker takes everything that you understand about the pages before and shoots it down because you’re only focused on the intense and surprising moment of truth. Then he just leaves you hanging there, wondering. This is the only book in the history of my reading where I read the epilogue. That’s how strong his ending is.
I thought Mick was just trying to please everyone but he didn’t know the right way to do it. By taking steroids, he is trying to please his dad, his coaches, his teammates and everyone else, but by doing them he just makes his life worse. Then he sees his life sinking like a ship. This is a great read. I hope you pick it up.
Eoin
Publisher:  Graphia, 320 pages