SUMMER BALL

Danny Walker returns in this sequel to the popular Travel Team (2004). Son of a former NBA player, Danny is considered too short to make it on a championship team, and even his coach suggests soccer as a better match for him. But Danny perseveres, goes to basketball camp and suffers abuse at the hands of Coach Powers and fellow players, until he proves himself, helps forge a viable team and becomes a hero in the inevitable Rocky-style climax. Underdog makes good is always a fun theme, and young readers will enjoy this one, including the exciting final game, but it’s less effective and less involving than Lupica’s previous books Heat (2006) and Miracle on 49th Street (2006). The staccato writing becomes annoying, the fragmented style contributing to a story that is insubstantial and predictable. Nevertheless, fans of Lupica and John Feinstein will devour this one. (Fiction. 10+)