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The Perfect Shot

3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 · rating details · 224 ratings · 64 reviews

Someone has murdered Brian's girlfriend, Amanda. The police think it was her father. Brian isn't so sure. But everyone he knows is telling him to move on, get over it, focus on the present. Focus on basketball. Focus on hitting that perfect shot. Brian hopes that the system will work for Amanda and her father. An innocent man couldn't be wrongly convicted, could he? But th...more

Hardcover, 360 pages

Published 2006 by Carolrhoda Books (first published January 1st 2005)

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Feb 06, 2013 Cara is currently reading it

When I first picked up the book, The Perfect Shot, by Elaine Marie Alphin, I expected it to be a decent book mainly about basketball, which I don’t care much for. Boy was I wrong! Alphin blew my expectations out of the water with this novel. Not only was it action packed and kept me guessing until the end, I actually enjoyed the basketball part of the book! The Perfect Shot would mainly be for young adult audiences who enjoy sports and crime/thriller books. Now, let’s explore more of the plot.
T...more When I first picked up the book, The Perfect Shot, by Elaine Marie Alphin, I expected it to be a decent book mainly about basketball, which I don’t care much for. Boy was I wrong! Alphin blew my expectations out of the water with this novel. Not only was it action packed and kept me guessing until the end, I actually enjoyed the basketball part of the book! The Perfect Shot would mainly be for young adult audiences who enjoy sports and crime/thriller books. Now, let’s explore more of the plot.
The story begins by introducing us to the main character: Brian. He’s one of the most hardworking athletes on the basketball team, but he cannot make that perfect shot like his best friend and teammate, Julius. Eight months ago, his girlfriend Amanda, her brother Cory, and their mother were murdered in their garage on a summer afternoon. Brian is consumed with guilt because that same day, Amanda had asked Brian if she and Cory could play ball with him. Brian turned her down, saying he needed time to play with his pals. He never even heard the gunshots over the constant drawl of the orange ball bouncing on the concrete. Bang. Bang. Bang. Three perfect shots. When the police came to talk to Brian, he says he was focused on his shooting and didn’t really see anything out of the ordinary. At the end of the interview, Brian adds that he saw a jogger in a gray sweatshirt. He doesn’t know if it means anything, but he thought they should check into it. Instead it ends up being Amanda’s father who is the main suspect in the murder of his entire family. When Brian is assigned a project in history class on Leo Frank, an innocent man who was wrongly convicted and hanged for a murder he didn’t commit, it gets him thinking about the case. But Brian doesn’t want to think about it. He wants to drown out all of his feelings in basketball, because it is just too much. Worse still, Julius, Brian’s best friend who also happens to be black, was arrested for being a black kid in the wrong place at the wrong time. Brian has to face it that the justice system is flawed.
What I liked most about this book is that it shows the difference between making the choice that will keep you safe and making the choice that is right. I also liked the fact that I never knew who the real killer would be until the end. The constant action keeps you on your toes and I wanted to keep reading from the second I picked it up. Finally, I loved how it showed the interactions between jocks and outcasts improving once they finally understand each other. I would definitely recommend this book to anybody who likes sports and action thrillers. The book ended up being exciting and relatable to the common teenager, whether they are a jock, an outcast, or somebody in-between. This modern book exceeded my expectations of a shallow book about sports and turned it into a book that really made me think and taught me to always do the right thing, even if it seems dangerous or risky. We must live our life doing things that make us happy and live for the moment.
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Mar 07, 2012 Tj Long rated it 4 of 5 stars

The author's purpose in writing this book is to expose issues in civil rights and in the judicial system while showing the impact that the death of a friend has on a high school kid. Brian's girlfriend Amanda, her little sister, and her mother were all murdered in their garage and Amanda's father was instantly accused for the murders. Brians friend Julius, who is the star of the basketball team, gets arrested for the crime of "Driving While Black" in a white neighborhood.

I think that one of the...more

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Jan 12, 2012 Jderdena rated it 4 of 5 stars

I thought this book was very interesting because it showed how keeping balance between things like sports and schoolwork or just sports and life in general is very important. In this book, the main character Brian only focuses on basketball after his girlfriend, her brother, and her mom are murdered. Then when a history project comes up about what we can learn from history he actually tries to do it to be able to stay on the basketball team and during that time he realizes how unfair the justice...more

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Aug 28, 2011 Jonah rated it 5 of 5 stars

The story The Perfect Shot by Elaine Marie Alphin has to be one of the best books I’ve read so far in my lifetime. This book had me hooked from the very beginning. I really enjoyed how Alphin keeps her readers guessing throughout most of the book. The basketball playing, high school characters of the story especially grabbed my attention because of how much I enjoy basketball. The fact that this book was also a mystery was just a plus for me. I’d recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading...more The story The Perfect Shot by Elaine Marie Alphin has to be one of the best books I’ve read so far in my lifetime. This book had me hooked from the very beginning. I really enjoyed how Alphin keeps her readers guessing throughout most of the book. The basketball playing, high school characters of the story especially grabbed my attention because of how much I enjoy basketball. The fact that this book was also a mystery was just a plus for me. I’d recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading mystery books or anyone who likes basketball.
The Perfect Shot follows the story of the high school basketball team captain, Brian. The author introduces Brian almost a year after the unexpected murder of his girlfriend, Amanda, and her family. At this point, Brian is still shaken by the tragedy. All he can think about is how he could have saved Amanda and her little brother by letting them play basketball with him and his friends. Brian’s only outlet away from thinking about Amanda is playing basketball. Though his basketball skills have shown no decline, his life outside of basketball is almost non-existent. As the story progresses on, Brian finds out that Amanda’s father is being convicted of the murder of her family. Knowing that it couldn’t have possible been Amanda’s father, Brian thinks back to that unfortunate day to try to find any kind of evidence to prove her father’s innocence. After contemplating for awhile, Brian remembers a possible suspect that passed him while he was playing basketball in his driveway. As Amanda’s father’s case closes, Brian has to decide whether or not to submit the possible evidence to the police.
One main recurring theme throughout the story was to not hold in your thoughts or emotions. New secrets are discovered through almost every part of the story. These secrets dramatically change the opinions of others and the events that follow. Towards the middle of the story, Brian’s history project partner reveals to Brian that he is gay. Brian’s partner, Todd, has been an outcast ever since Brian could remember. After Brian discovers this, he is more understanding towards Todd and learns to trust him. Another case of revealing secrets comes from another friend of Brian’s named Julius. Julius is a black high school student, Brian’s best friend, and also the star player on the basketball team. After Julius gets in trouble one night for driving in a white neighborhood, he brought into custody and is never the same afterwards. Later on, he confesses to Brian that he was mistreated by the police while in jail. After he learns of this, Brian is able to help Julius turn back into the best friend that he has come to know. The last case of hidden secrets comes from Brian himself. Could Brian’s potential suspect be the actual killer in the case of Amanda and her family’s murder? Though Brian’s dad said that it is nothing important, Brian has a feeling that it will be. So now he faced with the choice of whether or not to offer his piece of evidence just before Amanda’s father’s case reaches its verdict. He has to make a choice now, or be silenced forever.(less)

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Jan 11, 2011 Mspringman added it

This book was about a young boy named Brian Hammett whose girlfriend, Amanda Daines, was shot and killed along with her brother Cory and mother last summer. Brian loses himself in his basketball, choosing to block out grades and thoughts of Amanda because they are too painful and remind him of her. But it's not easy, because the murder trial is all over the news, and what's worse, the police are targeting Amanda's father, a policeman. Brian isn't sure of the real killer until the end, but he kno...more

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May 14, 2009 Erin Sterling rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2009, story, character, teen-fiction, teen-action, teen-sports, teen-mystery

Maybe 3.5, but I started reading this last night and had a really hard time putting it down--in fact, such a tough time that I finished it this morning! Brian, a star basketball player, is trying to deal with the brutal murder of his girlfriend (and her mom and brother) from the previous spring while her dad is undergoing trial. Between that, a school project that has him working with an initially unwanted partner, and his best friend getting put wrongly in jail just for being black, Brian is in...more

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Sep 11, 2012 Kibrom Fesseha rated it 4 of 5 stars

I had no idea on who the killer was,I thought it was going to be Brian's dad by the time I found out.Talk about a red herring!I thought that the story was nice.Confrontations in the plot seemed to go faster than other moments in the story. Or was that me just reading faster.The only downside was that I read this story in a group, and therefore had to go at a slower pace than how I usually read.That and the fact that I had classwork that I had to do while reading.

If your the kind of person who ha...more

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Sep 27, 2011 Shelley Daugherty rated it 5 of 5 stars

The only problem I had with this book was the constant basketball references which did not work for me but I am sure would make it a great read for boys. Brian's girlfriend is murdered along with her mom and brother while Brian is out shooting hoops just down the street. Brian thinks he sees someone go by in a gray sweatshirt but he can't be sure that he has seen anything of importance.

Eight months later they are working on a class project and Brian somehow draws one about a murder. This brings...more

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Nov 02, 2011 John rated it 5 of 5 stars

I think this is a book that most people would like because even though it looks like it's about sports it just kind of a backdrop on the whole story and it teaches you a life lesson on if someone threatens you you have two choices take the safe way out and live or do what's right and take a risk that's something that I really learned from this book. And they also teached you that the justice system doesn't always work right cause at the biginning Amanda "Brian's Girlfriend" and her family are mu...more

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Apr 10, 2011 Ada Gao rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010-2011-advisory

Brian Hammett's girlfriend Amanda was killed. This was real shock to Brian, ever since she died he haven been himself. all he ever cared about since then was getting the perfect shot. Then he started know who was the one who killed amanda. Its either Brian stay slient and dont say a word so he will be safe or tell it to the police and get targeted.
This was a FANNNNNTAAASSSTICC book. when i looked at the cover and the title, i gotta admit i wasnt all that interested in it. It looked boring to...more

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Apr 07, 2011 Bryan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: advisory-reading

This book had me hooked ever since the first chapter. It's like a suspenseful, mystery novel, and was just so engaging. It was also really sad, and depressing. Sometimes I was actually scared because my imagination can get a hold of me. Anyways, the book is about the murder of the protagonist, Brian's girlfriend, Amanda. It shows how he copes with the murder, while maintaining grades so that he can stay in the basketball team. All along the way he discovers new friends, and flaws of the justice...more

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May 02, 2013 Ruth Jada rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Perfect Shot is about Brian ,Amanda ,Ted and Julius . Brian is a basketball player at his school.Amanda is Brian's girlfriend .Ted is Brian's partner for a history project . He is also a basketball player also for the same school . Julius is a basketball player also fr the same school too ,and he's Brian bestfriend .

In the beginning of the story , Brian is playing basketball outside with his friends .While,they were playing basketball Amanda and her brother wanted to play too. Brian said "N...more

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Jul 28, 2011 Allison Greene rated it 2 of 5 stars

I am not a sports fan, but this story not only had basketball, but a case of murder. Both served important plots in the book. Brian is playing basketball when his girlfriend and her family (except the father) are murdered in their garage. He is overtaken with grief and turns to basketball. That takes his complete focus and energy. Throughout the book you are wondering who the murderer is. Brian continues to focus on basketball but can’t help but become distracted when the trial for the murder’s...more

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Nov 15, 2009 Patrick McNally rated it 5 of 5 stars

this book was about a high school basketball player who's girlfriend's family was killed (including herself) by an unknown murder. they suspect that the father was the killer but Brian doesnt agree. he has guilt that is building up in his chest because he thinks that he could have saved her from being killed. and on top of all of this tragedy brian has to deal with school work and most of all basketball. i learned from this book that to never let guilt build up on you because it can ruin your li...more

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Apr 30, 2012 Deanthony Curry rated it 4 of 5 stars

The book the perfect shot was a good book it just took a long time to really tell what brian did after his girlfriend got killed. This book was much too long the story could have been told in half the length. There was also a point in the book were i forgot what i was reading about because they went kind off the subject. But other than that the book was very good they told deep details when they talked about something or described something.

It was also a book of thoughts in life because u can re...more The book the perfect shot was a good book it just took a long time to really tell what brian did after his girlfriend got killed. This book was much too long the story could have been told in half the length. There was also a point in the book were i forgot what i was reading about because they went kind off the subject. But other than that the book was very good they told deep details when they talked about something or described something.

It was also a book of thoughts in life because u can relate it to your life. A book that leaves you asking questions about what is right and wrong, the meaning of justice, and how well the legal system really works. This is life related.This book is about a teen learning who killed his girlfriend, along with learning about life, has a little of everything, including action and a violent ending.

This book was very interesting on how a teens life can be very unpleasant / difficult when you deal with a close freinds murder that has happened in your life. Brian goes a long way for finding justice and honesty in this case and i know any murder that is close to you is very hard to deal with. The book is good but drags a bit but overall a good read for someone who likes teen life / mystery.

I think this is a book that most people would like because even though it looks like it's about sports it just kind of a backdrop on the whole story and it teaches you a life lesson on if someone threatens you you have two choices take the safe way out and live or do what's right and take a risk that's something that I really learned from this book.

It is about some kids that get involved with a murder. I thought that the author did a nice job with a lot of description and dialouge. Overall I would give it 9/10 because the author gets you to the point where you can feel all joy, excitement, and fear the characters feel. I decided on reading another book by this author. Overall i would highly recommened this book to anyone because it is a GREAT read!

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May 08, 2012 Aaron added it

"Bullets, Bullets, Bullets Bounce, Bounce Bounce",while reading this book I noticed that its important to pay attention to the small things sometimes. Alphin really cares for doing the right thing. the character in the book, Brian had to make a decision that would affeect someones life. to keep quiet or say something. all in all while trying to make this decision he has to deal with playoffs and a project at school.

Also in another book titled "Snakehead" the character was presented with the sam...more "Bullets, Bullets, Bullets Bounce, Bounce Bounce",while reading this book I noticed that its important to pay attention to the small things sometimes. Alphin really cares for doing the right thing. the character in the book, Brian had to make a decision that would affeect someones life. to keep quiet or say something. all in all while trying to make this decision he has to deal with playoffs and a project at school.

Also in another book titled "Snakehead" the character was presented with the same situation. but by his assailent trying to kill him he made the same choice Brian did "The Perfect Shot". in both cases they had to stand up for what was right and by doing so taking an individuals life.

Elaine Alphine tells the story from a concerned point of view. she allows the characters to have a mind of their own. Having the characters go through a life altering experience as brian and Juliuis did.but Also changing the circle of people that the characters interact with can allow the reader to see different perspectives that the characters take on thorugh out the story.

By having most of the characters in the book all attend high school,Alphin made it easy to make a connection between the book and a reader.half the characters are on there schools basketball team so thy all depend on one another.one of the characters...Tod, was one that didnt really fit in.when he a Brain are partnered up for a project they were able to get there class to work together to complete it in a extrodinary way.

Racism was also an issue in the book. one of the main characters Which Elaine named Julius had an incedent with the police. this incedent caused him to show a different flow of emotions throughout the book. by elaine putting this in her book says that really the issue of race has not died down but more or less risen to a higher level. racism is very petty if its really broken down.

Trying to achieve justice when your not one of the big voices involved, is a difficult matter to handle. There was a case in the book about the killing of young girl by leo frank. In which the students in the class decided to do a silent play. he was put in a situation to act out something that he, unfortunately had a traumatic experience with some time before. in doing so he to realize that he needed to take action. i would recommend this book to anyone who likes sports and learning about the justice system. (less)

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Nov 11, 2008 Cornmaven rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: hs-adult

This was a very intriguing book - lots of excellent basketball scenes that helped tell a story which was part mystery, part identity search, and part commentary on justice. The teenage protagonist must research a real-life murder case from the early 20th century that parallels a murder case ongoing in his life, and he must make a decision about how much of a part he will play in the current one.
Much is said about differences between people and how we make assumptions that shut off acceptance of...more

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Mar 18, 2009 Matt added it

It is about some kids that get involved with a murder. I thought that the author did a nice job with a lot of description and dialouge. Overall I would give it 9/10 because the author gets you to the point where you can feel all joy, excitement, and fear the characters feel. I decided on reading another book by this author. Overall i would highly recommened this book to anyone because it is a GREAT read!

A tanalizing tidbit i found was: Amanda stared straight ahead, refusing to look through the S...more

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Dec 18, 2012 Wisteriouswoman rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was a book I reserved at the library only to discover I read it before. It was an excellant book and I might even read it a second time since I don't remember all the details.

I like books where the main character has to process right and wrong and whether to take action or not.

Even though I don't play sports I find having a character participating on a team adds excitement to a book. And much of life is like a team sport --it can be a proving ground for dealing with other issues.

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Oct 13, 2010 Abbi added it

It was great, I loved the intensity. It was about a boy and his girlfriend died, he tried remeniscing, but one day that just wasn't enough. On top of that he had a big Literacy project, the guy he worked with was gay. In the same process, their report had to be on a murder, which made him think about his beloved girlfriend. Then, all of a sudden he tries to decide who killed his girl AND her family. Don't be caught in the wrong place at the wrong timee... Might bite you in the butt.

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Nov 08, 2010 Erika rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2nd-quarter

this book is very intreeging. it has alot of suspence. at the begging of the book amandas mom gets shot. everyone in the town and all the attourneys are blaming amandas dad for killing her mom. amanda has also been shot. brian amandas boy friend wants to help amandas dad get justice not only for him but for his family after reading an assignment in history class that is very similar to amandas dads situation. i really enjoyed this book. i would read it again anytime.

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Nov 15, 2009 Johnny Crespo rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 9th-grade

This book was very interesting on how a teens life can be very unpleasant / difficult when you deal with a close freinds murder that has happened in your life. Brian goes a long way for finding justice and honesty in this case and i know any murder that is close to you is very hard to deal with. The book is good but drags a bit but overall a good read for someone who likes teen life / mystery.

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Apr 30, 2013 Jst Joriel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Brian is an all star ball player who misses his girlfriend because there is an unsolved mystery around her murder. Her father is the main suspect! To find out who did it, you should read The Perfect Shot. I gave it 4 stars because it is very interesting and mysterious.

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Apr 25, 2013 Casey Sutherland rated it 4 of 5 stars

i thought this book was really good. it is about a boy named Brian, and he is obsessed with basketball. his dad wants him to be the best at it but his mom is more worried about school. one day brain was shooting and his ball went rolling down the driveway, hitting a suspicious looking jogger. a while later, his neighbor comes running out of the house screaming and crying. his wife and two children have been shot. his oldest child, Amanda, was brain's girlfriend. throughout the book, Brian and hi...more

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Jun 17, 2009 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book! it was a little sad in parts but it has a good meaning and truth to it. The author, in my opinion, is great at writing,by being creative and detailed. One day I hope I can write a book like this one!

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Oct 04, 2010 Sandy rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book is about a teen learning who killed his girlfriend, along with learning about life, has a little of everything, including action and a violent ending. Very good story!

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Jun 28, 2011 Kara Moss rated it 3 of 5 stars

i had trouble following the story in the beginning, as the author jumps around a lot, but then i "got the hang of it" and i couldn't put it down. i think i read 200 pages in one day. pretty good book.

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Sep 11, 2012 Jamie Cook added it

I thought that the book was pretty cool. i didnt too much like how it was flip flopping from scene to scene but it was a pretty good book overall.

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Apr 30, 2013 Jada Ruth rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Perfect Shot is about Brian ,Amanda ,Ted and Julius . They are unqiue characters . Brian is a basketball player at his school . Aman

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May 16, 2011 June Guymon rated it 3 of 5 stars

A book that leaves you asking questions about what is right and wrong, the meaning of justice, and how well the legal system really works.

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About Elaine Marie Alphin

I was born on 30 October 1955 in San Francisco, California, and attended Lafayette Elementary School in San Francisco. Then my family moved to New York City, where I attended William H. Carr Junior High School. This is a school picture of me from my junior high school days. After that we moved to Houston, and I went to Westchester High School and on to Rice University.

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