In the short story Cradle Hold by David Klass, a very young boy named Duke possesses many feminine qualities, such as preferring dolls to guns or books to the outdoors. Duke's father, Harry, is very uncomfortable about this. He tries everything he can think of to change his son, but nothing works. Duke finally finds a girlfriend. Harry is very happy but far from contented. One day Duke decides to try to fight to make his father happy. Duke comes into the team as a substitute. Harry goes to all of Duke's games even though he doesn't play most of the time. Duke works his way up to being the best wrestler in his school. He remained unbeaten all season. He was at the championships and reached the final. He was up against another undefeated fighter. In the midst of his meeting Harry makes some unexpected decisions without thinking about how they will affect Duke. In the story Cradle Hold there are unique characters that keep you reading, a strong plot that keeps the story moving, and plenty of conflicts to keep the story interesting. For starters there are many unique characters that make you want to keep reading. Duke is more feminine than other boys his age and his father Harry doesn't approve of it. “When Duke was five, Harry began to worry that his son was showing too many feminine tendencies. Duke was small for his age, preferring dolls to guns and reading books to playing outdoors. When Duke was younger he was more feminine than other boys his age. He didn't care about the "boy's" toys. Harry Duke's father didn't like this. She tried everything she could to make her baby more masculine, but nothing worked. Harry also has a different personality. He's a strange man. "They didn't make girls like that when... middle of paper... I thought of John Wayne and changed it in a flash to Duke...." His voice trailed off. "You don't know what it's like to not be eighteen." “Is this an explanation?” “Who says there has to be a good explanation for everything? That's the best I can say. “It's nonsense,” said Duke, “Duke and Harry don't understand each other and Harry is trying to make Duke feel sympathy for him because he sorts mail all day and Duke doesn't buy his father's sob story. Bottom line , I think people should read Cradle Hold because it has unique characters that keep you reading, a strong plot that keeps the story moving, and plenty of conflict to keep the story interesting. There are a lot of things happening in the story but it has a great theme that it doesn't matter what others think of you or how they see you, the important thing is that you are happy and having fun.