Lizzy Legend

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About Lizzy Legend

Product Description “Ludicrous—and a whole lot of fun…an enjoyable sports fantasy.” —Kirkus Reviews “Infused with silliness and sugar, but the banter is fast and sassy…Funny and believable.” —BCCB A basketball-loving girl makes a wish to never miss a basket in this charming middle grade novel that pushes girl power to the max! Lizzy Trudeaux loves basketball. She doesn’t have much by way of money, but she has access to the community court and a worn ball named Ginger, and she practices constantly. After fighting to join the boys’ team at her school, Lizzy is finally given the opportunity to show off her hard-earned skills. When she answers what she believes is another bill-collecting phone call, Lizzy receives a magical wish: the ability to sink every shot. Pure Swish. Now eviscerating the competition in the boys’ league is small potatoes—she has the skills to dominate in the NBA. With the help of her BFF Toby and some viral video action, Lizzy goes all the way to the Philadelphia Bells’s starting lineup, making history and taking names. Then, just as she’s about to go face-to-face with her hero, the best player on the planet, things begin to fall apart. But Lizzy isn’t a quitter and she’ll play her hardest for the love of the game. From School Library Journal Gr 4-6-Lizzy's worked harder than anyone else at being the best basketball player for most of her 13 years, spending hours each day practicing on the rundown court outside her apartment. All the work pays off when Lizzy makes it onto her school's eighth-grade boys basketball team and quickly proves herself to be the MVP. Meanwhile, she is also dealing with bill collectors calling constantly to get a hold of her father. At first, upon receiving a strange call from a robot, Lizzy thinks it's someone else looking for her dad, but when the robot asks her what her wish is, she blurts the first thing she can think of: to never miss another basketball shot. When the fantastical wish actually comes true, her life is shot into a completely new orbit, she's winning games, and she ultimately gets recruited for an NBA team! The story is complete fantasy and even a bit goofball, but Lizzy is a likable character. She continually works hard and stays focused on her goals, even when things get difficult. VERDICT An entertaining story with a positive message about girls in sports.-Terry Ann Lawler, Burton Barr Library, Phoenixα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. Review "The narrative, broken into four "Quarters," takes place in the not-too-distant past, with Lizzy narrating engagingly from the present. It's ludicrous—and a whole lot of fun . . . an enjoyable sports fantasy" -- Kirkus Reviews ― October 1, 2018 "the banter is fast and sassy, and chapter inserts in which myriad voices breathlessly create her legend are funny and believable. This sports fantasy will give middle-graders something to dream about while waiting for the cell to ping." -- BCCB "Hand to the kids who can’t stop arguing over Steph versus LeBron" -- Booklist "An entertaining story with a positive message about girls in sports." -- School Library Journal "This is a heartwarming book that shows readers more than one side of basketball. Readers will fall in love with Lizzy’s sidekick/best friend Toby and his attempts to be her “agent.” A great addition to any middle school sports section!" -- School Library Connection About the Author Matthew Ross Smith is an author, musician, and writing professor from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For more, including animated writing tutorials you can share with your students, visit him at Matthew-Ross-Smith.com. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Lizzy Legend