Grant Newman- Summer Ball

Grant Newman
Summer Ball
Mike Lupica
Realistic Fiction
Holiday
p. 65

1. Right now, Danny, a star basketball player from Middletown, a town in Long Island, is at an elite basketball camp in Maine called Right Way. He's been thrust into a world of incredibly talented basketball players, and he is beginning to realize he's not all that tall. He, short for his age, is seeing kids who are 6 feet tall and who tower over him. He's beginning to see some adversity in the camp, as his new coach, Coach Powers, is not a kind man. He is not getting the playing time he wants, and he is not one of the coach's favorite players. Rasheed, a player from Maryland, whom Danny beat in the championship game last year, is much more appreciated by his coach. To Danny's disgust, the coach calls it "Rasheed's team". So, Danny is having some conflicts with the campers and his counselors, all well-known college coaches from around the country, and he's in a world of boys that are much taller than he is.

2. I like the book. The writing style is easy, and it's a fast book to read. Lupica really knows how to write through the eyes of a teenager, and the language he uses is easy to understand. The book's not going to win a Pulitzer Prize any time soon, but it's a fun book to read, especially for me, because I like basketball, and I play it. He really knows what he's talking about when it comes to basketball, and he describes it very well. It really seems like an awesome camp, despite Danny's dislike with it, so far. The basketball is very good, but Danny also seems to learn a couple things about himself through his roomate who is also not happy to be there.

3. A theme I've noticed in the book is adversity. Danny has had to deal with adversity ever since he got to the camp. Knowing only a couple people going to the camp, he is in a world that he is not familiar with, and also with a lot of incredibly talented basketball players. Danny knew he was talented before, but he knows he has to play even better to compete with these kids. He also has to deal with his coach's attitude, and his dislike of him as well. Danny has to settle for being the second-best point guard (a position in basketball) on the team, and he has to come off the bench, rather than starting which he is accustomed to. Dealing with all these new, hard things gives Danny trouble, but he has to deal with this new adversity throughout the novel.

4. My favorite character is Danny. Playing basketball, you can really tell all about what he is going through. Missing shots is always frustrating, and he goes through some of the same things basketball players our age go through as well. He's supposed to be our age, and he is really short for our age. He says he's 4'11". All these things go against him, but he's still incredibly good at basketball, and uses his dribbling ability as an equalizer. He's really fast as well, and he uses that as another advantage. He's a character that I can easily relate to, and you feel bad for him sometimes when he has to go through all the unfairness his coach and his surroundings present him.

5. My least-favorite character is his coach, Coach Powers. He's a really demanding coach, and he doesn't like Danny at all. I don't think that's a good way to deal with players that you don't like. He doesn't go about handling his team like a good coach should, he called the team one player's, and he really sets expectations about who he thinks is better than the others. He makes the players run, which most coaches do, but he's a mean person, especially to Danny, and he has a grudge on his family because his dad, Richie, who went on to play pro-basketball, did not go to his college, Providence. Coach Powers is my least-favorite character in Summer Ball, because of the way he treats Danny unfairly.

6. I've read the book before, so I'll comment on how well I remember the book. The book is a lot how I remember it, just a few details I didn't remember. The plot is pretty good, and I'll predict Danny somehow gets a break, and starts to play better.