Athlete vs. Mathlete

Twins Owen and Russell are nothing alike. They don't look alike, they don't share friends, and they certainly don't share interests. Owen shares his dad's love of basketball and is serious about his place on the team. Russell is a serious student and leader of his school's Masters of the Mind team.

But everything changes in seventh grade, starting with a new coach. He's impressed with Russell's height and tells him to try out for the team. To everyone's surprise, he makes the cut. Now Owen is struggling against jealousy, as Russell turns out to have some natural abilities. Russell is worried about losing his old friends and his Masters of the Mind team, but is finding out he enjoys basketball more than he expected. Can the brothers show more reconcile their differences and work together as a winning team, or will they lose on and off the court?

Now this is a book that takes a pretty basic plot, that's been done plenty of times, and turns it on its head in an awesome way. I loved that the author didn't descent into stereotypes, but kept the story realistic. Russell does have some amazing natural abilities, but he is also really bad at other parts of the game and needs to work hard to get into good physical condition. Owen doesn't suddenly turn out to have some amazing abilities elsewhere. It just so happens that Russell is good at academics and sports and Owen is really only good at sports. Owen isn't a very likable character; he's mean, overbearing, and selfish, but he's completely realistic in his behavior and the alternating viewpoints show how he got to the point of justifying the things he did, even when he knew they were wrong. Russell is a bit too good to believe sometimes, but he becomes a bit more human by the end.

Verdict: This is a book that will fly off the shelves; funny, realistic, school drama, sports, there's something for everyone. I highly recommend it and am looking forward to adding the sequel, Double Dribble, as well.

ISBN: 9781599909158; Published February 2013 by Bloomsbury; ARC provided by publisher; Added to the library's order list. show less

I wasn't really expecting to love this book, but I ended up finding it hard to put down. It flows. Short, engaging, 2 perspectives that are really good at being 2 perspectives, and strong family dynamics for the win. Had some funny moments, had some genuine celebration of both word games and basketball. Great fun!

Excellent: flawed characters who are likeable, lessons learned without being preachy, "brains and brawn" shown as complementary, not exclusive, attributes and in a non-stereotypical way. I really don't like sports, including basketball, and I don't like reading sports books, but I really enjoyed this book. One to read with my kids when they get older (upper elementary and middle school aged).

Basketball is the least represented sport in children's literature, and this book fits the bill perfectly. Besides [a: Mike Lupica|2607|Mike Lupica|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1260484461p2/2607.jpg] books, there isn't much else out there.

This one is fun because it's about two fraternal twin brothers who are exact opposites. One is an athlete and one is a brainiac. Owen is the star in his family. He loves basketball like his dad. Unfortunately, there's a new coach and he's making all previous team players tryout like everyone else. Owen is annoyed. But what's more annoying is the coach seeing his tall brother and ordering him to tryout. Aside from Russell having zero athletic ability, he's the captain of the Master of the Minds show more team and he's not interested in playing sports.

In order to save his brother from embarrassment, Owen and his dad agree to coach Russell. It's not until Russell gets new gym clothes and a pair of rockin Nikes that he starts to get a twinge of excitement about the tryouts. Then, he figures out that even though he can't dribble worth a darn, he's good at blocking shots. Russell makes the team and Owen begins to feel overshadowed by his brother. His jealousy reaches critical mass, leading to actions that irritate everyone, including his coach, teammates, Russell and his parents. Russell is ready to quick basketball. But the team needs him. Owen has to change his attitude, apologize, and get his brother back on the team.

This book should be a winner with all kids who like sports. show less

This is a really nice story about two brothers who are in middle school and are trying to figure out how they fit in. They both think they know their roles (one is an athlete and one is a scholar) until a new basketball coach shakes things up. I think it has a good message and would be nice paired up with "The Fourteenth Goldfish" by Jennifer Holm or "Goodbye Stranger" by Rebecca Stead, which also have themes of finding where you belong in middle school.

Great for sports fans who have gone through the typical books of the genre.

it was a great book about two siblings using each others strengths and weaknesses to both win.