Fourteen-year-old Mike is about to take what might become the winning shot for his travel basketball team when he reflects...
A teen with epilepsy has fantastic basketball skills, honed by years of relentless practice, but still struggles frequently with his condition.
Fourteen-year-old Mike is about to take what might become the winning shot for his travel basketball team when he reflects back on his 12 years of living with epilepsy. His path to success has veered around roadblocks: seizures that aren’t fully controlled by his medicines, bullying at school and prejudice on the part of his coach and a few other adults. With knowledgeable parents, a good doctor and a wise counselor, he’s doing well; this aspect rings true, since one of the authors, Simmel, has had epilepsy since early childhood and is also a member of the Harlem Wizards, a performing basketball team. Stock characters and heavy-handed asides reinforce the helpful message to readers but often intrude on the storytelling unnecessarily: “His mom also reminded him that it’s normal to be embarrassed or upset if kids didn’t understand his epilepsy.” This weakness diminishes the novel’s potential to reach a broad audience. A lengthy afterward provides a wealth of accurate and useful information for patients and their families.Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4338-1043-5
Page Count: 80
Publisher: Magination/American Psychological Association
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
A poignant and achingly beautiful narrative shedding light on the price of a violent sport.
An African American preteen finds his world upended when his father, a retired professional football player, displays symptoms of traumatic brain injury.
Twelve-year-old Zachariah “ZJ” Johnson Jr. loves his dad but wonders who he would be if his dad was not a famous athlete. Although his dad is in the spotlight, he is full of love and attention for ZJ and his friends. And fortunately, ZJ has three friends who see him and not his father’s shadow. “Zachariah 44” was a fearless player who suffered many concussions during his playing career. The changes in his father begin slowly and intermittently. Soon the headaches and memory lapses grow increasingly frequent and scary for ZJ and his mom, since the doctors do not seem to have any answers. As his dad slips further away, ZJ’s memories of better times grow closer than ever. Using spare and lyrical language for ZJ’s present-tense narration, which moves back and forth through time, Woodson skillfully portrays the confusion, fear, and sadness when a family member suffers from brain injury and the personality changes it brings. Readers see Zachariah Sr. through ZJ’s eyes and agonize with him as the strong, vibrant athlete begins to fade. The well-rounded secondary characters complete a mosaic of a loving African American family and their community of friends. The tale is set in the early 2000s, as awareness of chronic traumatic encephalopathy and its catastrophic consequences was beginning to emerge.
A poignant and achingly beautiful narrative shedding light on the price of a violent sport. (author's note) (Historical fiction. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-399-54543-6
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: June 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
A witty story about feeling good in your own skin that rings true emotionally.
A humorous coming-of-age novel with zits, separated parents, complicated friendships, and therapy dogs.
What does a volcano have in common with a pepperoni pizza? They both describe ways that 13-year-old Ellis Starr views her acne-prone skin, which she grades as being on the 99th percentile of the Acne Scale of Doom. Life gets more complicated when her zits swell together in fiery red blotches and the eighth grade capstone project looms over her head. Ellis likes to collect random scientific facts but can’t land on a subject that’s exciting enough. She feels like no one is really listening to her, including her parents (who can’t afford to divorce) and her best friend, Aggy (who has beautiful blemish-free skin). The stressors keep piling up, and the fiery red blemishes proliferate despite home remedies like toothpaste and special soap. When Ellis realizes that hanging out with Rocco, her Aunt Lydia’s golden retriever, helps her de-stress, she lands on her capstone subject—therapy dogs—and connects with her empathetic aunt, who serves as an insightful guide. Wyman authentically portrays multidimensional teens and adults, expertly pacing the intergenerational interactions among characters who care for each other but sometimes need to learn to listen to different perspectives. Ellis is white, and Aggy is of Indian and German descent.
A witty story about feeling good in your own skin that rings true emotionally. (author’s note) (Fiction. 9-13)Pub Date: March 10, 2026
ISBN: 9780374393359
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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