00014201

00014202

00014203

Narrated by JD Jackson. A somewhat pedestrian telling of Drew's coming-of-age on the basketball court: it's not enough to be good, you have to always work hard at it. But this book may have what it takes to appeal to the intended audience. I glazed over the many basketball scenes. JD Jackson voices this book with an authentic black urban vibe. ( )

Only 3 percent of high school basketball players go on to play for a college. Game by Walter Dean Myers is about one boy who thinks that he can beat those odds. It follows him all throughout senior year as he recounts the challenges of everything from annoying little sisters to dealing with racism in a modern day era.

Drew is seventeen and college is looming above him. He has always loved basketball, but now it is even more important. If he is to be able to afford an education, he needs a scholarship. He has never done well in school, and sports are his only hope. Game is about one teenager trying to survive school, his family, teammates and everything else life throws at him, all while trying to win the championship to get noticed by a college. He has been doing pretty well, too, until his coach, House starts to favor a new white kid, Thomas. Everyone notices, and Drew starts to get worried. Thomas is taking over all of Drew’s time in the game, and who is going to want him playing for them when he is always sitting on the bench? Thomas is threatening everything he has worked hard to build, and with the championship coming up, Drew really needs some playing time. It just might decide his future.

Game is designed as a teenage-boy read, and it is written like one, as well. Myers has clearly lost touch with the slang and speech pattern of today’s teens, and it shows in his book. There are many parts where the reader can’t understand what he is even talking about. Other than that, the book has more basketball scenes than anything else, and he doesn’t go out of his way to explain what is going on during them to the people who don’t play basketball themselves. Since those parts make up more than half of the book, most readers will be confused the entire time they are reading because of it. There really isn’t a plot to the book, and the ending doesn’t come as a surprise. None of the characters progress at all through the book, and they don’t have to overcome any obstacles or are presented with any challenges. All in all, don’t read this book unless you love basketball and don’t care about plot or anything but flat characters. ( )