Justin

Blacktop #1

by L.J. Alonge, Raúl Allén (Illustrator)

A street smart, action-packed basketball series from debut author LJ Alonge.

Justin has a list of goals stashed under his mattress. Number 1 is "figure out life plans." Number 5 is "earn Zen Master rating in WoW." Nowhere on that list is "play the crew from Ghosttown," but that's the type of trouble that always seems to finds him. 

The debut title from LJ Alonge's new basketball series pulses with action on and off the court. With wit, humor, and honesty, Justin unfolds over one hot summer in Oakland, California.


From the Paperback edition.

Genres: Sports, Young Adult, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Contemporary, Family

144 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published June 7, 2016

Reviews

[Kevin Torres · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a book called Blacktop Justin by L J Alonge. It is about a 15 year old boy who loves basketball. He is nerdy and good at school. Throughout the book, Justin learns to get better at basketball when his friend, Frank, starts a team to beat the other opponent. When Justin plays basketball he wishes he could become a basketball star. He knows he will have to get better to play. His family does the best they can for him, even buying him new shoes that they couldn't afford.

I liked reading this book because I like to read about sports. This was a very good book because it talks about a kid who isn’t very good at basketball becoming a star player. It also talks about his friendship with Frank that people can relate to. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes sports.

[Rich in Color is now on StoryGraph]

Review copy: ARC via publisher

L.J. Alonge’s debut novel is a short and fun read following Justin and his friend Frank as they try to build a basketball team to play against one of the best teams in the neighborhood when neither young men has any real skill. Justin sees the task of playing the dominating team as a consequence of a dare gone completely wrong and is complacent in the face of imminent failure. Along the way, however, he learns about the power to friendship and teamwork, skills his estranged father had been teaching him during their one-on-one pick up games.

I had read this novel was great for middle school students and low level readers and I have to agree with this assessment. Blacktop #1 is an enjoyable read that I know would catch many of my reluctant readers, whom are usually boys, with the sports angle and get them interested in reading.

The strength of Alonge’s debut lies in the voice of Justin who is that adolescent on the brink of adulthood, with a young man’s body (he’s 6’4” after a growth spurt), but has a kid’s playful mind and sense of humor. In addition, Justin is not just an aspiring basketball player, he is also a bookish nerd who loves comic books and science fiction/fantasy novels. He is a good student, top of his class in fact, and is proud of his smarts. He doesn’t try to hide them, but wishes that because of his height, he could be the basketball star as well. I love that Alonge chose to create a character who has other thoughts than basketball and is actually a bit nerdy. Black nerds, specifically boys, are not portrayed very often in literature and if they are they are always an Erkel stereotype. Justin is a real kid, in fact he reminds me of many of my students who were tall gangly goofy kids who would get in arguments about who was better, Superman or Batman.

It is because of Justin that I think, no believe, that Alonge’s novel could turn a young kid who struggles with reading into a person finds pleasure in the written word.

Recommendation: If you know a geeky sport loving kid, get them this book!

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

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[Sara Weather · Rating 3 out of 5]

#178

[Anthony Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blacktop: Justin is LJ Alonge’s debut book in his Blacktop series. Alonge utilizes a great diction, much humor, and honesty throughout his book about Justin, a 6’4” nerdy teenager who is top of his class in school. The novel follows Justin, along with his best friend, Frank, as they strive to build a neighborhood team to conquer the Ghosttown team, the best squad in town. Neither boy has much skill, but together they learn about the power of friendship and teamwork and it is apparent t the reader that these boys have a very close-knit bond.
Justin strives to be somebody. In the book, 6’4” nerdy Justin doesn’t try to hide that he is an outstanding student, but he does wish that as a result of his height he could be a basketball star as well. His mom and stepdad reward him with the brand-new Jordan 11s he had mentioned, and he is so happy, but feels guilty in a sense because he knows they couldn’t afford them. Justin’s mom and stepdad do a fabulous job of providing for him as his dad got kicked out when he was younger. Justin’s mom and stepdad relate to mine in a way. I do not have a stepdad and my parents are happily married, but rather they do their best and go above and beyond to make sure I and each of my little siblings have all that we need to put our best foot forward.
This was a relatively easy read and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. This is the first of the Blacktop series by Alonge and I cannot wait to read about Janae, Frank, and Toni later. Justin’s story about a small-town kid with a rough family life doesn’t mean that readers will not feel attached to his story. Not as all. Justin studies the game of basketball so much that he is a much smarter player than Frank, but he has much fewer skills. In the end, all readers alike will be rooting or Justin and hoping that he figures all his troubles out. Janae is written about next in the series and I am very ready to read from her angle.

[BryantW]

Justin (Blacktop, #1) by L.J. Alonge was intriguing because when reading the synopsis, I read that Justin and I have many similarities.I was also curious because like many books I read, it is a sports book.The story starts with Justin, a fifteen year old boy that Loves Basketball. Justin is Tall, Awkward and he is nerd. He lives in a working class family in a beat down urban area.

Despite Justin's love for basketball, he isn't very good.Justin is very lanky and uncoordinated, this causes everyone to be better than him.For this, Justin isn't respected by his peers.They see him as a nobody.Even his father doesn't believe in him and he doesn't think Justin is good.Since everyone looks at him this way, Justin makes it his goal to prove everyone wrong and he works on his skills.

This book was very relatable.My favorite part was when His mom and Mr. Hunter got him a pair of sneakers.They still got him the shoes even though they couldn't really afford them. Justin really appreciated them and it made him want to practice at basketball even more. It was motivation to him.

This book is quick to read and it is easy to understand. I would recommend this book to people that like to read fiction book as well as people who like sport books.I really enjoyed reading.Overall this is a great book!

[Khoi Nguyen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave this book a five-star rating because it greatly met my expectations. I wanted to hear a first-person point of view about a teenager struggling his way to get better at basketball and this book gave me what I wanted. Justin, growing up without a father figure was hard for him as he never really had anyone to take care of him. When he does meet his father again, he takes advantage of it and tries to get his biological father to teach him one-on-one basketball. Justin grew up in the lower-class but despite all the disadvantages Justin had, he always persevered through the end and never gave up on his goal to play basketball more frequently every day. I liked how the author set up this story and how he ended the story by rewinding to the beginning when Justin had written down his goals for his life. At the end of the book, Justin makes a word for himself and now a lot of people notice him since he got a lot better at basketball. He didn't want to seem like a nobody so he worked hard to become somebody. This book might appeal to younger athletes who are at many disadvantages whether it be physically, mentally, financially, or etc. This book was written to inspire those young athletes to make a name for themselves and to put dedication to the things they enjoy and want to do.

[Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Wee ooo wee ooo!” As blue and white lights fill my room. “Man I hate this place” I say to myself as a get ready for the day.

The story Blacktop is about a kid named Justin who has a love for basketball. He lives in a poor area and all he wants is to be someone. His outlook on life is ruined because he’s dad is a homeless alcoholic, and he’s coaches said he can’t play basketball. This story is very realistic because Justin is a normal kid that’s just trying to make he’s mom proud. Like on page 47 where Justin explains he just wants his mom to think he’s done good in life. I think this is a big reason that I like this book so much. I do basically everything for my parents. I can relate to him in some way because of this. Another thing this story does phenomenally is the pacing of the story. On page 7 it describes everything Justin was thinking about when he ran into his father. I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for an uplifting story about a kid who likes to hoop. Even if you don’t like basketball this will still be a good read because it just makes you feel good. It is on the shorter side of story’s so if your into quick reads this is great.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alonge, LJ Blacktop Justin, 142 pgs. Grosser & Dunlap (Penguin), 2016. $6.99. Content: Language: PG13 (12 swears: 6S, 1F, 3A, 4Misc ); Mature Content: PG13 Violence: PG13

Justin and his friend Frank spend a ton of time together. Part of their time is making mischief (like throwing a brick through a store window). Another part of their time is playing basketball, they want to get together a team to beat the Ghost Town crew. In the mean time Justin is distracted by his alcoholic father and mostly girls.

This high interest low reading level book is perfect of high school students looking to connect with an authentic voice. The author builds a realistic world with fully fleshed out characters who are learning about themselves through trial and error. The basketball component is there, but the book is really about Justin and his life. Contains slang, street talk, violence, drug and alcohol references, and real life issues.

HS –ADVISABLE Reviewer: Stephanie Elementary School Librarian & Author.

[Jeremiah Bonner-Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Justin is a tall, shy 15 y/o who has a long summer ahead of him. He lives in a working family in a beat down neighborhood. Justin wants to be known. He wants to make a name for himself and not just be seen as a random. His career is ruined because he cannot play basketball, because he does nothing important and because his father is homeless and is also an alcoholic who he sometimes runs into from time to time. Not good for him right?

He has a list of goals stashed under his mattress. Number 1 is "figure out life plans.” This is like every teenager today because everyone is getting older and time flies by so we don’t have much time before we have to figure out what we want to do in life.

This book is very interesting because he has a lot of problems average teenagers face today and the book is overall easy to read and i recommend reading it.

[Bryson Raymond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall blacktop was a good book. I enjoyed reading it and I think it was a good choice. I believe the main reason I liked it is because it’s a book about basketball and I usually like books about sports. Justin is the main character of my book, Justin wouldn’t back down to a challenge not from anyone including the crew from ghost town. Justin is just 15 years old but he’s kind of got life figured out. He already has a list of goals for his life and he follows them too. His number 1 rule on his list is to figure out his life plans. The 7th rule on his list is to play a little bit of basketball everyday because basketball is his passion and he wants to be the best and the best work for it everyday.

[Oscar Gorman · Rating 1 out of 5]

When reading the Black Top it became apparent that this book was meant for a much lower reading level than it first came off to be. This first came to be apparent when the diction being used within the book was at a level that seems to be up to par with late elementary school and early middle school. No real descriptor words were used and when something was to be described it almost came off sounding bland and forced. I soon couldn't even care to focus on this as the character development was close to nonexistent and made reading this book and when watching events play out it did not hold any real significance to me. But this was only one of my many problems regarding the plot as there seemed to be very little plot to actually follow. It felt like the book introduced one major problem just to completely disregard and forget about that one to talk of another. This leads me to talk about the non existent climax and conclusion as the book ends before the climax has even begun. No characters were memorable nor had any way to have you feel empathy. The feeling of reading this complete disappointment of a book just to be left on what even a toddler would consider the weakest attempt at a cliffhanger can only be associated with the feeling of stepping on your dogs tail and not being able to have it understand you are sorry. All this being said the book had very little talk about any basketball and had trouble following any complete storyline, it felt as if the book was not finished and barely had any effort put into it.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book "Black Top Justin," by L.J. Alonge, Is a short non-fiction novel about a boy named Justin, who creates a list of goals he would like to accomplish over the course of his summer. This brief list causes him to run into a little bit of trouble. Well, more like little hiccups that make the book a lot more enjoyable. From wanting to gain the respect of his friends, and finding out what he would like to do with his life. Although he creates this list, some surprises just can't be predicted. For example, running into his drunk and embarrassing father, as well as taking on a basketball “team” that is supposedly a lot better than them. This is a great novel for anyone who likes a short yet intriguing read.

[Mikeyrussello · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the book blacktop Justin. L.J alonge. This book is about Justin having mixed feelings about her dad. His friends are having problems also. His friend Omar threw a brick thought a grocery store and then it cough on fire. Justin is having problems about his friends.

I liked how it was age appropriate for me. I also liked how he slipped at McDonald's. But I did not like how Justin fights with his dad.

I would recommend this book to people my age. There are some bad words in this book so nobody younger than that. I rated this book 4 out of 5 because it have funny parts.

[Levi]

Justin is a tall kid with no skill really at all to play basketball but learned a couple moves from his father who always wanted to play one on one with him every time he saw him. His friend Frank is not good at the game either. Throughout the book, the two of them try to build a team to get together and beat the team from Ghosttown. Frank and Justin find the real meaning of what friendships are about and what they mean, they also realize they need to use teamwork and trust in each other. If you like basketball and competition then this is the book for you.

[Emma Branham · Rating 5 out of 5]

The kids from Ghostville came back and wanted to challenge against frank and justin and their team they put together. They start playing a pick up game but the Janue pops to the top of the key and drains a three. Putting them in the lead. They always go for Janue because she is a great three point shooter. They go under the basket and frank dunks the ball. They won the game and all the people from ghostille were all mad. I really enjoyed this book, because it was about basketball and I could relate to what they were talking about.

[Jordan Jensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

In class, we were told to pick out a book to read. I generally don't like reading so when I saw this book I thought it would be an easy, quick read, with a very boring plot. This book surprised me, this book was barely about basketball it went into great depth of Justin's life, fears, and how he dealt with adversity. I recommend this book to people who enjoy how someone overcomes a challenge in the characters life.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this, though the ending seemed abrupt. Maybe you need to read the second volume in the series to complete the story arc. I was very happy there wasn't some big moral I was supposed to take from it. Nice basketball story with realistic setting and characters. Good stuff. I will be recommending it to the teens in my library.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was good in my opinion id recommend it more to someone who likes basketball though. Its about a 15 year old named Justin who has a list of goals one of them being play a little basketball everyday and one day meets a crew from ghost town and gets challenged and has to play them in a game of basketball.

[Melinda · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story is about a young man name Justin who is trying to find his identity in his community. He seems to be unsure of so much but wants to fit in. His relationship with his dad is on a string, and his friendships involve him being a follower.

I bought this for my class library. There are a few inappropriate words, and trying to figure out if this is one I will add or not.

[Aisea Estrada]

what I thought about this book was very interesting and something that I could relate to. The main character Justin has many list of goals for his lifetime and about his basketball career as well, all he wants to do his pursue his dream of building a basketball team with all of his close friends and playing against teams all around the world.

[Logan Buffo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blacktop Justin, is about Justin and this career with basketball. He has a list of goals under his bed that no one has seen that he wants to meet. He goes through some hard times through out his life with family and others to. The town he lives in is run down and scary.

[Miri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not written very well. Chunks are weird and take you out of it. Wanted to like it, but it's pretty meh. It's clear the focus was the make it short, but that didn't give each plot point enough time to settle.

[Flesha · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read basketball story, of the first of a series. Justin hasn't really found his place in the world, he doesn't have a girlfriend, he doesn't play basketball well, he isn't a fighter. Spend a few days in his size 11 shoes.

[Maleah M. Slade · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise of this series is gritty and compelling. The dialogue felt natural and mostly believable. I did feel like some of the plot lines were incomplete, but maybe that improves more in the next books of the Blacktop series.

[Nissim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book! Great quick read for any sports lovers ;)

[Gretchen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great book for reluctant readers! Boys or girls, but especially for boys. It would be ok for 8th grade and up. There is some bad language. S#!t shows up a few times. Nothing gratuitous.

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

good not the best

[KJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I kinda liked this book because it was funny and it talked a lot about basketball. Also I like it is because it was interest about what the things Justin did.

[Jahsiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought it was really about finding the team and learning about Justin and his relationship with his dad but I didn't like the ending that much.