Tangerine Part 1

Hi all! I really thought that I wouldn't enjoy "Tangerine". I am normally not interested in sport stories, and the cover really turned me off to the book, what with the geeky looking kid and the soccer ball. But after I started reading it I just couldn't put it down! I finished the book in two days.
I thought the beginning was a little confusing. I thought there would be an element of the supernatural when Paul had that little flashback, and the scene of him being chased by the car was surprising, it was the first "hook" to get me into the book. I didn't sense right away that Paul's brother was bad (I would actually use rotten to the core, except we are only talking about the first part of the book!) I thought that the part where Paul's mother and the school principle talked about the IEP report for Paul because it tied into our class last semester.
I loved the part when the school was swallowed by a sink hole! It was so exciting I had to reread it a few times.
So far, I think that this book is a good demonstration of a dysfunctional family unit, and how one child can rise up out of that to be generally "normal" but particularly exceptional in soccer, yet is ignored. The fact that the parents are apparently oblivious to the behavior of their older son is unbelieveable to me! But sometimes parents can be blind to what is right in front of their face.
For younger readers reading this story, I think that it is a good example of how to rise up out of your family circumstances and be who you are, even if you do not receive any praise or acknowledgement. I also liked the journal style of writing. For those of you who have not finished the book, you are in for a surprise ending! Enjoy!