No Excuses Receives Kirkus Review!
In this YA novel, a farm boy in rural Vermont discovers his untapped physical prowess and becomes a decathlete.
Skeets Stearns lives in Hackett’s Falls, a small town in the Vermont wilderness near the Canadian border. The son of a farmer, he loves to run wild in the mountains but shies away from participating in high school sports because of his diminutive size and lack of self-confidence. But all that changes when a mysterious stranger arrives at his home: Bill MacColl, a friend of Skeet’s Uncle Jacques, who inexplicably leaves New York City to move into the family’s barn. Little does Skeets know, but Bill is haunted by the trauma of his service as a bomber pilot in Vietnam and saddled with regret over the woman he lost while fighting in the war. Bill was once a track star in the 1960s. He notices that Skeets is blessed with great natural ability and tutors him in track-and-field events. Skeets is amazed by his quick success and joins the track team with the intention of becoming a decathlete as well as winning the attention of the girl he adores from afar, Becky Winslow. He also seems to pine less for competitive glory than a kind of natural liberty, a longing lucidly depicted by Harris: “I guess ’cause I love to run and jump. It makes me feel free. You know, like a bird, or something. Like a mountain lion.” The author deftly captures the nuances of decathlon competition, a remarkable athletic challenge that courts speed and strategy more than simply brute strength. In addition, he intelligently depicts the complex relationship between talent and self-appraisal—Skeets would likely have never discovered his own potential without the encouragement of Bill. But the author’s writing can be a bit sentimental and melodramatic. At times, the book reads more like a motivational speech than a novel.
An insightful but uneven tale about athletic achievement.