Third Quarter Outside Reading Book Review

The Blind Side By Michael Lewis. Michael Lewis 2006. Genre: Biography

The Blind Side, is the true story of Michael Oher. He is a poor kid from Memphis who ends up in a school where he can’t keep up with the work. He cannot remember the last time he saw his father and his mother is a drug addict who falls in and out of his life. One night while he is wandering the streets a rich white family confronts him. The mother of this family, Leigh Anne Tuohy, feels a strong urge to help Michael. She tells him to get into their car and stay with them for the night. Soon a strong bond forms between Michael and the Touhy family they take him in and Michael decides to play football. This Choice will change his life forever.
The New York Times says, “The real-life fable that is “The Blind Side” tells how a mountainous, destitute black teenager miraculously morphs into an Ole Miss football hero and becomes a member of a wealthy white evangelical family.”
Read this book I noticed the very unique writing style of Michael Lewis. He doesn’t just tell the story of Michael Oher. He tells why Michael being a left tackle is so significant. It isn’t just one of the highest paid positions in the NFL it is key to success of the team. Michael Lewis switched subjects. Some of the chapters are about how the game of football transformed to show that the position of left tackle is so important and others tell Michael Oher’s story. I have never read a book with this type of writing style. It is a prefect style for the telling of this story. I don’t think this style would go well with many other books though because many stories don’t need a lot of background information for the reader to understand the story.
“Ten yards downfield he was delivered, violently, back to earth, where her vanished for several seconds beneath Michael”(140)
I loved reading this book it was interesting and inspiring. This book showed me that one person could make a difference. Also it inspired me to never give up on my dreams. If Michael had given up and stopped trying to succeed in school he wouldn’t be were he is today. I also enjoyed reading this book because it is about football, which is my favorite sport. Everyone should read this book because everyone can learn something from it.