Boost

by Kathy Mackel

Overview

Thirteen-year-old Savvy's three-point shot is deadly. But she gets pushed around on the basketball court. Her older sister, Callie, is on varsity cheerleading, but she's not light enough to be a flier - her coveted position. Both girls need to boost their level of competition to get into the action. How far are they willing to go to be the best?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780142415399
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	06/10/2010
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	8.26(w) x 5.62(h) x 0.68(d)
Age Range:	12 - 15 Years

About the Author

Kathy Mackel lives in Pepperell, Massachusetts.

Editorial Reviews

Against the odds, 13-year-old, 6'2" Savvy, the psychologically tough heroine of Mackel's engrossing story, makes it onto a competitive basketball team for older girls. To boost her level of proficiency so that she can battle the more experienced players, she must practice, and practice hard. Besides the pressure of basketball, Savvy, whose family has had to move from their large house in New Mexico to an aunt's sheep farm in Rhode Island, must begin a new school and help her injured aunt with the sheep. It's a demanding schedule, and Savvy is determined to meet all challenges. But her biggest test in this basketball novel, which features play-by-play action and deals empathetically with both the pleasure and pressure of athletic competition, comes when her integrity is called into question with accusations of steroid use. Although the author tries to muddy the waters with an undercooked subplot that involves possible past malfeasance on the part of Savvy's coach, the final revelation is heavily foreshadowed, making the most surprising thing how readily Savvy forgives. (Fiction. 12 & up)

Kirkus Reviews