Recruited

Surviving Southside

by Suzanne Weyn

Kadeem Jones is a star quarterback for Southside High. He is thrilled when college scouts seek him out. His visit to Teller College is amazing. College cheerleaders pay attention to him. The recruiter even gives him money to have a good time. But then NCAA officials accuse Teller's staff of illegally recruiting top talent. Will Kadeem decide to help their investigation, even though it means the end of the good times? What will it do to his chances of playing college football?

Genres: Sports, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Young Adult, Football, Middle Grade, High School

104 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2010

About the author

Suzanne Weyn grew up in Williston Park, Long Island, New York. She has three sisters and a brother. As a girl, she was very interested in theatre and in reading. Louisa May Alcott was her favorite author, but she also read every Sherlock Holmes story. Suzanne lived pretty close to the ocean and going to Jones Beach was one of her favorite activities. Even today, if she goes too long without seeing the ocean, she starts feeling restless.

Suzanne now lives in upper New York State with her husband, two teen daughters and Abby the cat. Her house is at the edge of the woods and is nearly 200 years old. She graduated from State University of New York at Binghamton and received her master's degree from Pace University. She teaches part-time at City College in New York.

Suzanne's other books for Simon Pulse include South Beach Sizzle, a romantic comedy written with Diana Gonzalez. Her novels for the Simon Pulse line "Once Upon a Time" are The Night Dance: A Retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, Water Song: A Retelling of the Frog Prince, and The Crimson Thread: A Retelling of Rumplestiltskin. She very much enjoys rethinking these classic tales from an original point of view, always looking for the real psychological underpinning of the story. Suzanne is currently doing revisions on her fourth book in the line, which will be coming in 2009.

Suzanne's other recent novels are include The Bar Code Tattoo (2004) and its sequel, The Bar Code Rebellion (2006). The Bar Code Tattoo was selected by the American Library Assoc. (ALA) as a 2005 Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers and was a 2007 Nevada Library nominee for Best Young Adult Fiction. It is currently translated into German and was nominated for the 2007 Jugenliteraturpreis for Young People's Literature.

Reviews

[Jorge · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story focused on Kadeem Jones the star quarterback for the high school football team. He is being recruited by several schools but he really wants to go to Teller University because they have a winning football team. The Assistant Coach at Teller begins to give Kadeem money and takes him to the college for the weekend along with a few of his team mates.
Kadeem boastfully tells a rival coach about all the things the Teller coach has been doing, not realizing that it is an NCAA violation to received gifts and promises from recruiters. The NCAA Regulation boards get involved and Ty has to decide if he wants to do the right thing by testifying against Teller.

I like this book because its about sports something that i like also because it shows that
telling the truth has its rewards .

This book is best suited for middle school readers. The book is very simple and has a happy ending. It has realistic subject matter but not necessarily a realistic outcome.so i'll say that middle school readers will enjoy this book.

[Nick Redden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book because it was a topic I am interested in. I really following high school basketball players and their recruitment process. This book was about a boy, Kadeem who was a senior at his high school and the star of the football team. He was getting recruited by multiple colleges, but one that seemed really appealing to him was Teller University. Their coach brought him out for lunch and had him hangout with the cheerleaders. When he met the cheerleaders he really liked one of girls and they started texting and hanging out then Kadeem went to Teller's football games. Teller was also recruiting some other kids on his high school team which added more interest to the University. But what Kadeem and his teammates didn't know, until a man who works for the NCAA came to talk to him was that Teller was recruiting him and his teammates illegally. So Kadeem had to decide what to do, if he should not do anything and go to his dream school or work with the NCAA to bust Teller. Kadeem decides to work with the NCAA and turn on Teller, which was the right thing to do in many people's eyes. After the trial against Teller, Kadeem decides to go to Peterson University and has a successful career there.

[ReGina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book for upper graders that have low reading levels. However, for athletes that may be recruited, this provides an over-simplified portrayal of the recruiting process. I would say this book is on a fourth/fifth grade reading level, but this is definitely middle/secondary interest level. Should appeal in particular to boys interested in football or playing for a college.

[Tristen Thiel]

Really good book especially if you are into football.

[Larry Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recruited by Suzanne Weyn was an amazing book that I read. This book is about a teenager by the name of Kadeem Jones a quarterback at Southside High. He is getting recruited by a good handful of college schools. Kadeem is currently a senior quarterback who is currently a top recruit who is getting recruited by Teller University and some other colleges. Through all that, Kadeem gets in to a sticky situation with the NCAA.
“Kadeem held the football high, pumping it in the air” (12). This quote stands out to me because he’s acting excited as if he has never reached the end-zone it’s almost natural to him at this point. This book is told over the last couple games of his high school career.
I really enjoyed this book a lot. I really liked this book because i can relate to this as a high school athlete who is currently going through the recruitment process at the time. I’m kind of glad I read this book because at first, I really didn’t know anything about the recruitment process and how it works, but reading this helped me know a few rules and eventually i looked up some rules and regulations of the NCAA. To me the part I disliked was how it ended I wanted to know how he did in college and beyond that.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves sports. As an athlete, reading this book makes you want to look up and go over the rules and regulations. If you break NCAA rules, you could get your eligibility took right from your hands. This is a eye opener to all athletes trying to play at the next level .

[Natalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kadeem is a pretty good quarterback, good enough to get the attention of scouts. One scout in particular, from Teller, seems especially interested. He's buying Kadeem dinners, introducing him to cheerleaders, and letting him know they'll 'help' him with classes. Then Kadeem finds out this recruiter is violating recruiting laws with the NCAA. And he has to decide if he's going to help bring him down.

[Brock Arnold]

I read the book recruited. I chose this book because I like football. The story is about a high school quarterback and his senior year. Hoping to get a football scholarship. His friends are hoping to get scholarships also.

He finds out that not all colleges offer the same deals. Sometimes what is offered is illegal. Does he help the authorities or does he just go for the scholarship. And high school you have to make some hard choices.

[Abhijeet Deol]

Very good

[Ryan Cataldo · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book recruited is an excellent book, It brings realistic real life promblems that make you almost worried. The book had about football scholorships to relationships. The main character was Kadeem, he was very intellegent and always had good ways to deal with problems. I definitely have learned some things and facts from this book. While enjoying the climax and and then the best the falling action of the book. Definitely recommend this book.

[Caleb Heideman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recruited was one of the best books that I have ever read. It was very suspenseful because I was wondering if he was going to get recruited to a college. Then he talked to Frank Harries and he was set on Teller. He met a girl named Alyssa and he started to like her and when he sent her a friend request on Facebook she didn't reply for the next three days and he was worried. When he saw her the next she said that she didn't answer because her boyfriend is the jealous type. The next game a scout named Roy Fellows introduced himself to Kadeem. He offered a scholarship but he said I'm with teller. Then on Monday at practice he say Roy Fellows with a tall man and they walked to the sidelines and watched the whole practice. After that they stopped him and Roy introduced him to Alan Murphy. They said that teller scout could make one phone call and see them very few times. That Teller would send cheerleaders to get the best players to come to teller and Frank Harries was lying. They asked him if he would help them take record of what all he does and get Teller in trouble. He said he will tell them in a day to think about it. Frank Harris invited him to come to Teller for the weekend he asked his mom and she said yes. He went to the came it was fun to watch but they were killing their opponent. After that he went to the faculty room to eat, and when Alyssa would come he would talk to her. When she came in he said do you want to go out just you and me. Then Frank came up beside her and said you guys go out later and pulled a fifty dollar out of his pocket. Alyssa said sure pick me up at my house in thirty minutes. He sat on the porch for twenty minutes then went in and about said hurry up when saw her in the room on the phone. He heard her say I can't wait till all of this recruit things over. He decided to help Alan murphy. If you want to read a good sports book recruited would be a good one.

[Malik Hughes]

The author of the book the recruited is Suzanne Weyn. Recruited is about a high school football quarterback named Kadeem. Kadeem is the star quarterback at his school
South side. Kadeem and his friend Ty are happy when scouts from colleges come to watch there scrimmage game. During the scrimmage Kadeem looks like a star and wins the game. After the game the coach from teller university comes to speak to with Kadeem. Kadeem is offered to go out to dinner with the coach and he takes it. At dinner the coach gives him offers and introduces him to some of the cheer leaders.
Kadeem becomes fond of one of the cheer leaders named Alyssa so he gets her number and email. Also at the dinner the coach invites Kadeem to the next Teller game. At the game Kadeem sees many other players from high school. During half time the coach gives all the players he invited 20 dollars so they can get lunch. While waiting in line the coach from Peterson university comes to Kadeem and tries to give Kadeem offers m, Kadeem gets annoyed and tell the coach everything that teller is offering. After one of Kadeem's practices the coach from Peterson and an NCAA official confront Kadeem about the violations that teller has done and ask him to help expose them. Kadeem thinks about helping and decides to help after he finds out that Alyssa used him and that this was the right thing to do.
My favorite part of the book was when Kadeem was offered a scholarship for doing the right thing. My least favorite part was when Alyssa used him. This is a very good book I would recommend it to all my friends

[Jazzy Habba · Rating 2 out of 5]

Recruited
by:suzanne weyn

The book I read was called Recruited, it is about a young man named Kadeem he is a senior student and a star quarterback player of south side high kadeem was offered a visit to Teller university to see if he would like to play for the football tell and possibly attend school there next years but Frank harris was found guilty of illegally recruiting top talent by the NCAA officials and destroyed all thoughts of Kadeems about attending Teller. In my opinion the book was okay but not one of my favorites it was very short and didn’t have much excitement in it, it wasn’t really interesting and rather hard to get into. I would recommend this book to a younger grade level maybe for sixth graders, I would recommend this book to younger kid to get them thinking about what they really want to do with there life when they get a little older, and to help them get thinking about college a little more, I think it would really get the younger kids to take school more seriously and it’s never too early to think about what college you wish to attend to in the near future, it might encourage kids to ask questions about college and they may learn new things they didn't even know were possible if they attending college, it may get the kids more engaged in their school work and more concerned about their school grades. If they are any sports players they may even look more into scholarships or for athletic people that don't play sports to start considering playing sports, The possibilities are endless.

[Karen Ball · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was everything he'd been dreaming of. His future was falling into place...
Kadeem is the outstanding quarterback on his high school team, and the college scouts are noticing him. After one particularly good practice, he meets with an assistant coach from Teller University, a school known for their top-notch football program. Kadeem visits the school, goes to games, meets cheerleaders and gets money to go out to eat while he's there, all the while being told that he'll not only have ascholarship to come play for them, but that "your professors will work with us... Teller doesn't want you to lose your scholarship because of academic difficulties." When a coach from a rival university points out that all of that violates the national recruiting rules, Kadeem is angry and feels betrayed. If he wants everything that's been offered to him, all he has to do is keep his mouth shut. If he decides to help the NCAA with their investigation, will it hurt his friends who are depending on sports scholarships to go to college? Will it kill his chances to play ball at the college level? Good football novel for reluctant readers. 7th grade and up. Review copy received from Lerner publishers.

[Trey Grubl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recruited is a book about a high school football star, named Kadeem Jones. Kadeem is at practice one day and notices a bunch of College scouts watching, after practice a Scout from Teller University approaches Kadeem. The College Scout (Frank Harris) talks to Kadeem and takes him out to lunch, there he pays for his dinner and even introduces him to some of Teller's Cheerleaders. Frank is called Kadeem and invited him to a game at teller, there he gives Kadeem money and to eat. Another Scout from Peterson approaches Kadeem and asks him about playing for them, when Kadeem tells him all of the stuff that Teller has done to him he seems suprised. A few days after Kadeem got a call from the NCAA board saying that what Teller is doing is illegally drafting players by talking to them to much, and giving them things. The NCAA board wants Kadeem to help them by getting proof that Teller is illegally doing these things. Tellers illegal drafting goes on and on until Kadeem catches it on a recorder as an offer, he gives that to the NCAA board and they charge Teller with the illegal drafting. Then to show some gratitude Peterson offers Kadeem a scholarship to play for them.

[Foster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recruited follows Kadeem, the star quarterback of his high school football team. As a senior, Kadeem is starting to think about college and scouts have started taking an interest in him. Teller University, one of the best college teams, is interested in him and begin actively trying to get him interested. It’s a dream come true for Kadeem going to a great team that could give him a shot at pro-football, hot cheerleaders interested in him, no worries about grades, money and meals, But when Kadeem learns that Teller’s recruiting ways are illegal and is asked to help catch Teller at it, he doesn’t know what he should do. Kadeem would give up all the great things he can gain from Teller and could scare away all recruiters in the process to do the right thing. He eventually wears a microphone while visiting Teller university and the NCAA catches them in the act. He eventually gets a scholarship for his bravery and another football scholarship from another great school in Peterson university. I would recommend this book to classmates and friends who love football and especially to who wants to play college football.

[Benedict Steffens]

I really thought this book was interesting. I picked this book because I saw the cover was a football player. Which helps because I connect with football. I understand the game and I love kicking for the game. Which really helped me get through this book relatively quickly. I thought that when the author brought up that there were college scouts at the practices it really made the book seem so much more real. The book itself was great and I liked how over time the characters developed and changed. Some of them would change for the better and some for the worse. Kadeem changed a lot. He realized that some colleges are fake and that some are breaking rules. He found that there are a lot of other people as well that are good and will support you. Like his family and the NCAA. The author had a good motto, at least what I picked up, that doing good will do good for you. Like Kadeem decided that helping the NCAA prove that Teller (the college) was breaking recruitment rules. Which ended up being good for Kadeem because the Peterson school gave him a huge scholarship and so did the NCAA for helping turn in illegal recruiters. Kadeem did the right thing in my perspective.

[Gabriel · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I read "Recruiting" by Suzanne Weyn, I ended up enjoying the straight-forward narrative of the tale. It was about a young quarterback who was given the choice of attending a prestigious institution versus the turning the institution in for illegal recruiting. However, I had a difficult time grasping a sense of reality within the text. While I related to Kadeem being unappreciative of what he had, and his desire for better things, I was a little put off by the preachy nature of the story.

It's good for teens to understand the violations of NCAA/Amateur athletics rules. Players shouldn't be given money, a pass on grades, or anything else in order to get a scholarship. There were better ways to convey the message, though. Kadeem's father said some lines that were like "Oh great, we're watching a very special episode from a 90s sitcom now", and I wish events were more down to Earth.

Nonetheless, this was a good book and I was able to eventually become interested in it. Anyone who reads this will enjoy the narrative, and I only wish it could have been longer.

[Nina · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading Plan B, part of the Surviving Southside series, I thought this would be a great second book to read in this series. I didn’t love the first one, so I was hoping that maybe Recruited could change my mind about the series. Unfortunately it wasn’t so.

I didn’t like the main character. And if you don’t like the main character it’s pretty hard to read on further. I thought he was trying too hard to be liked, to be a good guy. Also I could not connect with him. There wasn’t any character development.

The plot was predictable. It wasn’t hard to find out what Kadeem would do next and why he did it. There wasn’t any action, suspense or just a really good story line. Also the action on the field didn’t grabbed my attention. Maybe it’s the sport. Maybe I’m not liking it.

All in all, this story wasn’t for me. I say, give it a try if you think you will enjoy a short football story.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is another fast read in the Surviving South Side series. Again the story reads like an After School Special. This story focused on Kadeem Jones the star quarterback for the high school football team. He is being recruited by several schools but he really wants to go to Teller University because they have a winning football team. The Assistant Coach at Teller begins to give Kadeem money and takes him to the college for the weekend along with a few of his team mates.

Kadeem boastfully tells a rival coach about all the things the Teller coach has been doing, not realizing that it is an NCAA violation to received gifts and promises from recruiters. The NCAA Regulation boards get involved and Ty has to decide if he wants to do the right thing by testifying against Teller.

This book is best suited for middle school readers. The book is very simple and has a happy ending. It has realistic subject matter but not necessarily a realistic outcome.

[Jennifer Lavoie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A second Surviving Southside book, this one was better quality than the first. Kadeem is a strong character who struggles between doing the right thing and doing what he knows might be wrong, but will get him what he wants. Unlike Beaten, the first Southside book I read, Kadeem learns valuable lessons. The series does not need to be read in order, though Paige and Ty from the first book are mentioned in this one, and the story runs parallel to theirs. What happens to Paige and Ty is mentioned in Kadeem's story, and readers get to see his reaction to it all.

I think my students will like this as much as the first one. I enjoyed the lesson it gave readers, and I cheered for Kadeem to make the right one. And the good thing about this book? Because it is about a football player, even my reluctant reader boys are asking if they can read it. I might need more than two copies!

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's so simple I read it while my kids were eating their snack, but it is surprising at how much can be packed in to a 98-page book. Kadeem is a football player at his Southside school and now him and teammates are being pursued by college recruiters. And one recruiter set his sites on average-grade Kadeem and is using his uneven tricks to get Kadeem to sign with his college: everything from girls to promises of grade fixing and a lavish lifestyle while in college. To the average adult, you can see these twists coming a mile away, but it's well-played and Kadeem ends up becoming a local hero when he blows the door wide open on this practice after having his heart broken over what the school was doing.

I would read the series to be able to share it with students. Like I said, it's easy and short, can't go wrong!

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of several books in the high interest low level reading series Surviving Southside. I would highly recommend this series to struggling readers in grades 7-12. The books in this series are 95-100 pages and boost the reader's confidence by numbering the first page of the novel as page 7. Large font size and wide margins along with an accessible reading level (590L) make this an inviting read for struggling readers.

Kadeem Jones is Southside's star quarterback and is being recruited by Teller College. Teller is going to great lengths to recruit Kadeem and three of his fellow teammates. Kadeem is contacted by an NCAA official who is aware of some of the extreme measures Teller has taken. The official formally accuses Teller of illegally recruiting and solicits Kadeem's assistance in proving his case.

[Micaela Herrera]

Its about i teenage boy Kadeem who is a football player for his school is looking for the right collage to attend, but thats not veary easy for kadeem there are twist and turns in this book.

What i like about this book it goes along with the book i read before beaten because its like from Kadeems point of view. I also like that this book he falls in love with a girl that goes to Teller Collage and she tries ti get kadeem to fall in love with her so he will go to the same collage as she dose. Because thet want Kadeem because hes a good football player. I also like that in the end he dosent go to Teller because if you want someone to go to your collage you dont lie and trick them you make them want to come in a good way.

What i didnt like about this book is that it wasnt veary intertaing thats abou it.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The plot of this story is about a young high school quarterback, named Kadeem Jones. He takes a visit to Teller and also free money. Kadeem didn't know that what Teller was doing was illegally recruiting. Kadeem had the choice to tell the NCAA officials or not. I did like this novel. My favorite part was when Kadeem was playing his best football game in front of all the people he wanted to impress. I like that part because that's what every football player would want. If I could change something it would be how Teller was illegally recruiting Kadeem. I would change that because I didn't know that what Teller was doing was illegal. I liked all the characters in the story, I would recommend this book to any young football players. The book is writer in everyday language, it uses colloquial language. The level of language that they used makes it easy for the reader to follow along.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

* Kadeem is the quarterback for Southside High
*He gets interest from a recruiter from Teller College but quickly it's too much of a good thing (buying meals, trips, conveniently placed college girls, etc.)
*Promises are made to him so he plays the offers he gets against another school inadvertently revealing the illegal activities that Teller is engaging in.
*The NCAA finds out and asks him to continue with the recruitment process, wearing a mike to record the unlawful recruitment tactics
*He agrees, catches them in the act, testifies and becomes a hero- plus gets another great offer from a different school and a scholarship for his bravery

Good for students interested in:
-sports (football), playing college ball, standing up for what is right, high school boy relationships

[Amanda Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kadeem's probably the best on the team and recruiters are watching him. After getting promised all kinds of things by a recruiter from a top school and cute cheerleaders hanging all over him, Kadeem learns, through the NCAA, that these "things" promised are recruitment violations. Now Kadeem has to decide whether to go along with them and possibly play pro football in like 5 years, or take the school down.

This book was a super quick read, but it gets down to the point and would be of interest to young adults who play sports, or may be going through a similar situation. I like that this author highlights this problem, because I'm sure it happens way too frequently...

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my second Surviving Southside book, and the series is growing on me. Many of my reluctant readers are fans of sports, if not active players, so it's nice to see this topic - recruitment and recruiting violations - tackled in a high-low book.

Additionally, I read Beaten, another book in the series, as my first book in the series, and I saw many of the same characters (and even more details about an event mentioned just in passing in Beaten), which made the book easier to get into. However, on the downside, a big event that "everyone knew about within hours" in Beaten was not even mentioned in this book, so the continuum is not equally respected, I guess.

[Tracenarragon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Recruited Book Destination
By: Trace Narragon
This book “Recruited” by Suzanne Weyn, should not be brought on board of the spaceship. I do not think so because it is awful. The storyline is very boring. It doesn't
explain what happens very well. She kind of just throw words on a piece paper. It was very un-climactic. I think all of these books should just be put to flames. I would never wish this on my worst enemies to ever have to read this. It is extremely boring and I wish I chose a different book.

[Lindsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Recruited by Suzanne Weyn is a quicker read for an audience of primarily middle school or high school students. A football player is approached by a scout and pursued as a possible recruit to a college known as a fabulous football school. In time he learns that the school is using illegal recruiting practices. What should he do now?

For students who are interested in high school sports and the process of receiving offers from colleges, this book is a must read!

[Jaxson Murphy]

Kadeem is the star quarterback for his hometown highschool football team. Kadeem Ty and a bunch of other players get "picked up" by Teller University. Even though Kadeem and the other players have it good with Teller, some complications come up and Kadeem has to decide what to do and try not to make the same kind of mistake as his father. This is a good book, very suspenseful and funny in most of it.