BASKETBALL

Sixth-graders Hank, Nathan, Jeremy, and Anabel form a lasting friendship over the course of the North Bridge Sixth Grade Travel Basketball season, the setting for this school sports story. Perhaps it is the distance of the third-person narrative that keeps each of these characters from coming alive, or perhaps it is their stock situations: Hank’s parents live for their son’s sports success; Nathan isn’t any good; Jeremy is a star, but unhappy in his new home with his grandmother; and Anabel’s family ignores her talents in favor of her brother’s. The influence of adults on pre-teen athletics is as much the subject as basketball itself. Although believable, the message takes over, to the detriment of plot and character development. The framing news article helps flesh out Anabel’s story, but the last chapter, explaining what happened right up into their senior year, seems tacked on. Readers might want more about the games, but those who play on sports teams will recognize these characters and be rooting for them. (Fiction 10-12)