Review/Opinion of "21:Bringing Down the House"

Bringing Down the House was really an amazing book. If you know me, then you probably realized five years ago that I HATE (yes I know, a very strong word) non-fiction books. I always find that people who write non-fiction books have sort of a strange style of writing that I just dislike. Well, Bringing Down the House is like a whole different level. If I were to not know the genre of this book, I would think that this was a realistic fiction book, not a non-fiction book! I would have never thought to even look at the gambling section of the books in Borders! The only reason I did was because my teacher recommended it to me. So there I was in Borders, not expecting much when I bought the book. When I got home and read the book, I was so amazed at the style of the writing. To be honest, it was the opposite of what I expected.

Kevin is the main character of this book and learns extremely fast. He's probably one of the best card counters on his team and earns big money. He's got the looks, and the smarts. At casinos, Kevin is doing well until one thing goes wrong. Then it's like a pile of dominos waiting to be pushed at any second. Everything goes downhill and everyone seems to know who Kevin is and what he does for most of his living. After being kicked off his own team, Kevin decides to make his own new team recruiting three people. They might not earn as much money as Fisher's new team, but they have much more fun.

All in all, Bringing Down the House was one of the best books I've ever laid my eyes on. Ben Mezrich is really an under-rated author. In my opinion, he should definitely win a Newbury Award Honor or something similar. Ben Mezrich's writing blew my mind away and I found out he has numerous books. I hope he comes out with a sequel to this book. I'll be the first to read it, no doubt!

Thoughts & Predictions

Thoughts: This was a riveting book! I loved it. It really was extraordinary. I didn't even know there was an author named Ben Mezrich until Mr. D from our school told us. When, I found this book at the gambling section in Borders, I wasn't expecting much. When I read the book, I was completely blown away. I just couldn't stop reading. This book was amazing and I hope that Ben will write more books like this!

Predictions: If Ben were to write a sequel to this book, I would predict that Kianna and Micky would be holding tryouts for the MIT Blackjack team. I predict each year, more and more people will join. The team will be huge and Kianna and Micky will become millionares and maybe even billionares. I think Kevin will also keep doing it with his new team, but they'll take it much slower but have way more fun. I think that Kevin, Andrew, Jill, and Dylan will be friends forever!

MIT Main Building

This was an important picture because Kevin was part of the MIT Blackjack team. This is a picture of MIT's main building.

The MGM Grand

These pictures are important because the MGM Grand was Kevin Lewis's home turf. He loved this casino and he was always welcome here.

Blackjack!

This is an important Picture because this person got a Blackjack. An ace can be counted as a "one" or an "eleven." In this case, the player would use it as an "eleven" and therefore gets a blackjack - 21.

Chapters 31 & 32

Chapters 31 & 32: Kevin and Dylan were celebrating because their new team broke the $50,000 mark! It proved that the more casually run foursome was more viable, profitable, and effective. When Kevin and Dylan drove to Dylan's apartment, they saw that Dylan's room was trashed! Even the hole in the wall where the new team kept their blackjack money was stolen! $75,000 were taken from the new team. When Kevin arrived back at his apartment, he saw a single purple casino chip sitting on his kitchen table. Kevin looked out the window and saw a lone figure standing in the shadows talking on a cell phone. Later Kevin took Ben Mezrich to play some blackjack and show him how to count cards. Kevin heard that the original members of the MIT blackjack team had long become dinosaurs. Rumors were that Micky and Kianna were living in an apartment together recruiting more people to count cards.

$$Connections$$

• My friends and I have played blackjack before. They've taken me to their house to play some blackjack just like how Kevin took Ben to play some blackjack in Las Vegas.
  

Chapters 25-30

Chapters 25-27: Kevin's team played at Jack Binion's Horseshoe and the team was up $50,000. Kevin noticed something bizarre. Four pit bosses were gathered around the center of a blackjack area. Usually pit bosses did not group together unless there was some kind of a security concern. Kevin's stomach dropped when he saw a fax spewing out four faces that were on his team! Kevin gathered up his team and got the heck out of there! Back at home, Kevin received some papers from the IRS. It was the notice of an audit. Kevin was supposed to schedule an appointment with an IRS investigator. Fisher called Kevin to meet Fisher and Martinez at Micky Rosa's place. When he got there he found out that someone from MIT sold a list of both MIT teams to the Plymouth agency. "Names, yearbook photos, Vegas gambling schedules, estimated profits--everything," Micky muttered. The person who turned them in received $25,000.

Chapters 28-30: At the Bahamas, Fisher told Martinez that he'd be in the bathroom. Martinez had been playing blackjack for over 20 minutes and there was still no sign of Fisher. Martinez suspected that something was wrong. Martinez went to the bathroom and saw three men with Fisher. One man had Fisher by the throat and one was holding Fisher from behind. The third man was the tall man with silver hair and narrow blue eyes! Fisher was a mess with blood everywhere. The three men were questioning him. Martinez took the broomstick in the bathroom and whacked the mirror with it. Martinez said, "I called the police. And I called our lawyers. We're going to sue you and the casino for everything you've got." Kevin was at home and Dylan called Kevin asking him why Kianna e-mailed Dylan for the playing records from the past year. Kevin found out later that Fisher and Martinez were starting a new team--and Kevin was not allowed to be a part of it! Kevin was kicked off his own team! Bubbling with anger, Kevin decided to also make a new team. Andrew Tay, Jill, and Dylan were recruited to Kevin's new team. The team would take it slower, have more fun, but not earn as much money. Fisher and Kevin met at the MGM Grand. Kevin told Fisher that this was Kevin's home turf. Fisher wouldn't listen though, and wanted to not just kick Kevin out of the team, but also out of Vegas!

$$Connections$$

• Kevin and Fisher "broke up" and weren't friends anymore. It's just like how in 3rd grade, I was best friends with a girl (not mentioning name) and then we just never talked in 4th and 5th grade. Then in 6th grade, we were in the same class so we became best friends again and we still are.
• When Fisher kicked Kevin off his own team, it reminded me of a story. It was like backstabbing your friend. In the story, best friends became worst enemies and always talked behind each others backs. It was a good book though. Too bad I don't remember the title of the book.