Los Angeles

Hoop City #1

by Sam Moussavi

Paul is the top high school basketball player coming out of Los Angeles. He has the pick of any college that he wants. So what's eating at him? Well, life is hard growing up in Watts. Plus, Paul lost his parents and sister at a young age. The only person he has left is his grandmother, who raised him. Will the pressure of leading his team through his senior season, along with choosing a college, be enough to break Paul?

Hoop City is a six-book series from EPIC Press.

Genres: Sports, Young Adult

199 pages, Library Binding

First published September 1, 2015

Reviews

[Sheila Joyner · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is being marketed for middle school students and it is completely inappropriate for that age group. It is filled with profanity and 'street' language, as well sexually explicit content that includes the rape of the main male character by his mother previous boyfriend (spoiler alert). The writing is acceptable and the story is both believable and compelling but the language it is presented in is simply unacceptable for kids grades 6-8. And let's be clear here, I am a librarian in a very urban environment and I know that there are parents and other adults in this community who would view this material as completely offensive. Attempting to 'reach' students by lowering the tone of the material to match what an adult writer thinks kids of this age would relate to does nothing to encourage those children to reach higher and look beyond the characteristics that often trap them in difficult life situations.

[Zach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hoop City Los Angeles by Sam Moussavi is about a high school senior and his basketball career. He is the best on his team by far. He has many big colleges looking for him from left to right. Life is hard for him though his parents died at a young age and he's had to live with his grandma in the Watts(the hood). Will Paul be able to carry his high school team, take care of his grandma and think about what college he is going to go to?
I personally enjoyed this book. I thought it was very interesting, although I'm not sure if the other books in the series as good because this book was a very easy read and interesting. I would definitely recommend Hoop City Los Angeles by Sam Moussavi to any high schooler that is in a sport. It is inspiring and will be hard to stop reading.

[Marquivion Beasley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hoop City (Los Angeles), Is about a guy named Paul that lives In Los Angeles, California. Paul Is the best basketball player in high school coming out of Los Angeles and he is always in the gym and working on his game. He has offers from every college around the country and he can pick wherever he wants to go. And I love basketball and I have read another book like this before so It kinda hooked me on the series when I read the first one. And this is just an overall good book that plays its part and acts out the scenes really well.

Paul has had a rough life and he had lost his mom and his sister at a young age and now he only lives with his grandmother that has raised him his whole life. With everything that has happened in Paul's life this is one thing that really pushes him to go harder and work harder to achieve his goals. And as he put in that work the coach realized and said “I just want to say I appreciate the effort I saw out there today. And I want to thank you for all the work you put in this summer. On your games. And on your bodies” (Coach 25). And this pushed Paul to go even harder and that's why he can have the label as the best player in Los Angeles because his work ethic matches up with everything. Paul would put his body on the like and play through everything which shows when he said “My ankle burned but I ignored it. He attacked again, he stepped back for the game winning jump shot. I stretched my left arm out as far as I could to contest the and I got a fingernail on the ball” (Paul 104). As I have read this book it has gotten more interesting by the chapter because each chapter there's a new thing and it's kind of a good example for me because you have to work for what you want in life.

Finally, I would say this book did a great job developing the story and making the plot very interesting. Also this book was very easy to read and even though I dislike reading, I actually read the whole book and understood the story. My overall impression and rating for the book was 5 out of 5 because I really enjoyed it and I have read another hoop city book and I thought they were both really good and this is probably the only book series I have actually read.

[Jorge · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is really good, if your into sports especially basketball this book will be good for you so will the whole series.
In the book a senior in High school named Paul is a star basketball player at his school, he has offers many D1 offers and is deciding where to go. Paul lives with his grandma due to the fact that his parents passed away. In the book he a quit kid who just plays basketball and worries about his school work. A lot goes in on the book that will have you keep wanting to read so i recommend this book

[Jimmy Pillittere · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book! If your'e a big basketball guy or gal then definitely think about reading this series of books. Great use of "basketball language" and basketball terms. Great story line and amazing characters. Just so this is known the book does have a slight bit of inappropriate language for a young audience so I recommend this book to kids in grades 8-12.

[Godgift Torbor · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was about senior star basketball player named Paul who has to go through the death of one of his teammates and trying to find a college that he wants to go.

[Lydia Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book. Very Realistic. If you like basketball I recommend you read this.

[Landon S · Rating 2 out of 5]

The plot goes as followed. Paul is an amazing basketball player. He is the top player in his high school. He has to make the decision of what college he wants to attend of his choice. This decision will change his life has we know it. Paul changes in a way that he doesn't want to just play for the best college, he wants to play for the college that fits him the best. In the end Paul's coach admits he has been offered $100,000 dollars by colleges only if Paul attends their college. But Paul wants to go to The University of Oregon. I enjoyed this book, but it was so predictable. It's all about the talented kid that gets a scholarship. That is why I rate this book 2 stars.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paul lives with his grandma in a rough part of LA called Watts. He is an excellent basketball player as well as a good student and could likely go to just about any college that he wants. His coach is pressuring him to pick from 3 schools that he has recommended but none of them are appealing to him. All of the pressure is started to get to him, though.

I liked John Feinstein's "Foul Trouble" better for this same sports scenario.

With almost 200 pages to work with, I felt like there should have been greater depth, especially depth of character. However, struggling and/or reluctant readers as well as those who like their sports stories with a tang of urban grit to them will enjoy the story. I was also distressed by the lack of grammatical editing in several places. I doubt that will bother most students, however.

[Corbin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly I liked it a lot.

[KashThaGoat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hoop City
Los Angeles
By: Sam Moussavi

Do you like sports or interesting books well Hoop City Los Angeles By Sam Moussavi is just for you because A player named Paul is a star of a basketball team and he has little time to pick a college and is confused what to do.
A top basketball player named Paul is having trouble picking a college and his friend tries to help him and tell him advice but he was only focused on the state championship and the deadline was coming up to sign to a college. A interesting quote is when Paul asked Robin why she hates sports and she says “ When he was ( her brother) a senior he went to homecoming with his date and a group of friends. They were leaving the parking lot after the dance and this car pulled up and opened fire on my brother , two of his friends , and their dates. The six of them were dead on the spot. It turned out that the shooting was revenge” her brother was a star player like paul and this happened. The main characters are Paul, Terrell, Coach Destefano, and Robin it was in Los Angeles at Paul's high school. I think the author wants you to always listen to your close people because they always on your side no matter what because Terrell said “Nah, not that It’s coach yeah watch out for him he foul” and coach does something real foul if you read it.
I can connect some people in the world to robin because they family might have been killed over something and make them never like it again like robin with sports some people sibling could have been musicians and got killed because they were talented and people wanted to be them so their little brothers or sisters won’t like music because of that.
I liked that it was interesting all through the book and it was not boring some chapters i do not like that they did not tell us want Paul went on to do did he make it to the NBA or win the state championship and did coach spread the rumor and was lots of things they left out.
Athletes should read this book to see some things people will do to you like coach and try to betray you and make you do something you don't want to. I will rate this a 5 because im a Basketball player myself and now i am informed what some people that may seem they on your side but make you go down the wrong path.

[2Gilmore Nikayla]

I really enjoyed this book as i read it. It shows different points of views and it also lessons. The lessons they have in the book are; stand up for yourself, don't let anyone make you do something you don't want to do, and to be careful as to who you hang around or go around. In the story Paul has had faced a hard time, because of the pressure his basketball coach put on him for choosing a college to go to. He also lost a good friend at a party from an overdose. At the end of the day Paul wasn't alone, he had found a girl that he really liked to cheer him up.

[Jimmy Young]

liked it