All You've Got

by Karol Ann Hoeffner

SET SPIKE BUMP GRIND SCORE Golden girl Lauren is Villa Madonna Academy's star volleyball player and leader of the Madonnas. Spitfire Gabby leads the Reinas at archrival school Sacred Heart. Both girls and teams sport mad skills on the court. The competition is killer. But a twist of fate merges the Madonnas and the Reinas into one school. And one volleyball team. Now there's more at stake than winning or loosing -- the girls will have to battle just to make the cut.

Genres: Young Adult

Mass Market Paperback

First published December 27, 2005

Reviews

[Louis Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

All You've Got is a very interesting book filled with lots of drama and excitment. I really love how the story all comes together. I think this book is one of the best books that can ever be read by anyone because it includes real life situations, problems, and solutions. I also love how they show that it's possible to put your differences behind you when you're forced to. Almost every character in this book had a problem in their life. Lauren was constantly trying to please her dad, Becca couldn't get support from her dad because he was a famous basketball player, Gabby's dad died in a fire, Lettie didn't make the team, and Artie is caught between girl drama. These are all real life situations. I also like how competitive the Madonnas and the Phantoms are. It's sort of like Renton High School vs. Lindbergh High School. My favorite line is when Lettie said to Lauren "Is that all you've got gringa?", then Lauren replied "Let's find out."

I usually read this book in my room so that made it a lot more enjoyable. I had no distractions. I also saw a lot of differences in the book and the movie. For instance, in the book, an earthquake caused Villa Modonna High School to burn down. In the movie, it just caught on fire. Also in the book, Becca and Gabby fought at a pool party at Becca's house. In the movie, they fought outside of the locker room after a game. The book and the movie had many similarities and many differences but they were both very enjoyable. I highly recommend this book to anyone.

[Jacqueline · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the majority of this book funny. Based off of volleyball stars from rival schools, All You've Got is basically a story about teenage girls who are out to shine. The book started out with Lauren and her friends (who are from Villa Madonna Academy) bitterly rivaling with Gabby and her friends (who are from Sacred Heart Academy). Then it got friendly between the girls when the two all-girl schools had to merge into one. Pretty soon, though, it got ugly, and every time the book got ugly, it got funny.

I thought Hoeffner did a great job creating the setting all throughout the book. She also did a great job developing her characters and choosing issues that most people could easily relate too. She includes so many topics that it's almost impossible for someone to read the book and find no way to connect to it. For me, I don't really know how stressful playing--and excelling--at a sport can be, but I can definitely relate to Lauren's fear of failing to meet the expectations her father sets for her.

[Veronica · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was better than I expected. I had a really movie-like feel. I can definitely see it as a movie. It was a fun, quick read. There were a few language/content things that might make it slightly inappropriate for younger teens, but overall, the story was pretty good. It wasn't as predictable and corny as I thought I'd be.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect book for our team book! We were two school coming together as a sport co-op and the volleyball team read the book together and had discussions weekly at practice. They were able to relate to the story and came together as a team. We watched the movie at the end of our season finally as one team!

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book, good movie. Would read over and over. I love the book and volleyball :))

[Kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried. I really tried. I liked the movie, but this book is just awful. It's cheesy and unrealistic. I didn't finish it, and I won't.

[Shy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was probably my favorite book in junior high. Don't ask me why. I just remember loving it.