Waiting for the Upset James Newman "A tale of basketball, fathers and sons, and toxic masculinity. A story about good men who have done bad things, but they're trying to be better."
Jim along with many other parents are just trying to enjoy his child’s basketball game. There is one parent in the crowd that is more concerned with being heard and tossing out insults to the refs. This quickly grows old and eventually one of the refs tosses Ronnie Sr out. This isn’t the end of Ronnie, though he’s back with his toxic self and a confrontation begins between him and Jim. Will Jim keep his cool or will he revert to his old ways and unleash some rage on Ronnie?
We have Jim, who normally has a short fuse, which is ultimately what caused his divorce. He’s trying to be better until Ronnie tests the waters. Then we have Ronnie with his loud abusive behavior. We all know the type, always has to be heard and make a scene. As the story progresses, he just gets worse. The guy had me rolling my eyes. Newman did a great job making Ronnie’s character one that you love to despise.
I went into this blind figuring it’s going to be all about sports with a couple horror elements. This book contains so much more! I thought the buildup in this story was great. I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen between these two characters. The anger and irritation finally boil over and the unexpected happens. I was surprised by the ending. It’s not what I had in my head, but it still fits the story well. There were also a few moments that made me laugh. Overall, I loved this book. It has tense moments, funny moments, and touches on toxic masculinity which is represented so well with Ronnie. How far will his anger take him? Read the book and find out.
Indie Book Addict Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Click the cover to grab your copy.