Review of The Ping-Pong Champion of Chinatown
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Faith Kipkemoi
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Review of The Ping-Pong Champion of Chinatown
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Ping-Pong Champion of Chinatown" by James Hanna.]
The Ping-Pong Champion of Chinatown by James Hanna is a novel consisting of eight interconnected short stories about the adventurous life of an innocent but naïve twenty-three-year-old girl named Gertie McDowell who is originally from Turkey Roost, a small town in Kentucky. Like most girls wanting more from life than a life in a small town, Gertie wishing to be a celebrity travels across America in search of fame. She makes her first friend a character she refers to as “The Nose “who posts YouTube videos of her doing unusual things with her feet making her an online celebrity under the title” famous feet of little miss twinkle toes.”
This soon comes to an end when Gertie decides it is time for a new chapter and she starts working with “Sugar Shack Dress Company” where she has an unusual business arrangement. She sews dresses and ships them to the company who then add on some fancy embroidery and sends the same dress back to her for distribution to local purchasers. At the time, Gertie is married to a lazy husband named Benny Pearman who only watches television and is never bothered that Gertie had to fend for them both and so when the company would pay her a hefty sum to distribute the dresses, she thought it to be her luck but unbeknown to her, the company was using her to traffic drugs.
As one would expect, soon the law catches up with poor Old’ Gertie and she finds herself in the federal prison in Alderson, West Virginia. Here she makes friends such as Bertha Jean who watch over her and help her adjust to prison life. After serving eight months of her time and as Gertie’s luck would have it a new judge reverses her sentence citing insufficient evidence to support the drug trafficking charge against her and she is finally set free. Troubles find her soon after and she is put under the witness protection program where she is assigned a new name and a new life in Chinatown within the city of San Francisco. It is here that she meets Agent Jackson who she falls completely in love with.
I absolutely loved how the story was told directly from Gertie’s perspective almost as though I was next to her as she narrated her story to me. Gertie’s charm makes the highly entertaining to read keeping you hooked on until the very end. The different exciting happenings will have you hanging on to the edge of your sit fingers-crossed rooting that she comes out unscathed. Each chapter covers a different path in Gertie’s life with each character playing a special role and bringing out different fondness. Her natural presentation makes it almost impossible to not love her and her naivety had me sympathizing with her. Gertie's positive attitude and strength to keep going despite often finding herself in the midst of trouble were encouraging. No matter what life threw at her, she always found a way to survive.
The author James Hanna balances the transition of each story smoothly to the next taking you through a continuous adventure with a clear window into Gertie’s life. The author paints out Gertie’s gullible nature and rarely thinking for herself. I deeply loved the author's unique use of satire, pseudonyms, and sarcasm which enhanced my reading experience making it much more realistic, personal, and exciting.
I found this book to be extremely well-narrated and well-edited as I did not come across any errors throughout the book. I really enjoyed reading the book and I anticipate reading more of the Author’s work, especially a sequence following Gertie McDowell's awkward but thrilling adventures. I, therefore, rate The Ping-Pong Champion of Chinatown by James Hanna 4 out of 4 stars.
I recommend this book to young adult readers who like entertaining comical novels where even the most heart-breaking situation is told with such humorous appeal. This book does not contain any explicit sexual content or religious discrepancies and is therefore suitable for all groups.
******
The Ping-Pong Champion of Chinatown
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
The Ping-Pong Champion of Chinatown by James Hanna is a novel consisting of eight interconnected short stories about the adventurous life of an innocent but naïve twenty-three-year-old girl named Gertie McDowell who is originally from Turkey Roost, a small town in Kentucky. Like most girls wanting more from life than a life in a small town, Gertie wishing to be a celebrity travels across America in search of fame. She makes her first friend a character she refers to as “The Nose “who posts YouTube videos of her doing unusual things with her feet making her an online celebrity under the title” famous feet of little miss twinkle toes.”
This soon comes to an end when Gertie decides it is time for a new chapter and she starts working with “Sugar Shack Dress Company” where she has an unusual business arrangement. She sews dresses and ships them to the company who then add on some fancy embroidery and sends the same dress back to her for distribution to local purchasers. At the time, Gertie is married to a lazy husband named Benny Pearman who only watches television and is never bothered that Gertie had to fend for them both and so when the company would pay her a hefty sum to distribute the dresses, she thought it to be her luck but unbeknown to her, the company was using her to traffic drugs.
As one would expect, soon the law catches up with poor Old’ Gertie and she finds herself in the federal prison in Alderson, West Virginia. Here she makes friends such as Bertha Jean who watch over her and help her adjust to prison life. After serving eight months of her time and as Gertie’s luck would have it a new judge reverses her sentence citing insufficient evidence to support the drug trafficking charge against her and she is finally set free. Troubles find her soon after and she is put under the witness protection program where she is assigned a new name and a new life in Chinatown within the city of San Francisco. It is here that she meets Agent Jackson who she falls completely in love with.
I absolutely loved how the story was told directly from Gertie’s perspective almost as though I was next to her as she narrated her story to me. Gertie’s charm makes the highly entertaining to read keeping you hooked on until the very end. The different exciting happenings will have you hanging on to the edge of your sit fingers-crossed rooting that she comes out unscathed. Each chapter covers a different path in Gertie’s life with each character playing a special role and bringing out different fondness. Her natural presentation makes it almost impossible to not love her and her naivety had me sympathizing with her. Gertie's positive attitude and strength to keep going despite often finding herself in the midst of trouble were encouraging. No matter what life threw at her, she always found a way to survive.
The author James Hanna balances the transition of each story smoothly to the next taking you through a continuous adventure with a clear window into Gertie’s life. The author paints out Gertie’s gullible nature and rarely thinking for herself. I deeply loved the author's unique use of satire, pseudonyms, and sarcasm which enhanced my reading experience making it much more realistic, personal, and exciting.
I found this book to be extremely well-narrated and well-edited as I did not come across any errors throughout the book. I really enjoyed reading the book and I anticipate reading more of the Author’s work, especially a sequence following Gertie McDowell's awkward but thrilling adventures. I, therefore, rate The Ping-Pong Champion of Chinatown by James Hanna 4 out of 4 stars.
I recommend this book to young adult readers who like entertaining comical novels where even the most heart-breaking situation is told with such humorous appeal. This book does not contain any explicit sexual content or religious discrepancies and is therefore suitable for all groups.
******
The Ping-Pong Champion of Chinatown
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: The Ping-Pong Champion of Chinatown by James Hanna
