Slam!

A lot of basketball lingo which I understood since I like basketball, very 90s slang (although kids will recognize a chunk of it since we still use a bunch of those words today). I will say I think some of the side stuff wasn’t developed very well, like Ice and dealing, just seemed like it was tied up in a bow.

Slam by Walter Dean Myers was, in my opinion, a brilliantly written book with great wording, connections to real life and Myers really gets the true feeling of the “hood” into the book. From beginning to end Myers keeps you captivated as well as astonished with each turning page. Not knowing what’s around the corner, he keeps you guessing, yet when you read the journey of this young man and his struggles you feel the emotion on his quest to do what he loves. On his journey he finds some struggles, but with friends to fall back on he should be fine, right? Wrong. In this book he has to fight tooth and nail and learn how to show respect as well as truly earn what he is going for.
Although fiction everything that occurs in this show more breathtaking book, although sad, could in some way happen in everyday life. It is apparent that Myers wants to capture more than just the game of basketball, he wants to capture what goes with it hand in hand. No matter how good you are or how good you become nothing stops for you. Everything keeps going.
No lies, only truth, but when the buzzer sounds at the end of this book will Slam have true friends or will he be all alone with his too good to be true game? show less

Greg, better known as Slam, struggles with balancing school, home life, and basketball. Greg is taken from his familiar school Carver, with all of his friends, and placed in Latimer, a magnet school. Greg feels that he is behind academically, but can beat anyone on the basketball court. Greg constantly struggles with succeeding on the classroom, but not on the court. He has to find a way to please his family, his teacher, his friends, and most importantly himself.

A great theme to be discussed about this book would be education vs. sports. This topic should get the students excited and engaged. The teacher can ask the students do they think your grades should hinder one from participating in a sport. Also the teacher can break the show more students into groups of for sports and for education. The students can find examples out of the book to argue that their side is the best. Also the class can discuss if it matters where someone comes from. The book deals heavily with Greg's home life and the things he faces. This will be a good discussion that will open the students eyes about not judging someone because of where they live. It is important to get to know that person for who they really are.

I really enjoyed this book. Because I enjoy basketball, I could really relate to the ideas and topics in the book. Walter Dean Myers did a good job in vividly describing the scenes in the book. I wish there was a sequel to this book. If there is someone should let me know. I really want to know what happens to Mtisha and Greg's relationship. Likewise, I want to know if Ice and Greg remain friends. There are a lot of things I want to know the answer to in this book, but overall I really enjoyed reading Slam. I would recommend this book to any sports fanatic who likes realistic fiction. show less

Slam, by Walter Dean Myers, was a very good book that I would rate 5 stars.
This book was about an African American kid from the "ghetto" of New York. His nickname is Slam because of his skill on the basketball court. Slam is going to a school with mainly white kids on a special program and finds himself facing a ton of problems in school with his grades, on the court, and out of school with friends and drugs.
Slam is fighting a constant battle and is going to have to give everything he’s got to come out on top.
This book was great! I felt that it had a really nice flow to it. The author would never drag on with one topic for too long. There was the perfect amount of description so that you would get a great picture but also never get show more bored. The book rolled from one event to the smoothly and consistently.
I also really enjoyed the “action” scenes in this book. What I mean by action is the scenes with the basketball happening in them. These scenes were perfectly paced and very descriptive. I always felt like I was watching the game courtside. I could hear the crowd and see the action very clearly.
This was an excellent book that I highly recommend reading. It had a great flow and awesome action. I would say that this book deserves 5 stars. show less

WALTER DEAN MYERS MONSTER
FICTION NEW YORK CIT High school student Greg Harris, also known as Slam, struggles With family, culture, and talent. Slam is a great basketball player, and basketball is his top priority; however, he has difficulty being a team player and is searching for his place in school and in his family. He has transferred from Carver, a primarily black, low educated school, and neighborhood school, to Latimer, a white, upper educated school, and magnet high school. As basketball season approaches, Slam thinks his life will improve. However between failing math and fighting with his coach, Slam cannot seem to keep his game together on or off the court. On the court, he grapples with the coach, a superstar attitude, show more teammate issues, and more. Off the court, he is trying to cope with a dying grandmother, his best friend possibly dealing drugs, a love interest, and an alcoholic father. With the help of family, friends, and an assistant coach, Slam begins to get the big picture.
WHY I READ THE BOOK
Because Walter Dean Myers does an outstanding job of creating characters with whom most adolescents could connect, Slam is an excellent novel for adolescents. The vivid and flowing language pushes readers quickly through the text. The dialogue and events in the novel will allow for discussion over a variety of topics and themes which surround most adolescents'daily routines show less

The book Slam! by Walter Dean Myers, Is about a 17 year old boy named Greg. He is a great basketball player one of the best at his school. On the court he was the greatest. Off the court his life was a mess. His Grandmother was on her death bed, his grades were horrible and starting to get worse and on top of that he finds out toward the end of the book that his best friend Ice that he has grown up with and knew all his life was dealing crack. Greg is in love with this girl named Mtisha and she helps him by tutoring him in math so he can stay on the basketball team. Slam tryouts and makes the basketball team but doesn’t get to play a lot because the couch thinks slam is a showboat. At the end of the book slam’s team and Ice’s team show more play each other in the state tournament. But after the game slam finds out Ice has been dealing crack and they get in a fight and it ends their friendship. This is a great book it has the same writing style as most books. show less

The novel "Slam" by Walter Dean Myers is a story about an African american teenage athlete by the name of Slam. The setting also doesn't change often. He lives in New York surrounded by drug dealers. Slam is a highschool student and a basketball player.
Slam is a talented basketball player with big dreams who lives for basketball and wants to play in the NBA, but his grades are falling and his parents don't have enough money to send him to a good school.

Although Slam thinks everyone else is trying to bring him down, he is determined to show that he can achieve great achievements. Slam wants to prove to everyone that he can make them all proud. He wants people to know him and what he should be known for, which is basketball.

Slam reminds show more me of myself that when he finds out that if he doesn’t bring his grades up, he will have to stop playing basketball. I can relate to this because when my grades were falling in school, my mother told me that if I didn’t improve soon, I wouldn’t be able to play sports either. Which would stink for me because I love sports. show less