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The Cardturner

by Louis Sachar

A summer at the bridge table

Regular price $13.38 USD
Regular price $22.30 USD Sale price $13.38 USD
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AlbakiReads Editorial

A summer at the bridge table

Alton Richards begins the summer with little to look forward to, then finds himself drawn into the routines and rivalries surrounding his great-uncle Lester. Serving as Lester’s cardturner introduces him to bridge, while the people competing for Lester’s attention add another layer to the family situation. The game becomes part of Alton’s effort to make sense of his uncle, his growing interest in Toni Castaneda, and his own direction in life. The setup brings together a young adult’s personal uncertainty, family pressures, and the strategic social world of bridge.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Teens and young adults interested in coming-of-age stories
  • Readers curious about bridge and its place in a family-centered story
  • Readers who enjoy fiction involving complicated family relationships

Themes

Coming of ageFamily pressuresBridgePersonal directionRomantic interest

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

"The Newbery-winning author of Holes fulfills a need the world probably didn't even know it had . . . for smart and puzzle-minded teens . . ."--Booklist

The summer after junior year of high school looks bleak for Alton Richards. His girlfriend has dumped him, he has no money and no job, and his parents insist that he drive his great-uncle Lester, who is old, blind, very sick, and very rich, to his bridge club four times a week and be his cardturner.

But Alton's parents aren't the only ones trying to worm their way into Lester Trapp's good graces. There is Trapp's longtime housekeeper, his alluring young nurse, and the crazy Castaneda family.

Alton soon finds himself intrigued by his uncle, by the game of bridge, and especially by the pretty and shy Toni Castaneda, as he struggles to figure out what it all means, and ultimately to figure out the meaning of his own life.

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