Players

by Joyce Sweeney

Corey’s high school basketball team begins the season poised for the all-city championship, and when Noah joins the team, the title really seems to be in reach. But then a series of tragic circumstances begins to knock players off the team. Corey believes it’s more than just coincidence, and all signs point toward Noah and his unflinching ambition to be the star. Can Corey overcome his own weaknesses and save his team from sabotage? Or will he be the next target?

Genres: Young Adult, Sports

226 pages, Paperback

First published October 30, 2000

About the author

Joyce Sweeney captured the attention of the YA book world when her novel Center Line was chosen as the winner of the first Delacorte Press Prize for an Outstanding First Young Adult Novel in 1984. Since that auspicious beginning she has continued to publish appealing novels for teens on a variety of topics, among them friendships, family relationships, and self-discovery. Four of those novels have been named Best Books for Young Adults, four have been Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, and Booklist included Players among its Top Ten Sports Books in 2002.

Reviews

[Morgan Folk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Personal Response:
I thought that the book “Players” by Joyce Sweeney was a very good fit for me because I love basketball and that's what it was about. I also thought that it was going to end bad but it really ended up quite good. It took me awhile to read it but i really enjoyed it.

Plot:
This book was about a boy who played basketball at St. Phillips Badgers. The player's name and also the main character Corey Brennan had wanted a new center because the other center named robbie was good enough for the job and he wasn’t coordinated enough. Then along came a new kid whose name was Noah Travers. Noah had been put on the second string roster and didn’t think he was bad enough to be on the second string team so Noah had to earn his center spot. Noah eventually got the starting center spot. Corey had liked Noah until he had became part of the first string team. Noah was a shy kid but he also was very good at basketball. Before Corey was the star player for the St. Phillips Badgers. Along came Noah the new kid and he became the star player. Noah and Corey did not really get along after that because Corey went into the season thinking him and his team were going to win the Miami all city trophy in the championship.

Characterization:
The main characters of this book are Corey Brennan and Noah Traver. Corey Brennan had played basketball his whole life at St. Phillips Badgers. Noah Traver played basketball at his old school but they didn’t say much about how he did at his old school.

Recommendation:
I recommend this to anybody who is a basketball freak should read this book. Also i recommend this to anybody that's in middle school or older because there is a lot of stuff that is confusing but then it makes more sense as you read it. It was a very good book and i hope other people will want to read it.

[John Mueller]

Name: John Mueller

Book title: Players


Personal Response
Players was an all around ok book. When I started it, it was very “blah”. When I say “blah” I mean there was almost little to no plot. After I kept reading it, it seemed to get better and more interesting.

Plot Summary
Players is a book about a basketball team trying to win all-city. Corey Brennan, the star shooter and player is one of the captains on the team. Later in the book, something terrible happens to Noah. It is very weird he is all ready to play and start the game by a tip-off and suddenly faints directly in the middle of the court. The whole team is confused about why and how all this happened. Corey has been investigating that possibly one of his own teammates has sabotaged him, with what they think is Tylenol.

Recommendations
I recommended this book to most people over 12 years old it isn’t super hard to read,but there are some bigger words in it. This book is very confusing and the beginning but chill’s out around the ends. When I said it had bigger words in it I don't mean like longer and harder to pronounce, I mean the words may be long or short but are made to be read by someone of a higher mindset than a 3rd or 4th grader.

[Dylan · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was a good basketball book but it did not have that much interest in it.

[Ashlyn Sawyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was fantastic. It wasn't your typical sports team story, and I love how Sweeney added certain elements to add to the shock and mystery. Corey's basketball team is great, everyone gets along, they play well together in the positions each of them has taken over, but when one of their players graduates, they need to find a new player to fill the spot, so they go through try outs, and Noah stands out to almost the entire team, though Corey feels a bit weird about him. Noah wants to move up the chain of the team and get to a better position, and the only way he can think to do that is to blackmail people into quitting, injure them to the point of not being able to play, go after family members, and turn the team against each other in the process. I recommend this book to anybody who likes a little humor, as well as some thrill, mystery, and major suspense. However, there are some scary real-life situations in it that give horror a whole new meaning. You really feel the emotions from all of the characters, even if its only from one point of view, the authors descriptions of their actions/emotions from the main characters point of view really help you to feel what every other character feels. I feel that this book taught me some real life lessons along the way, even if I didn't realize it. The foreshadowing toward the beginning of the book kept me reading all the way and before I knew it, it was done. One example of foreshadowing would be "'I'm going to miss that about you Corey, you always were the easiest person to screw over.'(Sweeney 86)" I like that this suggests future events, yet gives nothing away at the same time. Its a major page turner, and I have read it several times and still have the same emotions as I did the first time.

[Muluken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Name: Muluken Rucks

Book title: Players


Personal Response:

This book was very good considering that the author really kept my attention. It was very suspenseful, and I always wanted to know more. I liked this book a lot and it really was a great read.


Plot Summary:

In this book, the main character is a very good basketball player. The team he is on is predicted to go All City. The team recruits a new forward who has some tremendous talent. However, he is very selfish and all he wants is success for himself, not the team. This player, Noah, will do anything and everything to be the star of the team; even if it means falsely putting his teammate in prison. Noah is even willing to put someone's neck under a knife just to manipulate his teammates into giving him more power. In the end, it works out for the best as Corey Baehman steps up as the team captain and solves the issue.


Recommendations:

I recommend this book to any sports fans. It is about basketball but any reader will enjoy this quick and easy novel. It has some very good insight on being a good teammate as well as a good leader. The message that the reader will get from this book is very powerful. I recommend it to any sports fan of any age.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Corey is the captain of a basketball team that is poised to take the city championship. They are a close knit group, having played together all the way through school. Their task at the beginning of the season is to replace the one team member who graduated. Corey is the power forward, Luke (his best friend) is the center, Antwan and Theo are the guards. Enter Noah Travers, a transfer student, who seems to have all the right moves, but there's something about him Luke doesn't trust. Corey is willing to give him a chance, but then strange things start to happen. First, Luke gets hurt in practice (thanks to Noah) and then he passes out before the first game. Then, quite inexplicably, Theo quits the team and won't discuss his reasons. It all seems to point back to Noah, but no one can prove it and Corey just won't believe it. When Luke is suddenly accused of bringing a gun to school because one appears in his locker, Corey knows he's been set up and he also knows he's the only one who can catch Noah at this game. But is Corey willing to risk everything to stop Noah?

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good book. People should read it cause it keeps u wanting to read.

[Troy Fanton]

6 Copies

[Naohmi · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5. the suspense and events were crazy. definitely not expecting some of them.

[Jaquelynn Rondell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good book to prove an example of friendship and the team work.

[Danny Shirilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Players
Author: Joyce Sweeney
Date Published: 2005
Genre: Realistic Fiction

I have recently read the book Players and it was a very good book. The main character in this book was named Corey Brennan and he played basketball for St. Philip High School. Corey was very good at basketball and so was his team. He was the captain of the team and made many decisions for the team. This team is so good they are all thinking about going and winning maybe even a state championship. All hopes are good until the new kid comes. His name is Noah Travers and is also good at basketball but he just comes to play the wrong position at the wrong time. He believes that he is better than the starter who is Luke, Corey’s best friend. This causes many problems for the team and also causes some injuries. Then some unexpected events happen and nobody knows who did it. Corey finally figures out that all these bad things that have been going on all lead back to Noah. Corey finds a way for Noah to confess to everything and for a police women to hear and Noah gets in big trouble. Then Noah somehow gets out of jail and goes after Corey’s little sister. He kidnaps her but Corey, Luke, and his other friends are all over Noah’s little scheme and catch him. Once Noah got caught he had to go back to jail and serve a long sentence there. A couple of days later the team is playing for the city championship and they go on to win it.
The theme in this book is that not everybody is what you think they are. This is shown throughout the book because Corey thinks that Noah is just a nice innocent kid in the beginning when he’s really not. An example is when Noah steals Corey’s girlfriend from him. At first Corey never suspects Noah because he’s the new kid but later on he figures it out. Another example is when Theo just randomly quits the team and nobody knows why. Again nobody suspects Noah but then they later also figure it out. There is also another time this happens which is when Luke had a gun in his locker. Everybody knows it’s not Luke’s but nobody knows whose it is. Eventually though everyone figures out it is all Noah after he does it many times. Basically if you don’t know someone you should get to know them first because they are not what they always seem.
This book was a very good book and I really enjoyed it. If you like sports books you will probably like this book too. That was one of the reasons I really liked this book. Also if you like suspenseful books that there are many unexpected events you will really like this book. “Claire and Luke had been standing in the center of the gym, glued together and swaying.” That was a quote from this book that is on page 218. That quote shows the authors style of writing which is that the author was a very descriptive writer. This book compared to others that I have read is by far the best book. Usually I just read books about sports but this book was about sports and life which I really liked.
This book is very much like me. I am also a basketball player and I also have dreams of winning a state championship just like the team in this book. Also I play for my school just like how the boys in this book play for St. Philip. This book has affected me by that now I’m not going to think something about someone before I really get to know them. What I really liked this book is that it was about sports but it also told a great story outside of all of the sports. I really like stories that are realistic because I can relate myself to it and also think what I would do if this ever happened to me. I really liked this book and I hope you can read it sometime!

[Haley Cerullo]

I thought that this book was really good because I really like sports. Also I thought that it wasn't as bad as I had thought and it had a good story to it.

[Kenny Jenkins]

Players
Joyce Sweeney
Published 2005
Fiction

18 year old Corey is almost in a threat of winning the championship for his basketball team. The setting is Corey’s senor year which really doesn’t occur in one place. Then he realizes that the new player on his team is a girl-stealing, friend framing, team-destroying force of evil or you can say death. The rest you can figure out when you read it.
The theme of the story is you don’t have to cheat your way in to anything. There is always a way to get there if you just work hard enough. In the story Corey tells Noah that you don’t need to cheat your way in like your parents did. You are already good enough. Also, in the story Noah tries to get his way by cheating and when he stopped he actually exceeded. One more reason is that at the end of the story when Noah did stop cheating he felt better.
This book was a great book. I would probably say that young adults should read it. It was a good book and I would recommend it to anybody, but teens and young adults are the best. This book is really not like other books I read. Like the Scorch Trials. The Scorch Trials was nothing like this book. The Scorch Trials is more of a intense book which means to me that this book is a big situation. Players is just a small conflict that doesn’t affect the world, but The Scorch Trials has a big conflict that does affect the world.
The author’s writing style is a lot of quotes. A couple quotes to prove this is, “Coach?” Noah asked. “What is it?” “Is Luke going to start Friday or do you want me to?” “I’m going to talk that over with Corey.” “Thank you.” It was on page 46. That what the whole story is like. Quote after quote.
I really didn’t have any relationships in the story, book, author, or the theme. I did relate to Corey a little because some how I always find stuff about people one way or another. Its creepy, I know. The way this book affected me is it showed me that there is always a way to accomplish your goal you just need to find it. The thing about the author that I enjoyed was how he made it so easy for me to understand the story. I could see it like a movie. I could tell you every single little thing that happened in here without even looking in the book. This was a great book.

Kenny Jenkins

[Cecil Caudill]

First off let me ask you a question. Imagine that you are the star player of your high school varsity basketball team. Now imagine that someone new joins the team and he’s trying to take the spot on your team from your best friend. Now imagine that he is crazy and that he will do whatever it takes to get that position, so much to the point that he would bring a gun, pills, and threatening to tell a players deepest secret into the situation. The book Players by Joyce Sweeney explores the disastrous effects of competitiveness gone too far in this suspenseful story about a high school basketball team. Corey Brennan, from whose point of view the story is being told, plus three other returning starters hope to win for the St. Philips Badgers an All-City Championship. But when transfer student Noah Travers is added to the roster, he throws the team off balance. Although Noah's athletic skills are impressive, he runs a one-man show on court. His NBA superstar-like antics breed unfairness among players, who soon blame Noah for mysterious misfortunes such as starting center Luke's fainting spell before the first game, another key player's sudden decision to quit the team and the discovery of a gun in Luke's locker. As team captain, Corey must play referee off court as he tries to put an end to the rising tensions and give Noah a fair shot at proving himself. Sometimes the plot and the psychology passages go overboard (as when Corey's sister tells him, ""We need to grow up, Corey. We need to face the idea that there is bad in this world"") and readers less foolish than Corey will pick up on clues the protagonist misses. Nevertheless, they will stay on the edge of their seats waiting to find out how far Noah's shenanigans will take him.

[Braydon Ibis]

How did i get this book? I got the book by just searching in the library.

Setting This story is in modern time and in the U.S. It takes place in a small town.

Conflict The conflict is external. Corey is the captain of the basketball team and he is helping the coach select new players for the varsity team. During try-outs a new face joins and his name is Noah. Noah harrasses Corey to make the team. After long talks and arguments they finally select Noah to join the team. After a while unusual things start happening with the players. Corey has to focus on basketball while he finds out what is going on.

Characterization- Corey was a dynamic character. He changed a lot as a person and he became a bolder person overall.

Strong, Willing, and expressionless

“You’re very hard to figure out, Corey”(Sweeney 188).

Theme- I think the theme is to keep trying and to never give up and when you are at your lowest point and you think nobody likes you then that is when you should shine the most.


3 Strategies Predict I predicted what Corey would do to solve the mystery and who was doing this nasty stuff.
Visualize I could see the gun sitting in the locker.
Connect I could connect to the pressure of making the team.

I thought the book was great. It was a little slow but it really started to pick up near the middle of the story. I would recommend it but only if you like basketball or a good mystery.

I think other people were dead on with their opinions. It was a great book. I liked what one guy said about the theme of the story “you don't have to cheat to win anything”.

[Nick Laslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Players
By Joyce Sweeney

The book players is a book about a basketball team the st. Philips badgers. The main character senior Corey Brennan is looking for someone to feel graduated senior Robbie who played center. Then finds a good player to fill the spot of Robbie's Noah travers.

The plot of the book is for the varsity player and team captain Corey Brennan to win the Miami all city trophy In the championships. Setting in the book is in a pretty small town. With a varsity team that needs a fill in spot for center.the characters in the book are Luke witch is Corey Brennan's best friend then there is Noah travers witch is the fill in spot for Robbie. And then the rest of the team.

I would recommend this to any die hard basketball fans. because it keeps the sport of basketball the same just like a normal high school basketball team would operate with a few little twist and turns. here like when Luke passes out before a game stuff like that. Also because of the people in the story like the Noah all he wants to do is to make the variety basketball team because basketball means the world to him. And like the leader Corey the team captain who wants good players that will play hard and not give up on him until he gives up. And Luke just an average player who wants to play basketball. And because of the fire the team has how they pull together to prove and show what being a team player takes time, dedication. And love for your team to make them become family.

[Lucas C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Players by Joyce Sweeney is about a high school senior Corey Brennan. He is looking forward to this year's varsity basketball season. He has high hopes in winning the Miami All-City Trophy. As captain he feels like he is the leader of his team. At the beginning of the season something happens to two of the players. Everyone except Corey believes it is a new transfer student, Noah Travers. After a lot of detective work Corey discovers that it was indeed Noah who has been sabotaging the team so he could have a starting center spot. Noah later blackmails a teammate as well as switch their medications and put a gun in someones locker. Eventually Corey tricks Noah into admitting his offenses. A book like this one would never end without Noah trying to get revenge on Corey. His plans failed and everyone left the season safe and alive. Corey leaves a hero and Noah is looked at as a villain who threatened one man's dreams of becoming a Miami All-City champion. This book is a thriller and I would recommend it to anyone that has interests in sports. I gave this book a four out of five star ranking because it left me anxiously waiting until the next time I could open it to read. The only thing that could have been better was more on court-action. This is one of the better basketball books I have read and I hope you enjoy your readings as well.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Basketball with a twist
The book Players by Joyce Sweeney is about basketball and has a lot of suspense. Players is a realistic fiction book, some of the events are probably not going to happen. This book mostly takes place in a high school and on the basketball court where the characters play for the all state trophy. The main problem in this book is that the boys get a new teammate that will do anything to become the star. The characters are Corey, the team captain and will do anything for his team, Luke, he is the more serious one who will do anything to win, Theo, a kid who is built like a rock, and Antwan, the jokester, the villain is the new kid named Noah. A lesson the author is trying to present is that you shouldn't trust anyone no matter how nice they seem. I would give this book 5 out of 5 stars, it has a lot of action and suspense.This book is more for a teenage or older audience because it uses a lot of strong language. It is not a hard read and should not take long to read.This book is 260 pages long, and is not a part of a series, but at the end of the book it makes it sound like the author is planning to make another book. This book is different to other sport books that I have read it has this weird plot because it talks about stuff a normal teenager does not do.

[Kerry Cerra · Rating 5 out of 5]

To say this book is a page-turner would be an understatement. Set in a Catholic high school, the basketball team is determined to win the Miami All-City trophy. What should be an easy task, suddenly seems unattainable when new kid Noah is added to the roster. His moves are good, but his intentions aren’t. After all, basketball isn’t a one man show. When mysterious things begin to happen to his teammates—tampered medications, a gun in a locker, and the sudden departure of a key player—team captain, Corey, is the last to realize that Noah is behind it all. The book will keep you hooked up until the final buzzer, when Noah’s launches a last ditch effort to get back at the squad. Joyce Sweeney certainly knows how to keep the reader engaged.

[Max Feldman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Players

The book I read was Players by Joyce Sweeney, I think it was one of the best books I have ever read. The parts of the book that I really enjoyed was the amount of cliffhangers and suspense that was applied in the perfect spots in the book. I think that the author was very detailed in every situation that may have a little confusing. This book reminded me of a book I read two years ago called Top of the Order. The book were alike because in both stories a bad problem occurred to both of the star players on the team. This book was very interesting in the way that every chapter came a new problem. At the end of each problem they left a cliffhanger that made me not want to put down my book. All in all this was a great book in my opinion.

[Mark Hauberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I liked it because I could relate to it since it is basketball related and I play basketball. I enjoy any sports book really because I can completely understand and follow it which makes it interesting for me and doesn't let me put the book down. It gets interesting when players begin to get knocked off the team from series of tragic circumstances. A high school basketball team that begins the season looking good, falls apart and Corey has to save his team along with a great star, Noah, that recently joined the team. It gets interesting to see what he can do to help his team out. I recommend this book to sports people and also people that like to be leaders because you can relate. This is overall a great book.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, I fell in completely in love with this book. At first I was like okay this book is ridiculously out of my interest field and starting off a bit slow for me. Once I really got into it I couldn't put it down. I really wanted to know what Noah was going to do next to just be his dream spot on his new team. Noah is a classic sociopath. It's very moving to see what kind of things even kids may be capable of. Also I liked this book a lot because it reminded me of students in my own school, so at a certain extent it isn't surprising what kids are capable of. But for a position on the basketball team, that is just crazy. I loved it though, very interesting.

[Steven Theetge · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book more than I thought I would. I usually don't like sports books that much but this one was different. It kept me on the edge of my seat, not knowing what is going happen and trying to anticipate what will happen but I was wrong. Also, since I play basketball I was able to relate to what Noah was going through, being the third string center and wanting to play. It was really interesting to see how Corey could try and focus on basketball after everyone else saying that Noah caused two people on the team to be kicked off the team so he could play. This was a great book. If you play a sport, not just basketball, you would love this book

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a very good book. If you like sports and like that people argue alot you should read this book. Its about basketball players and how they grow as a team as the season progresses. Its also not a long book so if you dont like reading big books then this is the book for you!

[Kathy Dobronyi · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fast-paced story with a genre of its own: Coming-of-Age Sports Mystery. How can a perfect year begin with disaster following disaster for the St. Phillip’s HS basketball team? How can Corey Brennan pull the team together using their strengths and weaknesses to win? Joyce Sweeney makes it clear that loving to win is important, but she created characters who knew it was more. Loving and caring about each other made them a winning team.

[Mitchelll Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Corey Brennan is a high school senior looking forward to the basketball team . He hopes to win the Miami All City Trophy . It turns out to be a really good mystery ! Two of his players mysteriously disappeared . What happen ? You'll have to read and find out. I would recommend it greatly to anyone who is really sports orientated person .

[Avery Bernal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Corey Brennan is a high school senior looking forward to the basketball team . He hopes to win the Miami All City Trophy . It turns out to be a really good mystery ! Two of his players mysteriously disappeared . What happen ? You'll have to read and find out. I would recommend it greatly to anyone who is really sports orientated person

[Chris Brice]

A theme in this book is believe in your team even if you lose a good person. In the text it stated, "With Robbie gone there was a hole in the first string that had to be flawlessly filled. This shows that Corey has no confidence in his team without Robbie.

[Nathaniel Lemisch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great idea and plot twists, especially how Noah framed everyone, but some of things the characters say make me really wonder if this author was ever in high school. Great idea, but some actions in the book don't make any sense. And Corey is way too good for his own good and really stupid too.

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is totally awesome. i freakin loved it. it's about basketball (as you can probably tell) and it rocks!