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About Hoops Of Steel
From School Library Journal Grade 9 Up—Love of basketball and Honors English, and the surrogate parenting of neighbor Granny Dwyer, help high school senior Jackson O'Connell deal with the breakup of his family, being ostracized at school, and having second-string status on his varsity team. Haunted by his father's alcoholism, which led to a climactic night of violence and self-defense, Jackson is labeled "Mr. Killer" by wary classmates. Estranged from his parents and living with Granny Dwyer, he hangs out on weekends with Danny and other new friends on rival Shoreview's basketball team. As the boys wisecrack and compete on Danny's backyard "High Court," they banter about racial attitudes, their rich versus poor New Jersey towns, girls and sex, acne and body odor, and their basketball dreams. When Ivory Lewis, an alluring, manipulative classmate, betrays Jackson's new friend, Thaddeus, and falsely accuses a favorite teacher of sexual advances, Jackson learns the importance of loyalty and forgiveness. His narrative is candid, witty, and full of angst as he struggles to understand Danny's racist father; wonders if he can trust his own father's letter of apology; wavers in his attraction to smart, perceptive Kelly; and anxiously waits for the coach to give him more playing time. Although the alcoholism and domestic violence in Jackson's family are believably tragic, the circumstances of the night that finally broke up his family seem unnecessarily bizarre. Nonetheless, sports quotes that begin chapters, lively on-court descriptions, crisp dialogue, and an assertive but reflective narrator will attract teen readers.—Gerry Larson, Durham School of the Arts, NC Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Product Description Basketball is Jackson O’Connell’s life. Much more than a game, it allows him to cross barriers of class and race, and make new friends from the rival high school. Driven by his passion for hoops, he can almost forget his alcoholic father and a night of violence that tore his family apart. Jackson’s senior year is plagued by volcanic zits, girl shyness, and rumors that isolate him from most of the school. And when team politics keep him off the starting lineup of the basketball team, his hopes for a scholarship plummet like an airball. His self-confidence in tatters, Jackson makes errors on and off the court that almost cost him a friend and the girl of his dreams. With no rulebook to follow, Jackson must learn how to rebound from injustice and anger . . . and start shooting from the heart. From Booklist In the year since his family was torn apart by domestic violence, high-school-senior Jackson O'Connell has tried to keep his life on track. He is helped by Granny Dwyer, a neighbor who took him in and provides a stable home, and by his passion for playing basketball. Then a coach derails his basketball plans, and over the course of the school year, Jackson wrestles with his anger and insecurity. In his debut novel for youth, Foley includes too many troubling subplots that require deeper treatments. Particularly undeveloped are story lines about Jackson's favorite teacher, who is accused of misconduct with a student, and about the racial tension on the basketball court, which is exacerbated by a player's bigoted father, who uses the n-word. What does feel fully realized here are the exciting basketball scenes and the small moments that reveal Jackson's fragile self-confidence, which is rocked nearly as much by his "volcanic" acne as it is by the emotional scars his family has left. Gillian Engberg Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Review .,." an ideal selection for sports fiction aimed at older teens." "Sports quotes that begin chapters, lively on-court descriptions, crisp dialogue, and an assertive but reflective narrator will attract teen readers." About the Author John Foley is a high school teacher in Washington State. He prev
