Backcourt Battle

by Rich Wallace, Chris King (Illustrations)

After the starting point guard sprains his ankle during a game, Jamere steps in until his rival teammate returns for the championship. But with both boys expecting to start in the final game, their coach asks Jamere to decide who will play. The ending is Up2U.

80 pages, Library Binding

Published September 1, 2017

Reviews

[Brianna Allman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this read. I think boys and girls would enjoy it because of the storyline and the conflict between two characters who are fighting for the guard position on their basketball team. This book kept me curious and held my attention throughout. I had also never read a story where there are multiples option given for you to pick the ending. Because it has this, I could see students reading this book multiple times through and never getting tired of it. There is a lot of basketball vocabulary so I could see that being tough for students who don't have this background knowledge. This teaches a lesson of working together for a common purpose and setting aside differences.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story has a good character lesson and is fun because you get to pick the ending. We had a good debate about which would be the best ending. I think a book like this would also be a good way to talk to students about revising that authors do with their stories.