Nicole Peterson (Children's Literature)
Drew Lawson is a pretty good basketball player on his high school team in Harlem. So good, in fact, that he hopes to go to college on a basketball scholarship. Drew has a lot on his mind with school, basketball, and a friend who is in jail. This book gives a realistic view of a high school senior from Harlem who wants to make it, but does not have the grades to go to college without a basketball scholarship. The realism includes having a friend’s brother who is in jail, talking about people on the streets who are selling stolen goods, working with homeless people, immigration, and attitudes facing youth living in Harlem. The vernacular is true to form, with Ebonics used throughout the book. This book could be inspirational to someone in similar circumstances. For those who do not have comparable experiences, this will give insight of the circumstances of others. 2008, HarperCollins Publishers, $16.99 and $17.89. Ages 12 to 18.

CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices 2009)
With basketball his ticket to college, Drew Lawson is more than a little frustrated when the new kid on his high school team, who hails from Prague of all places, begins to garner favoritism from the coach—at least that’s how Drew sees it. Drew only has to look on the street corners of his neighborhood to see examples of people who are out of the game. Maybe their dreams died; maybe they were just beaten by the challenges of life. He doesn’t want to be one of them, but his future depends on a college basketball scholarship, which in turn depends on his showing his best stuff during his final high school season—if the coach will let him. Walter Dean Myers’s narrative is so firmly grounded in Drew’s point of view that readers get incensed on Drew’s behalf, and only gradually realize, right along with him, that the coach is considering Drew’s best interests together with those of the team as a whole. The swift-paced basketball action will be a big draw for many readers in a book that also illuminates racial politics, family dynamics (especially between Drew and his lively sister), and male teen relationships—including Drew’s friendship with buddies on and off the team and his initially tense interactions with Tomas, the Czech player, that ultimately approach something like friendship. CCBC Category: Fiction for Young Adults. 2008, HarperTeen / HarperCollins, 218 pages, $16.99. Age 12 and older.

Ellen Simmons (Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 21, No. 3))
Drew Larson knows that a basketball scholarship is the only way he will get to college and out of Harlem. He also knows he has the skills and the game to do it. But as the season progresses toward the playoff games and state finals where college scouts take notice, the coach seems to limit Drew’s playing opportunities in favor of a new white player from the Czech Republic. Both the coach and his assistant seem to be trying to teach Drew some kind of lesson, even at the cost of losing games that Drew knows he could have pulled out if he wasn’t spending so much time on the bench. Drew has to make some tough choices in deciding how to handle his frustration, how to keep his cool and play his game, and whether to trust the coach’s decisions and the friendly overtures of the new player. Always in the back of his mind and in evidence all around him are young Harlem men, not so different from himself, who have given up on their dreams or made wrong choices and now face a future of just hanging on the street corners or ending up in jail. Slowly, even accidently at first, Drew learns that team play is how an individual talent fits into a program and being a team player can be as important as a person’s skills. The author knows basketball, and the court action moves briskly and provides a building tension in the individual games and in the championship race. Middle school and high school readers will most likely think the Harlem slang and basketball jargon “cool,” and they will surely relate to having to act under an adult’s seemingly uninspired decisions. Although the reader might have profited from a little more insight into the coach’s motivations, this is a good book for those who love sports or enjoy sports action. Fiction. Grades 7-12. 2008, HarperTeen, 218p., $17.89. Ages 12 to 18.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, December 15, 2007 (Vol. 75, No. 24))
Drew Lawson is a basketball player in Harlem with "big-money dreams." He's not about gangs or running the streets, just ball, and he hopes he has more to him than those lost to the streets, enough to carry him to a Division I university and on to the NBA. He just has to live up to his ability. But always, just below the surface, is Drew's awareness of the stoops and street corners where people fall behind on their games and lose interest in the score. Drew has a strong family, including a smart, pretty, sassy sister to keep him focused. Drew knows who he is, and he's intent on not blowing his chances. The author's knowledge of basketball shows in the expertly realized game sequences. There's plenty of basketball here, but, as in any good sports novel, more is going on than the sport; life is the game, and this is a sensitive portrait of a likable young man, his family, city and dreams. A good match with Myers's Monster (1999) and Slam (1996). 2008, HarperTeen, 224p, $16.99. Category: Fiction. Ages 11 up. Starred Review. © 2007 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Paula Rohrlick (KLIATT Review, January 2008 (Vol. 42, No. 1))
Harlem High School senior Drew, a star on his basketball team, dreams of playing college ball for a Division I college and making it to the NBA. His tough talk masks insecurity, however: “I was fronting strong, but I knew that ball wasn’t a done deal.” When Tomas, a new boy from Prague, joins the team, Drew feels threatened. He needs to learn to become a team player, and he has the example of his friend Tony, currently out on bail, to remind him of the importance of making the right decisions. Drew has to learn to trust others, too, and his experiences on the court play out against his study in English class of Othello, and Othello’s relationship with Iago. Myers, author of Monster and many other books for YAs, clearly knows basketball, and he nails the court action. The dialog and slang ring true, too, as do Drew’s seesawing emotions. A great choice for sports fans. Category: Hardcover Fiction. KLIATT Codes: JS*--Exceptional book, recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2008, HarperCollins, 240p., $16.99 and $17.89. Ages 12 to 18.

Elizabeth Bush (The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, May 2008 (Vol. 61, No. 9))
Coach House is fully aware that senior Drew Lawson is a fine basketball player, but he’s not delivering the kind of cooperative play that will get the team through a tough season: “We’re trying to get a team effort out there, and you’re going out for showtime at the Apollo.” House has a hatful of strategies to readjust Drew’s attitude, including giving him a lot of bench time to cogitate on his role in the team, and putting a transfer student, Czech immigrant Tomas, out on the floor in Drew’s place. It’s a toss-up whether Drew will come around to the coach’s way of thinking or throw away his season—and college prospects—in a fit of anger. Drew’s hunger for stardom and keyed-up resentment are credibly portrayed, and his grudgingly respectful relationship with talented newcomer Tomas is equally convincing. Drew’s introspective musings on Othello and on wasted lives in the ’hood are a bit heavy-handed, but they never hobble the solid plotting that presses steadily on to a satisfying conclusion. The young man may not be quite as good a player as he thought, but he’s good enough, and although he may not have landed a berth in a sexy college program, he’ll get a shot at some TV time—and an education. And he’s matured enough in his final high-school season to appreciate what his patience and hard work have achieved Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2006, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2008, HarperTeen, 218p., $17.89 and $16.99. Grades 6-10.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Fall 2008)
Drew is the star of his Harlem high school basketball team, and he's counting on that to carry him to college. When the coach starts favoring other players, including a new student from Prague, Drew must reevaluate his attitude and become a team player. The wealth of game details will appeal to basketball fans, and the Harlem setting is vividly described. Category: Older Fiction. 2008, HarperTeen, 218pp, 16.99, 17.89. Ages 12 to 14. Rating: 3: Recommended, satisfactory in style, content, and/or illustration.

David Goodale (VOYA, February 2008 (Vol. 30, No. 6))
High school senior Drew Lawson loves the game of basketball. He realizes that basketball is his ticket to college and possibly a future in the NBA. The game also shields Drew from the negative and sometimes dangerous influences that he sees all around him on the streets of Harlem. Drew must keep his cool during his senior year, however, when Coach Hauser begins to favor Tomas, a white player from Prague. Drew and Tomas develop an interesting dynamic of friendship and rivalry as the team progresses toward the state regional championship. In the end, Drew is able to showcase his skills and fulfill his dream of earning a scholarship to an excellent basketball school. This novel does not cover any new territory, and Drew is an unexciting protagonist. The threats to Drew's future never fully materialize, and Coach Hauser's motives for favoring Tomas are never made clear. The stories of secondary characters, such as Tomas and Drew's sister, Jocelyn, seem worth telling. There is little tension as the novel limps toward its predictable conclusion. On the positive side, it is a quick read, and reluctant readers might be willing to pick it up. Myers is definitely adept at writing about the game action, and sports fans will appreciate this aspect of the book. Purchase where the author's better efforts have been popular and where sports fiction that is heavy on game action is in demand. VOYA CODES: 3Q 4P J S (Readable without serious defects; Broad general YA appeal; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2008, HarperTeen, 240p., $16.99 and PLB $17.89. Ages 12 to 18.