Three Clams and an Oyster

Book: Three Clams and an Oyster
Author: Randy Powell
Published: 2006

Four-man flag football team Three Clams and an Oyster is cursed when it comes to Oysters. Their first one, Glen Como, died suddenly the summer before ninth grade. Their current one, Cade Savage, keeps missing practices and even flakes out on a game, forcing them to forfeit. They choose to hold tryouts for the Oyster position, but Cade is always in the back of their mind.

Now the three Clams--McCallister, Deshutis, and Beaterson--have a hard choice to make. Should they jettison an unreliable player or do everything they can to support their oldest friend in his time of need?

From the cover you would think this is about the team adjusting to having a (gasp!) girl on the roster. In fact, this is nowhere near what the book is about. I suspect the publishers latched onto this one, fairly minor element and ran with it, leaving Powell scratching his head and going, “Huh?”

Instead, this book is about a complex five-way friendship. Glen, in spite of being dead, is still very much present, haunting the story in bits and pieces. (Thank you, Randy Powell, for NOT flashing back.) How much can you hang on to the past? How much should you? And at what point does your friend forfeit the right to your support by slacking off on his responsibility to be there for you?

Pick up this book to find out how three young men try to find the answers.