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Comeback Kids #1
Hot Hand
#1 New York Times bestseller Mike Lupica scores from downtown with his Comeback Kids series for young middle-grade readers.
It's simple. All Billy Raynor wants to do is shoot. After all, he is one of the best shooters in the league. But with his dad as his coach, and his parents newly separated, somehow everything's become complicated. His brother Ben, the piano prodigy, hardly talks anymore. His mom is always traveling on business. And his dad is always on his case about not being a team player. But when Ben's piano recital falls on the same day as the championship game, it is Billy who teaches his dad the true meaning of being a team player.
Praise for the Comeback Kids:
“Lupica portrays the action clearly and vividly, with a real sense of the excitement and unpredictable nature of the games. These are worthy additions to collections seeking to draw in middle-grade boys with an enthusiasm for athletics.” –School Library Journal
“These should score big with middle-graders looking for alternatives to Matt Christopher's titles.” –Publisher’s Weekly
“This title is a good choice for reluctant readers with a background in baseball.” –School Library Journal
It's simple. All Billy Raynor wants to do is shoot. After all, he is one of the best shooters in the league. But with his dad as his coach, and his parents newly separated, somehow everything's become complicated. His brother Ben, the piano prodigy, hardly talks anymore. His mom is always traveling on business. And his dad is always on his case about not being a team player. But when Ben's piano recital falls on the same day as the championship game, it is Billy who teaches his dad the true meaning of being a team player.
Praise for the Comeback Kids:
“Lupica portrays the action clearly and vividly, with a real sense of the excitement and unpredictable nature of the games. These are worthy additions to collections seeking to draw in middle-grade boys with an enthusiasm for athletics.” –School Library Journal
“These should score big with middle-graders looking for alternatives to Matt Christopher's titles.” –Publisher’s Weekly
“This title is a good choice for reluctant readers with a background in baseball.” –School Library Journal
176 pages, Hardcover
First published September 20, 2007
84 people are currently reading
596 people want to read
About the author
Mike Lupica
111 books1,216 followersMichael Lupica is an author and American newspaper columnist, best known for his provocative commentary on sports in the New York Daily News and his appearances on ESPN.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 150 reviews
August 6, 2009
Hot Hand is about a boy named Billy Raynor who is on his basketball team.He is the best player on his team and is the best shooter in the leauge.An external conflict for billy is that his parents are going through a divorce and billy is mad because he can do nothing about it.His main internal conflict is that his little brother needs his family to stay together. While reading this book I Made a text to world connection. Billys parents divorce reminds me of how alot of familys have divorces and the kids are mad and want to save the
marrige.
I would rate this book a 4 because it had sports in it and i like sports, it had drama in it and i like drama and it had action in it and i like action i would recomend this book to anyone who likes basketball and action
marrige.
I would rate this book a 4 because it had sports in it and i like sports, it had drama in it and i like drama and it had action in it and i like action i would recomend this book to anyone who likes basketball and action
October 16, 2013
I read the book “Hot Hands” by Mike Lupica. I have always really liked Mike Lupica's books, but in this one, there was more to the book. I can honestly say this is my favorite book I have ever read. I love basketball which is what this book is about, but it’s more about stepping outside a person's comfort zone and doing something that can make him happy, but can make family happy too.
The book is told from 3rd person narrator. The author tells the book in direct and indirect characterization to tell this story. The author says the main character and his best friend love basketball, but it didn’t say the main character, Billy, loved his little brother, ben, until he stuck up for him at recess, when he was getting bullied.
The story takes place in a small town just like mine. The parents split up, so the kids have to decide where they want to live. The dad leaves so they are forced to stay with their mom, and now that the family is feeling hurt, it pulls the three of them together, and they will always have each other back, especially at school.
As a family people don’t always enjoy doing the same activities. Billy, the main character, plays basketball, but his brother, loves playing the piano and the big day for both of them lands on the same day. Their mom is out of town and their dad is the basketball coach, so he said he has to be at the game. Billy realizes no one would be there for his brother, so he misses his own game to go support his brother. Sometimes people have to make sacrifices for loving people and maybe someday that person will be all people have and want them to have everyones back, and those little acts of kindness can make all the difference.
This book has a lot of interesting facts someone, not only like me, but many other teens would like. It’s easy to read and understand, and since it’s a sports book, for many people the book won’t get boring. It keeps people on the edge of the reader seat, never knowing what will happen next, and that how I felt, so I just keep on reading to find out. However, even though anyone could really enjoy this book, I mainly believe this book would be appreciated by boys and girls in middle school, and high schoolers who enjoy sports.
The book is told from 3rd person narrator. The author tells the book in direct and indirect characterization to tell this story. The author says the main character and his best friend love basketball, but it didn’t say the main character, Billy, loved his little brother, ben, until he stuck up for him at recess, when he was getting bullied.
The story takes place in a small town just like mine. The parents split up, so the kids have to decide where they want to live. The dad leaves so they are forced to stay with their mom, and now that the family is feeling hurt, it pulls the three of them together, and they will always have each other back, especially at school.
As a family people don’t always enjoy doing the same activities. Billy, the main character, plays basketball, but his brother, loves playing the piano and the big day for both of them lands on the same day. Their mom is out of town and their dad is the basketball coach, so he said he has to be at the game. Billy realizes no one would be there for his brother, so he misses his own game to go support his brother. Sometimes people have to make sacrifices for loving people and maybe someday that person will be all people have and want them to have everyones back, and those little acts of kindness can make all the difference.
This book has a lot of interesting facts someone, not only like me, but many other teens would like. It’s easy to read and understand, and since it’s a sports book, for many people the book won’t get boring. It keeps people on the edge of the reader seat, never knowing what will happen next, and that how I felt, so I just keep on reading to find out. However, even though anyone could really enjoy this book, I mainly believe this book would be appreciated by boys and girls in middle school, and high schoolers who enjoy sports.
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January 14, 2016 Mike Lupica’s Hot Hand is filled with drama, excitement, and is somewhat nail biters. Billy, a 10 year old boy has one goal for this basketball season, to win the YMCA basketball championship. While attempting to accomplish this goal, his best friend Lenny is there to help. Through the story the two of them come across obstacles such as bullies, siblings, divorce, and basketball (and lots of it). Towards the end of the book, Billy is caught in the middle. Does he support his brother Ben at his big recital, or help his team win a big game?
While reading this book I was caught by surprise a few times. If you enjoy excitement, sports, and surprises this book is for you. I have read many of Mike Lupica's books, and this by far is a favorite of mine. This book is one to many of his Comeback Kids series. For sure I'd love to check out the others knowing just how great this one was.
I'd for sure recommend this book, especially if you love to read about sports and entertainment. It ranges to people of different ages and genders, because of how well written and understandable the book is. I believe that the way of writing and storylines allow Mike Lupica to get such great reviews on his books. Mainly for the reason that they are appealing to different types of people. Overall I would count this as one the best books I've read in a while, and I think you would say the same.
While reading this book I was caught by surprise a few times. If you enjoy excitement, sports, and surprises this book is for you. I have read many of Mike Lupica's books, and this by far is a favorite of mine. This book is one to many of his Comeback Kids series. For sure I'd love to check out the others knowing just how great this one was.
I'd for sure recommend this book, especially if you love to read about sports and entertainment. It ranges to people of different ages and genders, because of how well written and understandable the book is. I believe that the way of writing and storylines allow Mike Lupica to get such great reviews on his books. Mainly for the reason that they are appealing to different types of people. Overall I would count this as one the best books I've read in a while, and I think you would say the same.
December 1, 2014
Jake Hobby 801 12-2-14 Hot Hand by Mike Lupica
In the sports story hot hand takes place mostly on the basketball court or at Billy's house. Some of the events in my story are Billy's parents are getting a divorce, billy living at two separate houses, and billy is the best player on his basketball team but the only problem is while his father is facing problems at home but he is Billy's basketball coach. Some of the characters in the story hot hand are Billy, Billy's dad, Billy's mom, Ben, Eliza, peg, and Billy's best friend on the basketball court Lenny. Billy's young brother Ben is a piano player some of the time while Billy's sister Eliza is obsessed with social media and texting. Billy's mother is struggling to be a lawyer, raise her 3 children, and adjust being separated from. Billy's father. Billy's father is struggling to adjust of being a basketball coach, father, and working full time having the kids on weekends. The climax of the story is that in one basketball game Billy scored 20 points thanks to his dad and friend Lenny. If you like basketball or you like sports books with basketball inside it this would be an amazing story that describes a lot about basketball and the outside life of basketball or struggles of your own personal life.
In the sports story hot hand takes place mostly on the basketball court or at Billy's house. Some of the events in my story are Billy's parents are getting a divorce, billy living at two separate houses, and billy is the best player on his basketball team but the only problem is while his father is facing problems at home but he is Billy's basketball coach. Some of the characters in the story hot hand are Billy, Billy's dad, Billy's mom, Ben, Eliza, peg, and Billy's best friend on the basketball court Lenny. Billy's young brother Ben is a piano player some of the time while Billy's sister Eliza is obsessed with social media and texting. Billy's mother is struggling to be a lawyer, raise her 3 children, and adjust being separated from. Billy's father. Billy's father is struggling to adjust of being a basketball coach, father, and working full time having the kids on weekends. The climax of the story is that in one basketball game Billy scored 20 points thanks to his dad and friend Lenny. If you like basketball or you like sports books with basketball inside it this would be an amazing story that describes a lot about basketball and the outside life of basketball or struggles of your own personal life.
July 16, 2015
Billy Raynor is in midst of the one of the most stressful times of his life. Billy, the main character, is dealing with his parents' recent separation and focusing upon basketball, where his father is the hard-nosed coach of the team. The author shows the anger and the confusion causing family split. The Raynor family relationships begin to fragment and grow astranged both inside and outside of the family relationships. Billy's younger brother, Ben, is taken the change especially hard. Within the coming-of-age tale, Billy rides through the ups and downs within his personal life and highs and lows of the basketball season. Billy comes to new understanding of family, leadership, and sharing.
A quick YA read dealing with a few important issues, like divorce, absentee parents, sportsmanship, and sibling relationships.
A quick YA read dealing with a few important issues, like divorce, absentee parents, sportsmanship, and sibling relationships.
April 15, 2015
Personal Response:
I decided to read this book after having a book talk with a fellow student in class last week. I was assigned to read another one of Mike Lupica's books, Hero, and loved it! So I figured since Hot Hand was by the same author I would give it a try. Hot Hand is a book about a young boy named Billy and the struggles him and his family are enduring. Billy and his brother Ben are trying to deal with the stress of thier parents getting a divorce and focus on what is most important to them. The thing that is most important to Billy is basketball. Basketball is a large topic that is discussed in the book because not only does Billy love basketball but his dad is also the coach of his basketball team. What is most important to Ben is playing the piano and his is extremely talented at it. Their mother is always away for work and business and this also puts extress stress on Billy and his two siblings. Overall I loved this book because of all of the sports references. I was involved in sports in high school and especially loved basketball so I can relate really well to this book. I also have come to love this author and will continue to read books written by him in the future.
Purpose in the Classroom:
This book can be used in many different ways in the classroom. An example of this could be to compare and contrast Billy and Ben and study character growth and development. After reading the class out loud or parts of the book out loud to the class you could draw a venn diagram and in a classroom discussion decide what characteristics belong to Billy, what characteristics belong to Ben, and what characteristics are shared between the both of them. This book would also be great as an idependent read for students who love basketball or for students who's parents are or have recently been divorced. The book is easy to relate to so students of all backgrounds will be able to enjoy this book.
I decided to read this book after having a book talk with a fellow student in class last week. I was assigned to read another one of Mike Lupica's books, Hero, and loved it! So I figured since Hot Hand was by the same author I would give it a try. Hot Hand is a book about a young boy named Billy and the struggles him and his family are enduring. Billy and his brother Ben are trying to deal with the stress of thier parents getting a divorce and focus on what is most important to them. The thing that is most important to Billy is basketball. Basketball is a large topic that is discussed in the book because not only does Billy love basketball but his dad is also the coach of his basketball team. What is most important to Ben is playing the piano and his is extremely talented at it. Their mother is always away for work and business and this also puts extress stress on Billy and his two siblings. Overall I loved this book because of all of the sports references. I was involved in sports in high school and especially loved basketball so I can relate really well to this book. I also have come to love this author and will continue to read books written by him in the future.
Purpose in the Classroom:
This book can be used in many different ways in the classroom. An example of this could be to compare and contrast Billy and Ben and study character growth and development. After reading the class out loud or parts of the book out loud to the class you could draw a venn diagram and in a classroom discussion decide what characteristics belong to Billy, what characteristics belong to Ben, and what characteristics are shared between the both of them. This book would also be great as an idependent read for students who love basketball or for students who's parents are or have recently been divorced. The book is easy to relate to so students of all backgrounds will be able to enjoy this book.
March 16, 2017
Hot Hand by Mike Lupica is about a 10 year old named Billy Raynor who plays basketball. Billy is one of the shooters in the Y league that he plays in. But with his dad as his team coach (who always yells at him for not being a team player) and his parents getting a divorce, everything becomes more complicated. When Billy's dad cant make his championship game because of his brothers piano recital, Billy teaches his dad what it really means to be a team player.
I personally enjoyed this book because it seems very realistic. The details in this book are very similar to what I could see myself doing in a game winning situation. I can relate to what Billy says when he says that he feels at home when he plays on the basketball court because I feel the same way when I play on a soccer field. If I could change something in this book I would change the beginning. I would change the beginning because it is slow and it really didn't get my attention.
I would recommend this book to any other reader interested in sport experiences. I would also recommend this book to anyone who enjoys books by Mike Lupica and for middle school readers. This story is great for motivation.
I personally enjoyed this book because it seems very realistic. The details in this book are very similar to what I could see myself doing in a game winning situation. I can relate to what Billy says when he says that he feels at home when he plays on the basketball court because I feel the same way when I play on a soccer field. If I could change something in this book I would change the beginning. I would change the beginning because it is slow and it really didn't get my attention.
I would recommend this book to any other reader interested in sport experiences. I would also recommend this book to anyone who enjoys books by Mike Lupica and for middle school readers. This story is great for motivation.
February 9, 2017
This book is amazing. You've just GOT to read it. SoallBillyRaynorwantstodoisshoo- sorry... let me slow down because I'm so excited to share this to you I just blurted it all out SUPER fast. Ok, here I go: all Billy Raynor wants to do is shoot, but his dad wants him to pass more. So they're always mad at each other, and this book shows how Billy goes through it. I recommend this book to anybody that likes sports and drama.
December 1, 2017
book is great
October 31, 2024
However short or long his junior novels, Mike Lupica never scrimps on engaging, emotional storytelling that pulls the reader through at high velocity. In Hot Hand, ten-year-old Billy Raynor is a shooting guard on his YMCA Rec League basketball team. He buries jumpshots with the reliability of a pro, and is complemented on the team by his best friend Lenny DiNardo, who may be an even better all-around hooper. But Billy is distracted lately. The team coach—who happens to be his dad— recently moved out of the Raynor house. It's a trial separation, not a divorce, but Billy's parents make it clear that reconciliation shouldn't be expected. Hard as Billy and his sixteen-year-old sister Eliza take it, their nine-year-old brother Ben is devastated. A piano prodigy, Ben reacts to the separation by putting up rigid emotional walls, and it worries Billy.
Both Billy and his dad are stubborn. Mr. Raynor yells at his son often for shooting too much and neglecting to pass to teammates. Billy's frustration grows along with the undefeated record of his team, the Magic. He wants to let loose and have fun being a great shooter, but his dad won't cooperate. Lenny, a supportive friend and teammate, encourages Billy to chuck up shots whenever he feels in rhythm, but their coach is less prone to indulging him. The conflict builds to a boiling point.
"I've got your back even when you're facing me".
—Lenny, P. 36
As drama builds around the Magic's bid for the Rec League championship, Billy's attention is split by Ben's behavior. Ben is skipping piano lessons and isolating himself. He’s also having incidents with Zeke "the Geek" Mills, a bully who is Billy's age. A few times Zeke grips Ben's hands and applies painful pressure, which could damage his prospects as a piano player. Billy defends Ben using force, and their dad comes down hard on Billy, temporarily suspending him from the Magic. What will it take for Mr. Raynor to see that Billy wants to do right by his friends, family, and teammates? Can they mend their relationship in time to complete a title-winning season?
Hot Hand is loaded with compelling scenes. It has the juice for a three-and-a-half-star rating or better, but I'm rounding my two and a half stars down for a couple of reasons. The book's attitude toward Billy defending Ben from Zeke is puzzling; when you disincentivize a boy from defending his little brother, he stops doing it. That makes the kid's life more dangerous, and you've taught the older brother to not stand up for people he loves against violence. The second reason for my lower rating is Billy's choice late in the book. When you commit to a team, you should follow through. I don't like the way he handles his final decision. I love Billy and especially Ben; Hot Hand had huge potential even if narrative issues keep it from getting there. I never have a bad time with a Mike Lupica novel.
Both Billy and his dad are stubborn. Mr. Raynor yells at his son often for shooting too much and neglecting to pass to teammates. Billy's frustration grows along with the undefeated record of his team, the Magic. He wants to let loose and have fun being a great shooter, but his dad won't cooperate. Lenny, a supportive friend and teammate, encourages Billy to chuck up shots whenever he feels in rhythm, but their coach is less prone to indulging him. The conflict builds to a boiling point.
"I've got your back even when you're facing me".
—Lenny, P. 36
As drama builds around the Magic's bid for the Rec League championship, Billy's attention is split by Ben's behavior. Ben is skipping piano lessons and isolating himself. He’s also having incidents with Zeke "the Geek" Mills, a bully who is Billy's age. A few times Zeke grips Ben's hands and applies painful pressure, which could damage his prospects as a piano player. Billy defends Ben using force, and their dad comes down hard on Billy, temporarily suspending him from the Magic. What will it take for Mr. Raynor to see that Billy wants to do right by his friends, family, and teammates? Can they mend their relationship in time to complete a title-winning season?
Hot Hand is loaded with compelling scenes. It has the juice for a three-and-a-half-star rating or better, but I'm rounding my two and a half stars down for a couple of reasons. The book's attitude toward Billy defending Ben from Zeke is puzzling; when you disincentivize a boy from defending his little brother, he stops doing it. That makes the kid's life more dangerous, and you've taught the older brother to not stand up for people he loves against violence. The second reason for my lower rating is Billy's choice late in the book. When you commit to a team, you should follow through. I don't like the way he handles his final decision. I love Billy and especially Ben; Hot Hand had huge potential even if narrative issues keep it from getting there. I never have a bad time with a Mike Lupica novel.
Want to read
December 13, 2019In the book “Hot Hand” by Mike Lupica, Billy Raynor is the main character, he is 10 years old and loves basketball. Billy is the best shooter in the league and him and his bestfriend Lenny are the best players on the team. Billy’s dad, Joe is the coach of their team and is one of the best teams in the league. Their goal is to win the championship this year, they have lossed it twice and lost in the semifinals too. This year is their year, with Billy shooting better than he ever has and Lenny playing better overall than he ever has. There is one issue that is holding Billy back and frustrating billy, his parents just went through a divorce, and Billy and his brother Ben can’t do anything about it. His younger brother Ben is a piano prodigy, he played sports and was always pretty good but he was a natural at playing the piano. Billy loves playing basketball for his dad but his dad thinks that he needs to pass more and be more of a team player. Billy likes to shoot and is very good at it and makes a lot of his shots so it is hard for him to listen to his dad. His friend Lenny tries to help Billy cope with everything and help his get through everything that has happened recently and now his brother Ben’s piano recital and the championship game are on the same day and he doesn’t know if he should go play for his team of go support his brother who has been struggling with everything that has been going on as well. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes sports and wants a good book to read that keeps them on the edge and always wondering what is going to happen next. It is a good book for kids who can relate to this problem because unfortunately a lot of kids have to go through this same situation.
May 8, 2015
Grades 3rd through 6th
I did not care for this one. I'll admit that my expectations were low, considering that the book is a sports book and I know practically nothing about sports. However, I felt that it had more issues than that. The characterization was terrible. There were literally zero females that were even remotely positive characters. The sister was ditsy with no interests other than makeup and talking, and barely seemed to be part of the family. Never once did she attend a game or Ben's piano recital at the end. The mom was a workaholic, and the maid, Peg, existed solely so people reading the book didn't say, "If the parents are divorced and the mom's always traveling, WHO is watching those kids!" I know that not every female character can be positive, and I don't expect that, but when you only have three female characters in the entire book and there is not one good thing I can describe about them, that is not good.
Even the male characters were lacking. The dad was a terrible person, and although he appeared to be "redeemed" at the end, I found it less than believable since the team won and the dad got the championship he so desperately wanted. Ben and Billy were fairly flat characters with no outside interests. Billy had zero interest in anything other than basketball. He played basketball, watched basketball on TV, and played basketball video games. Even the most sports-obsessed child has at least one other interest. The only character I actually liked was Billy's friend's dad. The characters are largely flat and I couldn't say anything really descriptive about any of them longer than two words (likes basketball, plays piano, etc) however, that could be seen as a positive, in that the reader can picture his own self in the lead role and his friends and family in the others.
That being said, I do think that there are some positives to this book. Mainly, that it is appealing to reluctant readers. I set the book on my coffee table and instantly my 9 year old son picked it up and wanted to read it. It didn't seem to capture his attention, however, because he put it down three chapters in and hasn't picked it back up. I think a child more sports knowledgeable would find it really interesting. I found myself skimming over most of the descriptions of the game because I had no idea what any of the terms meant or I should be seeing in my head. But a kid who enjoyed watching or playing basketball would probably get a lot out of that.
In the beginning of the book, I'd felt hopeful that the book would skillfully discuss the issue of divorce, but it didn't really tackle that topic. We never really got to find out what Billy's feelings were about the dissolution of his parents' marriage. It didn't seem to have any real practical impact on his life, as it appeared that his parents were largely absent prior to the separation. I think he would have felt more of an impact if Peg had been fired than by his parents splitting up.
I wish that the team would have lost at least one of the games so that we could have seen how Billy and the team, as well as his father, dealt with the fallout.
I would probably not use this in my classroom in any real way. I don't think it would make a good read-aloud book, and it didn't discuss any concepts that I would want to work into a curriculum. I would likely keep a book like this in my classroom library for my sports-obsessed students, but honestly I'd rather find a more positive sports book. Perhaps Lupica's other books are better fleshed out. I think there could be something that hits the best of both worlds: well-written with fleshed out characters PLUS sports themed.
If I were to use this book, I would use this to talk about characterization, and we could identify and discuss the lack of rounded characters.
I did not care for this one. I'll admit that my expectations were low, considering that the book is a sports book and I know practically nothing about sports. However, I felt that it had more issues than that. The characterization was terrible. There were literally zero females that were even remotely positive characters. The sister was ditsy with no interests other than makeup and talking, and barely seemed to be part of the family. Never once did she attend a game or Ben's piano recital at the end. The mom was a workaholic, and the maid, Peg, existed solely so people reading the book didn't say, "If the parents are divorced and the mom's always traveling, WHO is watching those kids!" I know that not every female character can be positive, and I don't expect that, but when you only have three female characters in the entire book and there is not one good thing I can describe about them, that is not good.
Even the male characters were lacking. The dad was a terrible person, and although he appeared to be "redeemed" at the end, I found it less than believable since the team won and the dad got the championship he so desperately wanted. Ben and Billy were fairly flat characters with no outside interests. Billy had zero interest in anything other than basketball. He played basketball, watched basketball on TV, and played basketball video games. Even the most sports-obsessed child has at least one other interest. The only character I actually liked was Billy's friend's dad. The characters are largely flat and I couldn't say anything really descriptive about any of them longer than two words (likes basketball, plays piano, etc) however, that could be seen as a positive, in that the reader can picture his own self in the lead role and his friends and family in the others.
That being said, I do think that there are some positives to this book. Mainly, that it is appealing to reluctant readers. I set the book on my coffee table and instantly my 9 year old son picked it up and wanted to read it. It didn't seem to capture his attention, however, because he put it down three chapters in and hasn't picked it back up. I think a child more sports knowledgeable would find it really interesting. I found myself skimming over most of the descriptions of the game because I had no idea what any of the terms meant or I should be seeing in my head. But a kid who enjoyed watching or playing basketball would probably get a lot out of that.
In the beginning of the book, I'd felt hopeful that the book would skillfully discuss the issue of divorce, but it didn't really tackle that topic. We never really got to find out what Billy's feelings were about the dissolution of his parents' marriage. It didn't seem to have any real practical impact on his life, as it appeared that his parents were largely absent prior to the separation. I think he would have felt more of an impact if Peg had been fired than by his parents splitting up.
I wish that the team would have lost at least one of the games so that we could have seen how Billy and the team, as well as his father, dealt with the fallout.
I would probably not use this in my classroom in any real way. I don't think it would make a good read-aloud book, and it didn't discuss any concepts that I would want to work into a curriculum. I would likely keep a book like this in my classroom library for my sports-obsessed students, but honestly I'd rather find a more positive sports book. Perhaps Lupica's other books are better fleshed out. I think there could be something that hits the best of both worlds: well-written with fleshed out characters PLUS sports themed.
If I were to use this book, I would use this to talk about characterization, and we could identify and discuss the lack of rounded characters.
November 5, 2015
The book Hot Hand by Mike Lupica takes place in Boston, Massachusetts. It is a story about a young boy named Billy Raynor who has his heart set on winning this year's YMCA basketball championship. Along the way though, Billy has some other problems other than basketball. Billy's parents are getting a divorce which depresses Billy and unfortunately, he can't even do anything about it. Also Billy's younger brother Ben, is having a really tough time with the divorce. Billy is trying to take care of Ben, win the basketball championship, and help with his parent's divorce. Billy is the best player on his basketball team, also the best shooter in the league. Because of all Billy's problems at home, he isn't having that great of a season. Even though the team is having a less than perfect season, Billy's team makes it to the championship with his dad as the coach. Billy's dad has been all over him the entire season to be a team player. Billy is the best shooter in the league and prefers to shoot the ball instead of passing it. Finally, the day of the championship, it turns out that Billy's little brother Ben has a piano recital at the same time. Billy goes to watch Ben's recital and eventually, Billy and his dad make it to the game just in time for the fourth quarter to start. Nearing the end of the game the score is tied at thirty-eight mostly due to Billy for hitting three pointers. With thirty-two seconds left, Billy's dad calls time-out. With the score still tied, the team makes up a play for Billy. The play works great. Billy gets the ball wide open in the corner and per the play, gets ready to take the shot. Right as Billy is about to shoot, he looks and sees his friend Lenny open under the net, and he passes it. Lenny makes the shot and Billy's team wins. Ben walks in the gym just in time to see Billy pass the ball for the final basket. Billy's dad was so proud. Billy was finally a team player. Billy wins the championship and his brother Ben is pretty much back to normal, all thanks to Billy.
I think the writer does a great job making the book interesting throughout the whole thing. Also, I think the writer did a good job making the book about something that is not only relatable to people who like sports but also to people who are going through tough times in their life and that it is possible to fight for something that seems impossible to do and actually succeed. One thing I did not like about the book was that it was so fast moving. I would rather that it was a little longer and still had a little more interesting information about how some of Billy’s other games went.
I would suggest that people around my age like 8th graders to Sophomores in high school should read this book. I say this because the book could probably get boring for people that are older. Also, most likely if kids younger than that read the book it would be difficult for them to understand what the kids are going through unless they are going through it also.
I think the writer does a great job making the book interesting throughout the whole thing. Also, I think the writer did a good job making the book about something that is not only relatable to people who like sports but also to people who are going through tough times in their life and that it is possible to fight for something that seems impossible to do and actually succeed. One thing I did not like about the book was that it was so fast moving. I would rather that it was a little longer and still had a little more interesting information about how some of Billy’s other games went.
I would suggest that people around my age like 8th graders to Sophomores in high school should read this book. I say this because the book could probably get boring for people that are older. Also, most likely if kids younger than that read the book it would be difficult for them to understand what the kids are going through unless they are going through it also.
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June 10, 2015What would you do if you had a championship game and your brother had piano
recital. This is what happened to Billy Raynor, the main character of the novel Hot Hand, by Mike Lupica. The parents got divorced in the beginning. The mother was always away on a business trip. Billy was on a basketball team and his dad was the head coach. Billy's brother was amazing at playing piano. One day he just skipped his lesson for no reason. Billy's basketball team was undefeated. He ended up getting suspended for a game in the playoffs. I loved the book because it was about sports and action during the game.
There was a lot of action during the basketball game and that's what drew me in.
There is a lot of basketball games played in the book. In the last two minutes in the final game before the playoffs, Lenny passed the ball to Billy. Billy was being guarded by two guys. Lenny was wide open now. Billy wanted to pass it back to Lenny. Lenny didn't want him to pass it to him he wanted Billy to take the shot .Billy took a fade away shot, then fell after he shot it. The ball hit nothing but net. That was one of my favorite plays in the game because of depended on who won the game and it was full of action. That's how the game ended. Magic : 42 Hornets : 40. After the game, Billy's dad yelled at him that he didn't pass the ball. I can't believe he yelled at him for scoring and winning the game. This is ridiculous.
Another suspenseful play that happened in a game that included action which made me want to keep reading. With thirty seconds left in the playoff game, the game was tied. Lenny drove towards to basket but was stopped by the defense. He passed it over to Billy. Billy shot a three-pointer. Almost. He missed!! OH NO!! The first two and a half minutes of over time, both teams played their hearts out. By that time, it was Magic by one. Lenny drove for the basket but was stopped by Zack. Lenny fed Jim for a layup, and they were up by three. 76ers had the ball. Zack took a shot and missed. Lenny got the rebound and threw it down court to Billy. Billy missed the layup. When the 76ers took their final shot to tie the game or lose, they missed. Billy was suspended for the playoff game. His team ended up winning anyways. The Magic won the game by ten. They were going to the finals. I'm so happy. I couldn't stop reading until I found out what happened. Yes. They won. They won.
This ended up being a great book. It was one of my favorites. I couldn't stop
reading until I found out what happened in the game. There was other stuff that went on in the book, besides basketball. Such as, his brothers' piano lessons and family stuff. I didn't like the other parts. The only parts I liked was the basketball. The other stuff wasn't interesting. That's why I loved the book as much as I did.
recital. This is what happened to Billy Raynor, the main character of the novel Hot Hand, by Mike Lupica. The parents got divorced in the beginning. The mother was always away on a business trip. Billy was on a basketball team and his dad was the head coach. Billy's brother was amazing at playing piano. One day he just skipped his lesson for no reason. Billy's basketball team was undefeated. He ended up getting suspended for a game in the playoffs. I loved the book because it was about sports and action during the game.
There was a lot of action during the basketball game and that's what drew me in.
There is a lot of basketball games played in the book. In the last two minutes in the final game before the playoffs, Lenny passed the ball to Billy. Billy was being guarded by two guys. Lenny was wide open now. Billy wanted to pass it back to Lenny. Lenny didn't want him to pass it to him he wanted Billy to take the shot .Billy took a fade away shot, then fell after he shot it. The ball hit nothing but net. That was one of my favorite plays in the game because of depended on who won the game and it was full of action. That's how the game ended. Magic : 42 Hornets : 40. After the game, Billy's dad yelled at him that he didn't pass the ball. I can't believe he yelled at him for scoring and winning the game. This is ridiculous.
Another suspenseful play that happened in a game that included action which made me want to keep reading. With thirty seconds left in the playoff game, the game was tied. Lenny drove towards to basket but was stopped by the defense. He passed it over to Billy. Billy shot a three-pointer. Almost. He missed!! OH NO!! The first two and a half minutes of over time, both teams played their hearts out. By that time, it was Magic by one. Lenny drove for the basket but was stopped by Zack. Lenny fed Jim for a layup, and they were up by three. 76ers had the ball. Zack took a shot and missed. Lenny got the rebound and threw it down court to Billy. Billy missed the layup. When the 76ers took their final shot to tie the game or lose, they missed. Billy was suspended for the playoff game. His team ended up winning anyways. The Magic won the game by ten. They were going to the finals. I'm so happy. I couldn't stop reading until I found out what happened. Yes. They won. They won.
This ended up being a great book. It was one of my favorites. I couldn't stop
reading until I found out what happened in the game. There was other stuff that went on in the book, besides basketball. Such as, his brothers' piano lessons and family stuff. I didn't like the other parts. The only parts I liked was the basketball. The other stuff wasn't interesting. That's why I loved the book as much as I did.
October 16, 2019
“A trial separation” that’s what Billy Raynor’s mom tells him after his dad Joe Raynor leaves the family for better purposes. A separation of 13 blocks, the train station, and the biggest park in town Billy thinks. How would you feel if your parents went through this and you were just a 10 year old boy trying to win the local basketball league championship. Would you be frustrated? Would you be disappointed? If you want to know more about this story check out “Hot Hand” By Mike Lupica.
Hot Hand is a great novel by Mike Lupica that has 165 pages filled with action packed moments that will leave you biting your nails. It goes into detail about Billy Raynor’s home situation and the trouble that his parents are having, Billy learns very important things throughout the book that he will remember in key events. Ben, Billy’s brother is a very mysterious kid you will figure out later into the book but in the beginning he has the reputation for being a little innocent kid that still has a lot to figure out in his life. When Billy notices that Ben has been acting very strange he starts to become curious, and when he gets a voicemail from bens piano teaching asking why Ben did not show up to piano lessons today Billy knows something is boiling in Ben’s mind. I strongly recommend this book to just everyday people, you do not have to be a sports fanatic to read this book. You could have little knowledge about physical activity, and you would still understand this book. I rate this book a 4 and a 1/2 out of 5 Mike Lupica does a very good job writing this novel, and I really would like to see more people reading this.
With a good there also comes a bad, this book could become your average sports book at times and it could get pretty boring while reading every little event that does not mean much to the book. It can slack with use of vocabulary, and it may become a little bit less action packed at times. It also could get unrealistic at times which is not a bad thing but it just doesn’t seem like it is real. Hot Hand is still a very interesting novel, but can become just an average book at times were nothing in particular thrills me. Other people might have a different opinion, but this is just my view on the book, and I understand that people might think different.
Overall I think this book was very well written and majority of people would probably enjoy this very much. I think that there is a very strong theme that is surrounded by good characters, and a good background story. I hope you take my review of Hot Hand by Mike Lupica into perspective because, I would strongly recommend this book to so many people.
Thank you for listening I hope you enjoyed my review.
Hot Hand is a great novel by Mike Lupica that has 165 pages filled with action packed moments that will leave you biting your nails. It goes into detail about Billy Raynor’s home situation and the trouble that his parents are having, Billy learns very important things throughout the book that he will remember in key events. Ben, Billy’s brother is a very mysterious kid you will figure out later into the book but in the beginning he has the reputation for being a little innocent kid that still has a lot to figure out in his life. When Billy notices that Ben has been acting very strange he starts to become curious, and when he gets a voicemail from bens piano teaching asking why Ben did not show up to piano lessons today Billy knows something is boiling in Ben’s mind. I strongly recommend this book to just everyday people, you do not have to be a sports fanatic to read this book. You could have little knowledge about physical activity, and you would still understand this book. I rate this book a 4 and a 1/2 out of 5 Mike Lupica does a very good job writing this novel, and I really would like to see more people reading this.
With a good there also comes a bad, this book could become your average sports book at times and it could get pretty boring while reading every little event that does not mean much to the book. It can slack with use of vocabulary, and it may become a little bit less action packed at times. It also could get unrealistic at times which is not a bad thing but it just doesn’t seem like it is real. Hot Hand is still a very interesting novel, but can become just an average book at times were nothing in particular thrills me. Other people might have a different opinion, but this is just my view on the book, and I understand that people might think different.
Overall I think this book was very well written and majority of people would probably enjoy this very much. I think that there is a very strong theme that is surrounded by good characters, and a good background story. I hope you take my review of Hot Hand by Mike Lupica into perspective because, I would strongly recommend this book to so many people.
Thank you for listening I hope you enjoyed my review.
October 9, 2019
Hot Hand
By: Mike Lupica
Report by: Hunter Neumann
I read the book Hot Hand by Mike Lupica. This book is about Billy Raynor, a middle school student, who plays basketball. Billy is coached by his dad, Joe, who is going through a divorce with his mom Lynn. Lynn is not around a lot because she is always busy traveling for business. Billy also has a brother named Ben who is a great pianist and a sister named Eliza who loves to talk. Billy’s dad is very hard on Billy when it comes to basketball. Billy loves to play basketball with his best friend Lenny. Their dream is to one day win the state basketball championship.
I felt that the book was very relatable to my life and I could relate to Billy’s basketball problems a lot. My dad is also my coach in basketball and is tough on me to be successful. My favorite character was Billy because I share his passion and competitiveness towards basketball. I enjoyed all the competition throughout the book and my favorite part was when Billy’s team came back from a big deficit to win their first game and celebrated their big win. The scenes that were written very well were the scenes when Billy’s brother Ben was getting bullied and Billy saved him from getting hurt. Mike Lupica expressed the emotions and anger between the bullies and Billy really well. The book was very interesting and it always kept me wanting to read the next chapter. Some parts of the story were funny because of the jokes during the games when Billy’s team was up by a lot of points.
What I disliked about the book was that Billy parents never got back together. Divorce takes a toll on families and especially the children involved. I was also disappointed that his brother Ben played the piano instead of another sport because it wasn’t as interesting. Throughout the book, it didn’t seem very realistic that a middle school kid would have to make as many important decisions as Billy had to.
All in all, this book was an exciting book that I would recommend to someone who loves sports and competitiveness. It held my interest from start to finish. If you enjoy suspense and drama look into checking this book out and read it for yourself.
By: Mike Lupica
Report by: Hunter Neumann
I read the book Hot Hand by Mike Lupica. This book is about Billy Raynor, a middle school student, who plays basketball. Billy is coached by his dad, Joe, who is going through a divorce with his mom Lynn. Lynn is not around a lot because she is always busy traveling for business. Billy also has a brother named Ben who is a great pianist and a sister named Eliza who loves to talk. Billy’s dad is very hard on Billy when it comes to basketball. Billy loves to play basketball with his best friend Lenny. Their dream is to one day win the state basketball championship.
I felt that the book was very relatable to my life and I could relate to Billy’s basketball problems a lot. My dad is also my coach in basketball and is tough on me to be successful. My favorite character was Billy because I share his passion and competitiveness towards basketball. I enjoyed all the competition throughout the book and my favorite part was when Billy’s team came back from a big deficit to win their first game and celebrated their big win. The scenes that were written very well were the scenes when Billy’s brother Ben was getting bullied and Billy saved him from getting hurt. Mike Lupica expressed the emotions and anger between the bullies and Billy really well. The book was very interesting and it always kept me wanting to read the next chapter. Some parts of the story were funny because of the jokes during the games when Billy’s team was up by a lot of points.
What I disliked about the book was that Billy parents never got back together. Divorce takes a toll on families and especially the children involved. I was also disappointed that his brother Ben played the piano instead of another sport because it wasn’t as interesting. Throughout the book, it didn’t seem very realistic that a middle school kid would have to make as many important decisions as Billy had to.
All in all, this book was an exciting book that I would recommend to someone who loves sports and competitiveness. It held my interest from start to finish. If you enjoy suspense and drama look into checking this book out and read it for yourself.
April 12, 2015
Personal Reaction-I loved this book. I was able to connect to this book in multiple ways which made me like the book even more. I felt that the author kept you engaged throughout the entire story and made you want to continue to read about the characters lives and the outcomes of their championship game, the piano recital, and their personal relationships. I really connected with Billy when he showed up to Ben's piano recital. I have a younger brother as well and feel proud of him when he accomplishes great things in his life just as Billy did after Ben's piano recital. Ben and Billy were there for each other in the end of the story even though they had some big fights along the way just as many brothers and sister do.
I think this can be a read aloud enrichment for third and fourth graders. As I continued reading this story I saw multiple connections different children can connect with. These connections can be regarding sports or the arts. Children could also make a connection with the story if they have ever experienced their parents getting a divorce or if they have ever gotten into a fight with their parents or their siblings. Even if a child is an only child there can be a connection for children who have ever been there for their friend when they are doing something important in their lives such as Billy being there for Ben during his piano recital and Ben being there for Billy during his championship game.
I think this would also be a good story for teachers to read to their children about teamwork. Also, a story about children working hard for the things they want in life and not giving up. Ben works extremely hard with his piano and at times felt he wanted to give up. Billy also loves basketball and wants nothing more but to win the championship game even though he had some speed bumps along the way. Hard work and determination should be taught to children at a young age and this book would be a perfect introduction for children.
I think this can be a read aloud enrichment for third and fourth graders. As I continued reading this story I saw multiple connections different children can connect with. These connections can be regarding sports or the arts. Children could also make a connection with the story if they have ever experienced their parents getting a divorce or if they have ever gotten into a fight with their parents or their siblings. Even if a child is an only child there can be a connection for children who have ever been there for their friend when they are doing something important in their lives such as Billy being there for Ben during his piano recital and Ben being there for Billy during his championship game.
I think this would also be a good story for teachers to read to their children about teamwork. Also, a story about children working hard for the things they want in life and not giving up. Ben works extremely hard with his piano and at times felt he wanted to give up. Billy also loves basketball and wants nothing more but to win the championship game even though he had some speed bumps along the way. Hard work and determination should be taught to children at a young age and this book would be a perfect introduction for children.
December 12, 2012
Hot Hand
Mike Lupica
165 pages
historical fiction
Hot Hand is by Mike Lupica and is a historical fiction book. Hot Hand is about a boy named Billy Raynor and his parents just got a divorce. Billy is living with his mom but his mom is always working and is in a different state. Billy's dad is the coach of Billy's basketball team and he is always getting on Billy's case whenever he does something wrong and yells at him. Billy has a younger brother named Ben who plays the piano. Ben hasn't been going to the past few piano lessons and Billy is the only one who knows he's been skipping and is wondering why. Billy realizes that Ben is getting bullied by an older guy and tries to help Ben but just gets in trouble and Billy wasn't able to play in the next game. Billy was really upset and was mad at his dad for a long time.
I liked this book because it was about a boy who loves sports, and i also love sports so in a way we were connecting to each other. Another reason why i liked the book was because at the end Billy and his father really connected and i thought that was great because they weren't getting along very much. Also i liked this book because Billy took risks even if someone told him not to he still did it anyway. Billy didn't really care about what other people thought of him he just thought about what he thinks about himself and doesn't care if people don't like him. Billy basically was the kind of laid back guy and doesn't really get into other peoples business. I would recommend this book to 6th or 7th graders who like sports and want to hear a good story about a boy who loves sports. That is what I thought about Hot Hand by Mike Lupica.
Mike Lupica
165 pages
historical fiction
Hot Hand is by Mike Lupica and is a historical fiction book. Hot Hand is about a boy named Billy Raynor and his parents just got a divorce. Billy is living with his mom but his mom is always working and is in a different state. Billy's dad is the coach of Billy's basketball team and he is always getting on Billy's case whenever he does something wrong and yells at him. Billy has a younger brother named Ben who plays the piano. Ben hasn't been going to the past few piano lessons and Billy is the only one who knows he's been skipping and is wondering why. Billy realizes that Ben is getting bullied by an older guy and tries to help Ben but just gets in trouble and Billy wasn't able to play in the next game. Billy was really upset and was mad at his dad for a long time.
I liked this book because it was about a boy who loves sports, and i also love sports so in a way we were connecting to each other. Another reason why i liked the book was because at the end Billy and his father really connected and i thought that was great because they weren't getting along very much. Also i liked this book because Billy took risks even if someone told him not to he still did it anyway. Billy didn't really care about what other people thought of him he just thought about what he thinks about himself and doesn't care if people don't like him. Billy basically was the kind of laid back guy and doesn't really get into other peoples business. I would recommend this book to 6th or 7th graders who like sports and want to hear a good story about a boy who loves sports. That is what I thought about Hot Hand by Mike Lupica.
December 20, 2013
Mike Lupica is a great author and has written a number of award winning books. In this book, he writes about a boy named Billy Raynor who has dreams of winning the championship with his schools basketball team, which his dad coaches. However, he faced many a major problem off the court and unfortunately can't do anything about it because his parents decide to get a divorce. His younger brother, Ben has a very hard time dealing with the divorce and Billy helps him tremendously in getting out of his depressed state. He has to balance his school work, basketball and his brother all at one time while his parents are going through their divorce. His performance on the basketball and in school is lacking and he really worries if he will be able to achieve his goal of winning the basketball championship. After the long season, his team makes it to the championship game but his brother has a piano recital at the same time. Amazingly, Billy chooses to go watch his brother instead of going to his game. After the piano recital, Billy rushes to his game and is able to make it in time for the fourth quarter. The score is tied with 20 seconds left and Billy's team has the ball so they call a time out and draw up a play for Billy to shoot. The play works perfectly but just as Billy rises up for the shot, he spots one of his teammates wide open under the basket. He quickly passes it and his teammate makes the basket right at the buzzer and wins the championship for his team. I only gave this book three stars because I thought it was too predictable and flat at certain times. However I enjoyed reading it and it teaches an important lesson. Overall, I would recommend this book to basketball fans in middle or high school.
February 18, 2014
do you really love basketball? well I do and also I will show you in this story. this book is realistic because it seem like it can happen but not in real world. but this boy name billy really loves basketball and billy dad coaches him. but his dad wants billy to be a team player, all billy wants to do is shoot, he one of the best shooters in the leauge. his brother name Ben he is a piano prodigy. billy brother Ben hardly ever talks anymore. billy mother always traveling on business. billy is mad at his dad cause he is always complaining about his actions on the court. his dad always tell billy to pass the ball, I would agree with billy dad yo say pass the ball but if he can shoot the ball real good I will let him shoot all day. the conflict of this book is person vs self because the character struggles in he or she own mind. the main character is billy because it talks about billy thru out the story. an interesting thing I learned from this book is to be a team player because I see how important it is to be a team player cause you can win champions and respect so I agree with dad that sometimes billy have to be a team player. I would compare this book to the million dollar shot because it both talks about basketball. I really liked this book because I love basketball and I leaned a lot from this book like to be a team player and don't be selfish. the overall of this book is 9 because I like basketball, also I enjoyed the book. I recommend this book to true legend. also remember don't be selfish in life because will think you are jerk and always thinking about your self an don't care about nobody but your self. that's what I learned from this book is not to be selfish and be team player
April 13, 2015
Personal reaction: I was really excited to read another Mike Lupica book after reading Hero, but I have to be honest, I was not super crazy about this book. This could partially be because I'm not a 3rd grade boy that plays basketball, but never the less, the whole story just made me sad. Poor Billy has to deal with his parents being separated, his mother always traveling on business, his little brother Ben slowly becoming a selective mute and his father who's always on his case to be the star player on the basketball team team that he ever so conveniently coaches. Although the ending results in "Billy teaching his father a lesson about being a team player", the rest of the book seemed like an never ending uphill battle for poor Billy.
Purpose: Although I didn't particiuraly like this book, it would still make a great read aloud. Whether it's sports, music, or divorce and separation, children will more than likely find something they can relate to which will in turn capture their attention. Issue's such as divorce or separation are unfortunetly things that come up in many children's life These issues are hard to deal with and understand no matter what age you are. If you have a student in your class that is currently dealing with issue's of that type, reading this story might help them to understand that their not the only one going through that type of struggle. Same goes for a student that feels like they have to be in charge of their younger sibling because of an absent parent or a student that is constantly feeling pressured to be the best in a certain situation. This book teaches students about treating people the way they want to be treated, team work, and to never give up among many other things.
Purpose: Although I didn't particiuraly like this book, it would still make a great read aloud. Whether it's sports, music, or divorce and separation, children will more than likely find something they can relate to which will in turn capture their attention. Issue's such as divorce or separation are unfortunetly things that come up in many children's life These issues are hard to deal with and understand no matter what age you are. If you have a student in your class that is currently dealing with issue's of that type, reading this story might help them to understand that their not the only one going through that type of struggle. Same goes for a student that feels like they have to be in charge of their younger sibling because of an absent parent or a student that is constantly feeling pressured to be the best in a certain situation. This book teaches students about treating people the way they want to be treated, team work, and to never give up among many other things.
June 1, 2012
I enjoyed reading Hot Hand a lot by Mike Lupica. It had 190 pages. And I thought it was a great book, and I could never put it down! The main character is Billy Raynor. Billy's parents are divorced so him and his brother, Ben Raynor, have been very upset about the seperation. Their parent's are both trying to spend lot's of time with them with different hobbies. Billy loves to play basketball and his dad has always coached Billy's team. And Ben Raynor plays the piano, and his mom always prepares him for his big recital. Billy's dad is always tough on Billy when he plays basketball because Billy loves to shoot the ball, and his dad always says to use his teammates and pass because that is how a team wins. Billy and his dad argue over this through out the book and later on Billy has it with his dad and decides to not go to his championship game, and instead go to his brother's piano recital. Billy saw Ben and gave him a thumbs up, Ben smiled. Billy goes to Ben's recital for his part and Billy decides to go to his game for the second half of the game. When Billy's dad saw him he said, "I'm proud of you son". When Billy got ready for the second half, he noticed his brother and his mom in the stands. Ben then gives Billy a thumbs up, just like Billy did for Ben. And at the end of the game, Billy makes an unbelievable pass to one of his teammates who scores. Billy's team won! Billy's dad came over to Billy and said, " Nice pass". All in all, I would rate this book a 4 out of 5 of five being the best. I would defiantely recommened this book to anyone who likes basketball!
May 30, 2013
Hot Hand Review
Hot Hand by Mike Lupica is about a boy that loved playing Basketball in Billy Raynor. Billy's ultimate goal in the book was to win that year's Basketball championship with his team. The goal gets much harder for him to reach mentally with things happening to his life off the court. Billy's parents are getting a divorce and there is absolutely nothing he can do to stop it. Billy has a younger brother named Ben and he needed to help him cope with the divorce and try to win a championship. Billy is the best player/shooter in the league but his play really starts to slip when all the bad things in his parents relationship begin to unfold. Read the book to see how Billy copes with things along with his brother and how he takes his season and home life and creates a positive out of it.
This for sure is probably my favorite book to date by Lupica. I cannot relate to the plot line but I can relate to the shooting slump he had. I really liked being able to relate like that. I thought the relationships with his parents were explained well and as a reader you were really able to grasp the reasoning for why his play went south because of the close relationship he had with both his parents. I have 0 questions for the book and have 0 complaints. Thats what makes it my favorite.
The rating I would give this book is a 5/5 or a 10/10. Perfection. I would recommend this to anyone who likes Basketball, Sports, Drama, or just a good comeback story of any kind. Great book.
Hot Hand by Mike Lupica is about a boy that loved playing Basketball in Billy Raynor. Billy's ultimate goal in the book was to win that year's Basketball championship with his team. The goal gets much harder for him to reach mentally with things happening to his life off the court. Billy's parents are getting a divorce and there is absolutely nothing he can do to stop it. Billy has a younger brother named Ben and he needed to help him cope with the divorce and try to win a championship. Billy is the best player/shooter in the league but his play really starts to slip when all the bad things in his parents relationship begin to unfold. Read the book to see how Billy copes with things along with his brother and how he takes his season and home life and creates a positive out of it.
This for sure is probably my favorite book to date by Lupica. I cannot relate to the plot line but I can relate to the shooting slump he had. I really liked being able to relate like that. I thought the relationships with his parents were explained well and as a reader you were really able to grasp the reasoning for why his play went south because of the close relationship he had with both his parents. I have 0 questions for the book and have 0 complaints. Thats what makes it my favorite.
The rating I would give this book is a 5/5 or a 10/10. Perfection. I would recommend this to anyone who likes Basketball, Sports, Drama, or just a good comeback story of any kind. Great book.
August 29, 2013
Hot Hand written by Mike Lupica is great book. I really enjoyed reading it, and could not put it down until I finished. I liked it because it was mostly about basketball, it was an easy read, and the book kept you guessing what was going to happen next on every page. This books genre is realistic fiction, because it did not actually happen, but it could have happened in real life. In my opinion Hot Hand is a suitable read for 6th grade and older.
This is a book about a boy who has parents that are in the middle of a divorce, and two siblings, a sister, Eliza, and a brother, Billy, who have nothing in common with him. Billy’s passion is playing basketball, but when there is a conflict with his family, and his basketball game, what will he do?
This book is very good because it teaches a valuable lesson about choosing your family over your hobby. It is very well written because it focuses on the point mostly the whole time. This book is not confusing at all because there are very little side plots throughout the story. I enjoyed reading it because there was a bunch of little climaxes, and it kept you guessing on every page, which was very amusing. This book had many real-life situations, and it teaches you to do the right thing. This book was also kind of interesting because although Billy was the main character, and the story revolved around him, it could have easily been his brother or dad.
I liked this book a lot, and I think anybody who likes sports would enjoy this book. Although Billy thinks basketball is his life, it really isn’t, you’ll see.
This is a book about a boy who has parents that are in the middle of a divorce, and two siblings, a sister, Eliza, and a brother, Billy, who have nothing in common with him. Billy’s passion is playing basketball, but when there is a conflict with his family, and his basketball game, what will he do?
This book is very good because it teaches a valuable lesson about choosing your family over your hobby. It is very well written because it focuses on the point mostly the whole time. This book is not confusing at all because there are very little side plots throughout the story. I enjoyed reading it because there was a bunch of little climaxes, and it kept you guessing on every page, which was very amusing. This book had many real-life situations, and it teaches you to do the right thing. This book was also kind of interesting because although Billy was the main character, and the story revolved around him, it could have easily been his brother or dad.
I liked this book a lot, and I think anybody who likes sports would enjoy this book. Although Billy thinks basketball is his life, it really isn’t, you’ll see.
May 7, 2018
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys basketball and sports. This book takes place in modern times, with a pop warner basketball league. It's about a boy named Billy, and how his parents have divorced and he has to quickly move on from has dad leaving him, even though his dad is his basketball coach. Billy has a brother named Ben, who is 9 years old, and he is a piano prodigy. Billy plays for the town team for their league, and is expected to win the championship for the first time ever, with his best friend and also best player on the team, Lenny. Lenny and Billy are very close, they practice basketball together, play together, and hangout together. Billy's dad had left the family because of issues with his mom, who is a lawyer. Billy had a really hard time getting over the split, and seemed to hate his dad until the very end of the book. Billy picked going to Ben's piano recital instead of going to his league championship game, after he tried convincing his dad to go to his sons piano recital instead of going to his basketball game. He came back in the start of the 4th quarter, and played amazing with his mom and Ben watching. His dad was very proud of him and had encouraged him for the first time all season and since the split, since he had gave Billy hard times since the split on the court. Billy's dad admitted he was wrong that he didn't go to Ben's recital, and he was proud that Billy did go. He was also proud that Billy made the game winning shot to win the championship.
October 10, 2018
I read the book HOT HANDS by Mike lupica. This book is about a boy named Billy raynor who is one of the best basketball players on his winter basketball team. When Billy's parents gets a divorce it gets to him and his dad which is also the head coach of his team . When they got divorced his team went a little down hill after that but can they get it back togther before the winter championship game?
I love to read Mike lupica books and one day I was at the library and I picked it up read the back of the book and it seemed like a book I wanted to read . The book takes place in Boston and ita about a boy and his team mates trying to win the winter championships basketball game .
Billy loves the sport of basketball but he rather shoot the ball then pass it . Billy tries to help his teammates as much as he can to get togther if they could stay in the gym 24/ 7 they would . But when Billy parents got divorced his teammates tried getting back on his feet and that was hard because Billy is bull headed . After about a week of losing his game Billy realized the winter championship game was less then a week a way him and his team mates.kicked in gear and did alot of practicing getting prepared for the big game ..
I really did like this book because it's about basketball. This book will show u how when ur going through a rough time how it will affect your family and team mates, and also shows u how to take responsibility in what u do and try your hardest no matter what u do. If u love to read sports books I recommend u to read HOT HANDS by Mike lupica.
I love to read Mike lupica books and one day I was at the library and I picked it up read the back of the book and it seemed like a book I wanted to read . The book takes place in Boston and ita about a boy and his team mates trying to win the winter championships basketball game .
Billy loves the sport of basketball but he rather shoot the ball then pass it . Billy tries to help his teammates as much as he can to get togther if they could stay in the gym 24/ 7 they would . But when Billy parents got divorced his teammates tried getting back on his feet and that was hard because Billy is bull headed . After about a week of losing his game Billy realized the winter championship game was less then a week a way him and his team mates.kicked in gear and did alot of practicing getting prepared for the big game ..
I really did like this book because it's about basketball. This book will show u how when ur going through a rough time how it will affect your family and team mates, and also shows u how to take responsibility in what u do and try your hardest no matter what u do. If u love to read sports books I recommend u to read HOT HANDS by Mike lupica.
November 16, 2012
a. Realistic Fiction
b. 165 pages
c. This book by Mike Lupica is about Billy and his family. Billy's parents recently got divorced and ever since then nothing has been the same. He lives with his mom, his older sister, Eliza, and his younger brother, Ben. Eliza doesn't do much. Ben is really good at piano. Billy loves to play basketball. He doesn't see his except that his father is his basketball coach. Billy loves to play basketball and loves to shoot. He is on the same team as Lenny, his best friend who is another great player. Their mission is to win the championship which they missed last year barely. Billy doesn't get along with his dad during the basketball season. His dad always tells Billy to pass but Billy always shoots. His father takes basketball way to seriously. Billy does get to the championship, but shows up late when he wants to be there at Ben's big piano recital. After the recital, Billy goes to the game at the beginning of the 4th quarter. He helps their team overcome a tough victory and win the championship. He is very happy and gets along with his dad.
d. I liked this book because it drew a very clear image of what was going on in the plot. It gave very specific details of the scenery and what was taking place. I could also relate to the book because it was about basketball and some of Billy's situations I have faced too. Overall, this was a exciting and suspenseful book.
b. 165 pages
c. This book by Mike Lupica is about Billy and his family. Billy's parents recently got divorced and ever since then nothing has been the same. He lives with his mom, his older sister, Eliza, and his younger brother, Ben. Eliza doesn't do much. Ben is really good at piano. Billy loves to play basketball. He doesn't see his except that his father is his basketball coach. Billy loves to play basketball and loves to shoot. He is on the same team as Lenny, his best friend who is another great player. Their mission is to win the championship which they missed last year barely. Billy doesn't get along with his dad during the basketball season. His dad always tells Billy to pass but Billy always shoots. His father takes basketball way to seriously. Billy does get to the championship, but shows up late when he wants to be there at Ben's big piano recital. After the recital, Billy goes to the game at the beginning of the 4th quarter. He helps their team overcome a tough victory and win the championship. He is very happy and gets along with his dad.
d. I liked this book because it drew a very clear image of what was going on in the plot. It gave very specific details of the scenery and what was taking place. I could also relate to the book because it was about basketball and some of Billy's situations I have faced too. Overall, this was a exciting and suspenseful book.
January 12, 2017
Do you like sports and you need a book to read? Well you should read Mike Lupica’s book "Hot Hand". It is an outstanding book. "Hot Hand" is a story about a kid who plays basketball and is really good at it but he has some family problems that happen. What he does to get through them is for you to read and find out.
"Hot Hand" is about a boy whose name is Billy Raynor. He is the best shooter in the league but with his dad as being the coach he and his parents being separated, things become complicated. His brother Ben, who loves to play the piano, barely talks anymore and his mom is always traveling for work. Also, his dad is always on his case about not sharing the ball and becoming a team player. But things get complicated for his family. Ben, his little brother, has a piano recital that falls on the same day as Billy's championship game and there mom is traveling for work. Billy's dad is in a tough situation on what to do and it is Billy who teaches his dad the true meaning of becoming a team player.
I liked this book a lot because it was about something I do and I would recommend it to anyone who plays sports. Also, it taught me how to be a team player as well when I read it. The writing style of this book is easy to understand and you know who's saying what. Also, there is a lot of dialogue. The book is told from a narrator's point of view so you can see what everyone is thinking and saying.
"Hot Hand" is about a boy whose name is Billy Raynor. He is the best shooter in the league but with his dad as being the coach he and his parents being separated, things become complicated. His brother Ben, who loves to play the piano, barely talks anymore and his mom is always traveling for work. Also, his dad is always on his case about not sharing the ball and becoming a team player. But things get complicated for his family. Ben, his little brother, has a piano recital that falls on the same day as Billy's championship game and there mom is traveling for work. Billy's dad is in a tough situation on what to do and it is Billy who teaches his dad the true meaning of becoming a team player.
I liked this book a lot because it was about something I do and I would recommend it to anyone who plays sports. Also, it taught me how to be a team player as well when I read it. The writing style of this book is easy to understand and you know who's saying what. Also, there is a lot of dialogue. The book is told from a narrator's point of view so you can see what everyone is thinking and saying.
October 5, 2018
The title of this book is Hot Hand by Mike Lupica. The genre of this book is realistic fiction and shows things that could happen in the real life and is very relatable to a lot of people.The conflict in this book is that billy Raynor is not doing his best in basketball and his mom and dad just got separated and he is always going back and fourth to each other’s house. He doesn’t have enough time to practice for basketball, which is the most important thing in his universe. Billy is always thinking about the separation and wishing that his family was still together. Other important characters in this book are Ben Billy’s little brother and his dad who is his basketball coach.The protagonist in this book is Billy Raynor because it talks a lot about Billy’s basketball career in the Y league as a talented shooter.
I feel that the book is good for basketball fans and can also be a good book for people that’s parents are not it getting along.I feel that the author described things a good way because it was a very easy book to read witch means that the author didn’t really make any mistakes.The pace of the book wasn’t fast or slow.This really refered to my life in a way because my parents are separated and I play basketball and I also understand what he is going through with going back and fourth to each other’s houses. The author seems very believable in this book because this can be a lot of people lives.
August 11, 2016
I would rate Hot Hand five stars out of five. I would give it this rating because I love basketball books and I understand this book more because I use to play basketball when I was little. Jason and I played on the same team and just like Billy and Lenny played on the same team as friends. I Would recommend this book to others that like conflict and basketball. I would also recommend it to people use to play basketball at the YMCA because that's where this book takes place most of the time.
A kid named Billy play's for a team at the YMCA with his best friend Lenny. His dad was the coach for his basketball team. Billy has a little brother named Ben that play's the piano. Billy parents are divorced Billy and Ben live with their mother most of the time. Ben was getting bullied at school by a guy named Zeke and he was holding Ben's right hand (his piano hand) really hard was hurting him at recess so Billy tried to help him. Billy and Zeke got in a fight and they both got suspended. Since Billy got suspended he wasn't allowed to go to practice and his dad's rule is if you don't go to practice you weren't allowed to play on Saturday. So Billy wasn't allowed to play and they were just in the playoffs with an undefeated record. So Billy wasn't happy with his dad because he's always being mean to him. Then they win there next game and they head to the Championship.
A kid named Billy play's for a team at the YMCA with his best friend Lenny. His dad was the coach for his basketball team. Billy has a little brother named Ben that play's the piano. Billy parents are divorced Billy and Ben live with their mother most of the time. Ben was getting bullied at school by a guy named Zeke and he was holding Ben's right hand (his piano hand) really hard was hurting him at recess so Billy tried to help him. Billy and Zeke got in a fight and they both got suspended. Since Billy got suspended he wasn't allowed to go to practice and his dad's rule is if you don't go to practice you weren't allowed to play on Saturday. So Billy wasn't allowed to play and they were just in the playoffs with an undefeated record. So Billy wasn't happy with his dad because he's always being mean to him. Then they win there next game and they head to the Championship.
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