YA or STFU

All-in, by Pete Hautman

Hautman, Pete (2007). All-in. NY: Simon and Schuster. 177 pages.

Hautman’s newest novel is a sequal to his 2005 book, No Limit, the story of sixteen-year-old Denn Doyle, an underage Texas Hold’em player who pretty much manages to rip a wealthy poker king a new one. In this story, we find Denn playing the high-stakes tables in Las Vegas and on the tail end of a sweep of good luck. Told from the third person perspectives of Denn and his onetime girlfriend Cattie, and the first person perspective of a sort of omniscient gambler known as Jimbo, this installment of Denn’s story involves Denn’s discovery of the long reach of his enemy, the aging and creepy dude who Denn beat in No Limit. Heading closer and closer to the vortex of the proverbial downward spiral, Denn enters a winner-take-all holdem competition at a new casino opened by his nemesis. The prize: $1,000,000. Second place: $0.00.

I wonder if the poker story is the next sports story for young people. Hautman’s new novel was certainly all about the poker: general exposition, details of a holdem game, general exposition, details of a holdem game, etc., is how this novel pretty much went. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’ve enjoyed a number of Hautman’s novels, particularly Invisible and Rash, I just wish this one had a bit more characterization to go with the cards, themselves center-stage characters in the novel. With Denn as the white knight, his creepy enemy as the Bad Guy, and Cattie as the “whore with a heart of gold,” I didn’t get a whole lot out of this one. Sorry, man.