Title: Gaels on Three
Author: Don Schlenger
Publisher: Ink Start Media
ISBN: 978-1-961254-36-7
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 318
Reviewed by: Arthur Thares
Pacific Book Review
Books are meant to excite the mind and make your imagination work overtime, which is why so many are about action and adventure. People tend to forget everyday stories can be just as exciting and imaginative. Gaels on Three may be even more imaginative than a far-off adventure in outer space because it tells a human story we can all relate to. Being relatable isn’t the only thing to love about this book.
It can’t be said enough that this book doesn’t have extraordinary characters which fly out of the pages. It has very human and relatable characters which will likely remind you of someone you know. It begins with an out-of-place ex-soldier named Bill Edwards, who somehow finds himself teaching math and coaching basketball at a Catholic school even though he isn’t qualified to do either. Knowing that he is over his head, he contacts an ex-girlfriend he hasn’t seen in years, who happens to be an ex-star college basketball player. With help from a nun who was once part of the Navajo Nation, the three manage to coach a rag-tag group of girls through a basketball season.
To his credit, author Don Schlenger is masterful at creating characters. So much so that if the book didn’t explicitly say it is fiction, you may question whether you are reading a nonfiction story. This is partly due to how well he fleshed out his characters and made them feel as real as possible.
Gaels on Three is just a simple, heart-warming story about a man who does what he can to help a group of girls excel on and off the court. The basketball aspect takes a backseat to what is happening in the personal lives of the players and the adults around them. It is not salacious or scandalous; no one dies, and no damsels are in distress. If anything, the damsels really save the day in this story. This is the perfect change-of-pace book for the avid reader, and it will put a smile on anyone who gives it a chance.
