Language: G (1 swears, 0 ‘f’); Mature Content: ; Violence:
BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ESSENTIAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
Walthorne North (rich) and Walthorne South (not) might only be middle schools, but when it comes to basketball, the rival teams might as well be professionals for all the pressure that is applied to the players. Pressured, possibly, from someone to play injured; pressure from a parent to succeed even though the player is sizing out of basketball; pressure to “save the family” by making it to the NBA. Chatter on the students’ chat board only fuels the rivalry. Also Alfie, a promising sports reporter and the game caller, inadvertently fans the flames by making assumptions that may not be backed up by facts.
At first I thought it was odd that funny guy Greenwald was branching into sports books. But I say more the merrier. Especially as an alternative to the prolific, but cold Lupica. Greenwald crafts great stories and this is no different. It is a bit more difficult to immerse into because much of the action takes places through texts, chat boards, articles, and such. Al of the main characters are white.
Cindy, Library Teacher, MLS
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