A deft, understated sports thriller with a solid moral compass.
Abdul-Jabbar and Obstfeld (Sasquatch in the Paint, 2013) team up for another exploration of the intersection of sports and life conduct.
Chris is a good, quiet kid who likes to keep his head down. As he says, “I was friendly to everyone but friends with no one.” Still, if the machinery of thought made much noise, Chris would be a one-man band. For a 13-year-old, he does considerable shrewd, high-ground thinking, as do his friends (“You know,” one says, “not talking about things doesn’t actually make them disappear”). Where it really shows itself is on the basketball court, where he plays a savvy, court-wise game. Enter his brother, Jax, a golden boy who appears to have fallen from the pedestal upon which his well-intentioned parents have placed him, and Chris’ still waters are about to feel a hefty stone break their surface. Add his classmate Brooke, a sharp girl with plenty of her own baggage, and a waterspout is in the making. The authors’ light hand allows readers to inhabit the characters; to taste the value of respect, dignity and vulnerability; and to embrace the elemental joy of sports—all without ever feeling like they are being tube fed. The shifting structure of the story and a clever series of blind alleys keep readers on tenterhooks.
A deft, understated sports thriller with a solid moral compass. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4231-7871-2
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2014
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship.
A young tennis champion becomes the target of revenge.
In this sequel to Legacy and the Queen (2019), Legacy Petrin and her friends Javi and Pippa have returned to Legacy’s home province and the orphanage run by her father. With her friends’ help, she is in training to defend her championship when they discover that another player, operating under the protection of High Consul Silla, is presenting herself as Legacy. She is so convincing that the real Legacy is accused of being an imitation. False Legacy has become a hero to the masses, further strengthening Silla’s hold, and it becomes imperative to uncover and defeat her. If Legacy is to win again, she must play her imposter while disguised as someone else. Winning at tennis is not just about money and fame, but resisting Silla’s plans to send more young people into brutal mines with little hope of better lives. Legacy will have to overcome her fears and find the magic that allowed her to claim victory in the past. This story, with its elements of sports, fantasy, and social consciousness that highlight tensions between the powerful and those they prey upon, successfully continues the series conceived by late basketball superstar Bryant. As before, the tennis matches are depicted with pace and spirit. Legacy and Javi have brown skin; most other characters default to White.
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-949520-19-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Granity Studios
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
A riddling, sporting adventure and a story of true friendship.
“Like three sides of the same triangle, none of us can imagine what life would be like if we weren’t together.”
Sarah, West, and Hannah have been an intrepid trio since they first met. They bring their passion for math and numbers and their perfectly aligned strengths to solving escape rooms. With a foreclosure looming on Sarah’s family home—which would mean moving to live with her grandparents in Michigan—the only solution is to seek out the rumored Triplet Treasure belonging to Hans, Stefan, and Karl Stein. The treasure is supposedly hidden in a long-abandoned fun house they built in the 1950s. To outmaneuver the triplets’ ingenious riddles and tricks, the friends will need to overcome personal obstacles and unlock the doors within themselves. While the stakes are high, it’s reassuring for readers to know that Sarah’s family has a place to go, even if it’s far away from her friends. Early chapters detail the health challenges faced by Sarah’s father; his chronic illness has placed a strain on the family’s finances. Currie sets up a moving metaphor: Sarah’s enthusiasm for escape rooms becomes a means of tackling the unsolvable puzzle that has left her parent confined to his own inescapable room. This topic is treated with a gentle touch, but Sarah’s emotional depths could have been explored more deeply; West’s and Hannah’s emotional arcs are fulfilling, however. Main characters read white.
A riddling, sporting adventure and a story of true friendship. (Mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781728259536
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Sourcebooks Young Readers
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
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