939: Honoring John Feinstein Part 6
I mentioned how important John Feinstein was to me as a sports lover, so I am republishing my 2019 reviews of his Sports Beat Series that influenced me so much growing up.
Rush for the Gold was a book that left me wanting more stories with Stevie and Susan Carol each of my rereads, but I’m so grateful I got to read these books again.
I’m sure I’ll reread them in time, but this was a perfect way to say thank you to John Feinstein. Maybe I should check out his more famous books
In this episode, I got emotional at the end of a series...
Friends, friends, friends.
Welcome back to Teatime Reading where there are books in progress. Stevie Thomas and Susan Carol Anderson were two of my favorite characters when I was a kid, and since returning to the books this year, I’ve realized how clever and deep these books actually have been.
As I began the last book in the series Rush for the Gold, my nostalgia was front and center. Just like Harry Potter and Percy Jackson and so many others, Stevie and Susan Carol were two of my favorite characters that defined my early adolescence. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been mesmerized by the subjects that these books have covered and, in a way, I thought that Rush for the Gold took some of the drama and mystery from the very first book and re-introduced it here.
My narration journey continues in 2025, so before we get to the review,
I’d appreciate if you check out my works on A03
If the first book featuring our two teen reporters involved corruption, this one did as well. Star point guard Chip Graber from Last Shot made an entertaining cameo here, as did young tennis star Evelyn Rubin from the next book. I liked that Susan Carol’s swimming talent was taken advantage of here. I liked that this book focused on her challenges and her successes.
Ultimately, I felt quite wistful by the end of Rush for the Gold because I wanted more books and more stories with Stevie and Susan Carol. I had felt as if the larger story was coming to an end with The Rivalry, but after seeing how Feinstein evolved the dynamic between the two lead characters, I wanted more.
I wanted more books even though I knew that the odds of a seventh book was low. It has now been nearly eight years since this book’s release with no hints of another. This series will, I think, go down as one of the most personally influential ones of my reading life and I’m so grateful that I got to read it once again.
That’s all for today. Next time, things get series and philosophical.
See you then everyone.
Peace, Love, Pages.
Note: As Always, Affiliate Links are here for your convenience at no cost to you. All reading was at my own expense.