Hot Hands

Lupica, Mike. Hot Hands. New York, NY: Penguin Group, 2007. 167 pages. (Sports Fiction)

On of the main characters in my story is Billy Raynor. He plays basketball in a rec. league at the YMCA. Billy is a shoot first, pass second point guard. He plays for the magic with one of the other main characters Lenny DeNardo, the best player on their team. Their coach, also Billy’s dad, is another main character. Him and his wife are just getting through a divorce, so it is very hard for him to remain a good “coach” and father to his three kids. The last main character is Ben, Billy’s younger brother a piano prodigy. This story mainly takes place on the basketball court and in his moms and dads house. The problem in this story is Billy is very selfish player and is becoming a bigger ball hog every game. His dream is for his Team* to win the championship. But when your not acting like a Team* player, there is no way your Team* can win. So he needs to step up and stop acting like a selfish ball hog or his Team* will never win the championship. It is not just on the court were Billy needs to improve, he needs to be a better family player too. By spending more time with mainly his brother Ben. Will Billy become a team player over all on the court and in his home, or will he face the fact that he is not a Team* player? Find out by reading the book. I liked this book so much because it was about basketball. I like books where I can relate to what is happening in the story by using similar stuff I have actually done. This book was a sport that requires a team effort. I liked this book, but u in some places it was to understand the content. If I were to give it an overall grade, it would be A 92.

*****- five players on a basketball team not just ONE!

BY: Sierra

Sleeping Freshman Never Lie

Lubar, David. Sleeping Freshman Never Lie. NY: Penguin Group 2005. 279 pages. (Realistic Fiction)

Scott Hudson is just starting high school. He has heard many rumors about being a freshman and none of them sound too good. Bullies are just one of the many obstacles Scott has to take on, but when one of his friends moves to Texas, he gets in a fight with the other one, and his mom announces that she is having a baby, the world Scott knew comes crashing down around him. He decides to write a guide to high school for his sibling-to-be, just to make life easier on him. Scott also gets dragged into many things involuntarily. Some of these things, just to mention a few, are writing for the school paper, getting involved with student council, and volunteering for the tech crew of the play. All these things not only overwhelm him, but also cause lack of sleep. All of a sudden a weirdly girl shows up at school, with pins and bracelets on every square inch of her body. Her name is Lee. She shares Scott’s love of extraordinary poems and stories, and the two start to get to know. There is also one Wesley Cobble who drifts into the picture. Wesley is a senior who protects Scott from bullies and gives him rides everywhere, using a different vehicle every time. Suspicious? But as Scott gets to know the two better, he decides what real friendship is, and where his friendship lies.

I really liked this book because of the climaxes that happen not only at the end of the story, but other places in the story as well. It is also an interesting book because you can imagine it happening to anyone in real life as well. The author combines real life experiences with fiction making this story believable and great. The story also combines great humor with wise tips and adventure. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read any book.

Reviewed by San Andreas

Danger.com: @6//Bad Intent

Cray, Jordan. Danger.com: @6//Bad Intent/. NY: Aladdin Paperbacks, 1998. 225 pages. (Thriller)

The book that I read was called Danger.com: @6//Bad Intent/. The main characters are Brian Rittenhouse, Dawn Sedaris, Lobo (who was Brian as well), and Mal Bouchard. The story takes place at their high school, Bloomfield High. The problem they face was that some jocks at their school shot their coach and are on trial for it. There was also strange stuff going on. This stuff was like people are changing and people are dying. People are changing by going crazy; in the story it says “Bloomfield was getting more full of psychos every day.” People are committing suicide and people are killing other people. The characters go about solving the problem by figuring out facts on who did what at their school.  Some other interesting facts are that Brian is in love with Dawn, but Dawn is one of the popular girls who only talks to nerds, like Brian, when they need help. 

I loved this book, and the series it’s in. I would recommend this book to people because it is a very good book and its one of those stories where it makes you wants to keep reading. If you like mystery stories then this is a book to read. I would also check out the Danger.com series.

Review by: Grace 

Ana’s Story a Journey of Hope

Bush, Jenna. Ana’s Story a Journey of Hope. NY: Harper Collins, 2007. 290 pages. (Nonfiction)

She is 17. She has been abused. She has a child. She is HIV positive.

Her name was Ana and this is her story. The day she was born she was infected with HIV which was transferred from her 16 year old mother. She barely remembers her mother who died when Ana was only three. From there on her childhood was a blur of secrets and very faint memories. She had to keep secrets about her illness and her abuse. She tried hard to forget. She has been from home to home not finding love and safety. When she meets a boy Berto she found both. She opens up her heart and mind to Berto. She has hope and a new beginning.

I loved this book it seems like it could be true even though it was fictional. It could be happening to anyone around us. It kills me inside that people go through this daily. Some people don’t have the guts to say something and stay in that abuse at least Ana has a happy ending.

Reviewed by: x0oSo0x

The Outsiders

Hinton,S.C. The Outsiders. New York: Penguin Putnam Inc, 2003. 180 pages. (Realistic Fiction)

The Outsiders is about a 14 year old boy named Ponyboy. His parents died when he was young, so he lives with his brothers Darry and his close brother Sodapop. Darry is the oldest, and Sodapop is the middle child. They are all part of a gang called the Greasers, and they are always getting into fights with the Socs. One night Ponyboy and Johnny, a close friend of Ponyboy’s and also in the Greasers gang, were at the park and the Socs jumped them. Usually they were just beat up, but that night, things got way too out of hand.

For me, this book was a little weird, but I guess it was like that because it was very real. My favorite character was probably Dally because he is very dangerous and outgoing, and he made the book much more interesting than if he wasn’t in it. I think that the author did an extremely good job writing it, especially since she was just 16 at the time. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves something very suspenseful.

Reviewed by:(LESH)