One Last Shot by John David Anderson (review)

Malcolm Greeley senses that he has been a disappointment to his father and a burden to his mother for all his twelve years. With nerdy interests and few—well, pretty much no—friends, he has been compliantly undertaking and failing at every sport his dad directs him to, but a single happy afternoon at a miniature golf course has Dad gung-ho on a new enthusiasm. Malcolm can see that mini-golf holds possibilities, though; it’s him against the course, sussing out angles and trajectories and speed in a pleasantly quirky setting. It doesn’t take long for Dad to overplay his hand once again, hiring an old acquaintance to coach Malcolm for a local, and then a national tournament. Anderson reels out his novel in “eighteen holes” at Putter’s Paradise, whose course design offers clever metaphoric prompts for Malcolm’s musings on his family drama and current travails. In Malcolm’s humorously sardonic voice, the feuding, hovering parents trope takes on ballast as a family secret is disclosed; the down-at-the-heels coach trope is freshened by schlumpy Frank Sanderson’s acuity in sizing up what Malcolm really needs; and a de rigueur romantic interest trope unfolds with unexpected charm. Readers who’ve felt the opposing tugs of pleasing the parents and setting their own course will appreciate Malcolm’s take on resignation and resistance and cheer his final shot that no pressure or coaching could improve.