Basketball (or Something Like It)

February 7, 2005
Anyone who has experienced the pressures of being a part of a traveling sports team can identify with the characters in this contemporary novel set in an affluent community. Here, Baskin (What Every Girl Knows
) spotlights three members (and the little sister of a fourth) of the not-so-successful North Bridge Panthers, a sixth-grade travel basketball team, who express their worries and hopes both on and off the court in alternating third-person narratives. Some team members, like Hank, play ball mostly to please their parents. Others, like Jeremy (who lives with his grandmother after being abandoned by his father) and Nathan (whose uncle turned to drugs after playing pro ball) set out to prove something to themselves by joining the team. Then there's Anabel, a gifted basketball player herself, who sits in the bleachers and offers readers a wider perspective through her observations of some rather nasty exchanges among players, refs, coaches and parents. Enduring a series of humiliating losses, a string of coaches who quit or are fired, and irate mothers and fathers, the North Bridge team gets little opportunity to improve their skills, but they do learn something about friendship, trust and loyalty during the course of the season. Without coming off as heavy-handed, this highly accessible novel takes a hard, honest look at society's obsession with sports and its effect on young athletes. The author's gentle criticism of elitist leagues, coaching ethics and overzealous parents will leave a lasting impression on readers. Ages 9-12.

February 1, 2005
Gr 5-8 -Many young basketball players will relate to this story about parents living vicariously through their children's athletic endeavors. In alternating chapters, four sixth graders tell their own stories about how sports affects their lives. Hank is made miserable by the pressure and expectations placed on him by his parents. Nathan desperately wants to play and lies in order to try out for the team because his father's agenda doesn't include sports. Annabel is brushed aside by her father, whose focus is on her brother and his playing time. Jeremy, the best player on the team, has been dumped at his grandmother's by his father's girlfriend. The day these four find themselves in detention together, where they learn about one another's situations, is the turning point of the novel. In the final game of the season, Jeremy's plan to run away is thwarted by a true gesture of friendship from Hank. Hank's parents make an unrealistic turnabout, admiring their son's plot to sit the bench so Jeremy can play. Nathan and his family reconcile their differences about sports, and Annabel becomes the star of the girl's high school basketball team. Even though the plot is predictable, the author's point comes through loud and clear." -Julie Webb, Shelby County High School, Shelbyville, KY"

Copyright 2005 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2005
Gr. 6-9. Baskin's latest, the story of a sixth-grade traveling basketball team based in an affluent suburb, smoothly unfolds through the perspectives of four central characters--Jeremy, Anabel, Nathan, and Hank--who meet when they serve detention together. The teammates' basketball skills vary, but each manages to triumph in some way. Meanwhile, the team's fortunes are hindered by idiotic, foul-mouthed, super-competitive parents who undermine one coach after another. The final chapters focus on the players' friendship through high school and their relationship with the game, which yields a surprise or two at the end. This is a surefire hit--a sports book with a larger focus, told in an original way.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2005
This story of a sixth-grade traveling basketball team from an affluent town deals with parental involvement in team sports. In alternating narratives, four teammates reveal how parental pressure or apathy affects their lives and hinders the team. The likable characters bond over their family problems, which ultimately empowers each of them. A final chapter follows up on the four in high school.

(Copyright 2005 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)