caught+stealing

Caught Stealing

Brian Reiff, Cory Gottlieb, Erik Johansen, James Shapiro, Sam Komrower

**Week 1** Job A: Erik Job B: Brian Job C: Cory Job D: Sam, James

Job D-Questions: Why is the story really called "Caught Stealing"? The story is actually called "caught stealing" because when Hank was high school student in California he was the star of his baseball team and broke his leg sliding into 3rd base hence the name caught stealing.

Why was Hank peeing blood? Hank peed blood because two mobsters beat him up in his bar. After he peed blood he felt a bad pain in his kidney and needed to get his kidney removed.

What was Hanks dream about and what happened? Hank dream was that he became a professional baseball player and became the MVP of the World Series by catching the final ball.

Where do you think the key went? We all think that Russ took it with him on his trip and is trying to trick Hank.

Job B: So far in the story, there have not been many characters introduced. The novel is in the point of view of of Henry "Hank" Thompson. He is currently living in New York, but he grew up in California. This is probably why he is a San Francisco Giants fan and he hates the Mets. Another "character" is the Russians. They are looking for some sort of object from Russ, Hank's neighbor, and as far as we can tell, they will do almost anything to get it. They are very tough, already having beaten up Hank in a bar. The last main character we have met so far is Russ and his cat, Bud. Russ has left to go see his dying dad in Rochester, supposedly. Hopefully, in the next fifth of the book, we will learn more about these characters and about the plotline

Job C: This week for our meeting, Erik brought in the food,Sam and James came up with questions, and Brian was discussion leader. Brian did a great job of keeping our rowdy group under control. James and Sam both came up with some stumper questions that no one in the group could answer. Erik brought in cheese doodles, and lays potato chips accompanied by a **12 pack of HI-C.**

Week 2 Job A: Brian Job B: Cory Job C: James Job D: Erik, Sam

Job D: 1. What do you think Hanks friend did that pissed these Russians off so much? He owed the Russians money and did pay them off so in return, he was giving the Russians a key to something and they came to find it. 2. Do you think that the Russians answer to another man? We think the cop is leading it all and protecting the Russians from the law. 3. Who do you think is going to find out about the corruption of the cops and tell the other police officers? The Police officer is covering it up, but Hanks girlfriend will find out and tell everyone. 4. Do you think there is a special connections between Hank and the girl that took care of him. Could she be involved in this? No, she could maybe be tempted by the Russians to give away Hanks hiding. 5.. Do you think that cowboys are working with the Russians? No, but the key must unlock something great.

Job B: Is it easy to read? Conversational? "Classic"? Does it use a lot of words you don't understand? What grade level do you think the book is written at, and why?

This book is easy to read if the genre interests you. If you were to find this book boring(I don't know how anyone could) then it would be tougher to read and enjoy. This is a medium amount of dialogue in the book between the main character Hank and the other characters. This book is definitely made for the high school Freshman or Sophomore.

Job C: This week, it was an exciting day with the children and thought of Christmas and Hanukkah for Sam, Brian and Cory. Brian brought it food, while Erik and Sam supplied the questions. Cory Answered the discussion director questions over the weekend. There is still some confusion on the book like what actually happened in the bar. Also, the attack at the house in what the Russians wanted form him, but we were able to resolve it. We didn't have a lot of time to talk because the period ended early.

Week 3 Job A: Sam Job B: James Job C: Brian Job D: Cory, Erik

Job D: 1. Do you think i was necessary to punch Hank so much even when he honestly said he had no idea where the key was? No, they didn't know him well enough to trust him. 2. When he meet with his friend, could they have been that close because he didn't know when he was squeezing him, he just a his kidney removed. No, he was in so much excitement that he forgot he had his kidney removed. 3. Do you think that Hanks friend actually knows where the key is? He knew, but he was doing everything in his power to keep it a secret. 4. Do you think that Hank had any idea that he was going to be attacked when he was opening the safe? They expected it so that is why they came prepared. 5. How much confidential material do you think must have been in the case that Hanks friend told him if you put your hand in there, he would kill you? There must be drugs or something from other jobs or hits he could have done.

Job C: For our discussion on Friday, Sam brought in the food, and we all enjoyed a healthy amount of chips and Powerade. After a few minutes, we began our discussion of the book. Following the week's assignment, we talked about the mood and tone of the book. Since James, our meeting leader, wasn't there, we all had to keep ourselves focused, and Cory decided to take over the role. However, we occasionally got off topic and began to discuss Hanukkah, considering three of the four members present were Jewish (Sam, Cory, and me). Nevertheless, we stayed on topic long enough to gain some knowledge from each other and learn what the others felt about the book. After discussing what we each thought, Erik brought out his questions. Everybody answered all of them, demonstrating that we had read our assigned section. However, we could not escape the inevitable: this was the last Friday in school for 2009. We tried to make it as exciting as possible in order to celebrate.

Job B: This book is extremely brutal, unpredictable, and exciting. Some examples that back this up are the language, violence, and reality. Hank, the main character, is stressed out most of the time in the story and is beaten up. The emotion in the story so far seems to be stress or can even be fear beacause Hank has no idea why people are beating him down for something he doesn't have.

Job A: James Job B: Erik Job C: Sam Job D: Brian, Cory
 * Week 4**

Job D: According to Russ, he picked Hank to take care of the cat because Bud was a great cat and he didn't want to leave him with just anyone, and he knew Hank would take care of him. This is probably close to the truth. 2. Why does Hank lie about being able to drive?Throughout the entire book, Hank insisted that he didn't drive. However, when they were escaping from Roman, Hank was driving the car and he says "I cannot deny my true nature. I am a Californian. And just like every true Californian, I like to drive. Christ, I love to drive." Most likely, Hank just forgot how thrilling it was and maybe thought that because he hadn't driven in such a long time, he may have forgotten. It turns out he was wrong. 3. Why did Hank double-cross Roman by giving him the wrong keys?Hank probably double-crossed Roman because he didn't feel like Roman would hold up his end of the deal and keep him safe. He maybe trusted Ed and Paris more, or perhaps he wanted the money for himself. 4. Do you think it was Hank's fault that Russ died? If he had brought him to a doctor, would he have survived?Yes, it was Hank's fault that Russ died. He was the one who repeatedly hit Russ on the head with a bat when he walked into Hank's apartment. He probably caused internal bleeding, and when he realized that Russ wasn't alright, he should have taken him to a doctor. He probably would have survived. 5. Was it worth it for Hank to change his appearance? Was it necessary for him not to be caught?Yes, it was necessary for Hank to change how he looked. With the police, Roman, and Ed and Paris looking for him, he did not want to be found. It was the only thing he could do.
 * 1) Why do you think Russ really picked Hank to take care of his cat?

Job B: On your group's wiki page, discuss the themes and images that your book contains. What are some of the images that are used? What do they seem to represent? Why do you think the author uses these images to convey his or her meaning?

There is a constant theme throughout the book. Every time Henry goes to get something done like when he went to the apartment to get the key out of the safe, they were attacked. He will get attacked by someone or followed by someone ready to kill him. Another example was when Henry went to the storage yard to get the money, they knew they were being followed and were going to get jumped so he left the money. Another theme that always seems to happen is that fact that everyone is being back stabbed by someone else. You really can't trust anyone in the book. Some images in the book is the key and the fact that everyone is after it and it seems to act like the holy grail. They could also seem to act as the "Ultimate Boon" because everyone wants to get it and seems to be a journey to get it.

Job C: Today was a great day for our group. We made great progress and had an awesome time. James brought in a hardy meal of popcorn and only popcorn. It was delicious and low fat. After our snack Erik, our discussion director lead us in the direction to have a great group meeting. We discussed the images portrayed throughout the book and what they represented. After that, we answered some of the questions that Cory and Brian provided for us. In short Week four of book club was a day filled with fun and popcorn.

Job A: Cory Job B:** Sam Job D:** Brian**,** James
 * Week 5
 * Job C: Erik

On your group's wiki page, discuss your final reflections on this book. Would you recommend it to peers? Why or why not? Has this topic been discussed more/less effectively in another book or books? Should this book be considered for the school's curriculum?

On your group's wiki page, discuss your final reflections on this book. Would you recommend it to peers? Why or why not? Has this topic been discussed more/less effectively in another book or books? Should this book be considered for the school's curriculum?

As a whole, we all enjoyed "Caught Stealing". For the most part, we all agreed that it was a solid book to start the trilogy. In fact, we liked it so much, that we are even considering to read Huston's second novel to the trilogy called "Six Bad Things" for our next book. We would recommend this book to anyone looking to read an exciting thriller because it hooks you in so that you'll never want to put the book down. We all agree that the topic of this book has been well covered and expressed throughout the book. The school should consider this book for it's cirriculum because it has a great plot, and the student's of Pascack Valley will love it as well.

Job D:

1. How did the Russians know Hank was tricking them? The Russians knew that Hank wouldn't come back with the money after he had gotten away. 2. Did you like the __Of Mice and Men__ reference? Yes. It was very appropriate to our curriculum. 3. Was it smart for Hank to kill Roman, Ed, and Paris? Yes. Otherwise, he never would have been safe. 4. Why did Hank reveal himself to the crowd? He revealed himself in order to escape from Bolo. 5. Who do you think won: The Mets or the Giants? Although it doesn't matter, I think the Giants won. It only seems fair that Hank's team would win after everything he's been through.

Job: C

Since this was the last week of the book club, we mostly talked about what we thought of the book and what each person needed to do to complete the book page. We all think that book was pretty good book, but it was one of those books that either you like it or you didn't. For the next book club, I think are group will pick a extremely different book with a completely different theme. For this week, I did summary, Brian and James did questions, Cory brought food, and sam did the discussion director.