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December 2, 2013
For 15-year-old Derrick "D-Bow" Bowen, basketball is life. A freshman at an Indianapolis high school, he dreams of being a starting point guard and eventually playing in the NBA. Everyone has an opinion about how Derrick should reach those goals. The team's no-nonsense coach is determined to keep Derrick "pinned to the pine," training him all hours to help the team make it to State. Derrick's parents disagree about whether he should transfer to an academy in the suburbs, and Derrick's scheming Uncle Kid is attempting to compensate for his own failed basketball career through Derrick. Then there are Derrick's sophisticated crush, Jasmine, and his grounded best friend Wes who want him to widen his horizons beyond the court. First in a planned four-book series covering Derrick's four years of high school, Waltman's (Learning the Game) novel is packed with basketball jargon and action, but also impressively multifaceted, as it examines neighborhood rivalries, the tremendous pressures that come with making one's first adult decisions, and the values of both teamwork and individuality. Ages 14âup.

October 1, 2013
A kid who's got the moves needs the smarts to go with them. Derrick may be just 15 and only entering high school, but Division I and even NBA dreams are not unrealistic--but first he has to make the starting squad at Marion East, the mostly black high school in his inner-city Indianapolis neighborhood. This means impressing the coach that his uncle blames for scotching his own NBA dreams years earlier. Readers won't be as surprised as Derrick is when he is not automatically named to the starting five or when the coach insists that he stop relying on his dunk and practice shooting from a distance--and start learning how to be part of a team. Resentful, Derrick considers transferring to snooty Hamilton Academy, where he's being energetically recruited and where his underemployed father has been promised a full-time custodian job. Waltman's series opener (first of a planned four) features plenty of basketball action fueled by hoops slang that will set basketball-mad readers right onto the court. Derrick's easy, colloquial narration occasionally leaves the court for scenes at home, where his parents struggle to make ends meet, and in school, where he cluelessly woos the beautiful Jasmine. Waltman's lovingly sketched Indianapolis lends the tale further authenticity. The author avoids slam-dunk answers, leaving readers poised for the next book. Like Derrick, this series is off to a promising high school career. (Fiction. 12-18)

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January 1, 2014

Gr 7 Up-Derrick Bowen is ready to be the star of his high school basketball team. He was a hero in middle school, but senior Nick Starks isn't about to concede his starting point-guard position. Even when Derrick outperforms him, the coach continues to start Nick, and uses Derrick to sub for other starters. Derrick's uncle, a former Marion East player who still blames Coach Bolden for getting in the way of his own basketball dreams, tries to convince his nephew to transfer to Hamilton Academy, an elite school in the Indianapolis suburbs that is actively recruiting the 6-foot, 3-inch inner-city freshman. Derrick is tempted, especially since Hamilton is including a job offer for his dad. But as he gets to know Coach Bolden better, Derrick realizes that the old coach is pushing him out of his comfort zone to make him a better player. After a sloppy start to their season, the Marion East guys finally accept what Bolden has been trying to teach them: that as long as they're looking for individual glory, they're never going to play their best. The group slowly meshes into a team, and Derrick comes to appreciate the deeper camaraderie with his teammates over the flash that Hamilton offers. Readers will appreciate the fully fleshed-out characters and authentic dialogue. The blend of sports action and relationships holds tremendous appeal for basketball fans and reluctant readers, although those who are not familiar with the game may have trouble understanding the jargon. A solid choice for fans of Paul Volponi and Walter Dean Myers.-Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA

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