Book review of the new book by sportswriter Mike Lupica

Summer Ball by Mike Lupica

When you're the smallest kid playing a big man's game, the challenges never stop—especially when your name is Danny Walker. Leading your travel team to the national championship may seem like a dream come true, but for Danny, being at the top just means the competition tries that much harder to knock him off. Now Danny's leaving Middletown for the summer and heading to Right Way basketball camp, where he's out of his element and maybe out of his league. The country's best ballers are in attendance, and Danny will need to raise his game if he wants to match up. But it won't be easy. Old rivals and new battles leave Danny wondering if he really has what it takes to stand tall.

Danny Walker is back in this sequel to Travel Team (2004). This installment takes Danny to a summer basketball camp, where the scrappy hero faces some of the country's best players in his age group. Early on, Danny finds himself spending a lot of time on the bench because his coach (a retired college coach) determines that he is too short for the game. Danny suspects, however, that the coach's antagonism may have more to do with an old grudge the coach holds against Danny's dad, a former basketball star. Eventually, though, Danny's tough-minded determination wins the day as he helps lead his team to victory. Lupica is at his best when he puts the reader right in the center of the action on the court. His game descriptions are fast, accurate, and exciting. Young sports-fiction fans will eat this up.

 

'Slammin'' story for the class!
I just read Summer Ball to my class, and let me tell you it was phenominal! My class was so excited to read this story every day. I started out reading a chapter a day but my class could not get enough! One day during a rainy recess my student's requested that we read the story as our activity for recess. The story is of a 13 year old boy who goes to a basketball summer camp. He has the stigma of being short, however it seems to have gone away by when he mentors a younger camper. Lupica captures the nerves of leaving home and the desire to be the best. Reading this to my homeroom has been a Slam Dunk!

Danny Walker's Biggest Fan
I am an 12 year old boy and I have read all of Mike Lupica's books. I couldn't wait until this one came out because Travel Team was my favorite and I knew that this was another book about Danny Walker. Mr. Lupica makes you feel as though the characters are real people and people you wish you could hang with. The stories make you want to keep reading until you find out how it all works out. I loved Summer Ball and wish I hadn't read it so fast.

So glad "Summer" is finally here
At last. It's great to have another book that the kids in our family actually want to read. They not only read these books they feel like they're a part of the team. Hope these characters stick around for a long time.

Summer Ball by Mike Lupica

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Posted: 06/01/2007  Popularity: 157