Stealing the Game

Streetball Crew #2

by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Raymond Obstfeld

Chris Richards has always looked up to Jax, his older brother and his parents' 'golden child.' Lately, though, Jax has been full of surprises. First he dropped out of law school; then he started hanging out with some shifty-looking friends. One day Jax asks Chris to recruit his best middle school teammates for a pick-up basketball game in the park. Chris doesn't think much of it until the wrong team wins and Jax goes ballistic. It turns out that Jax bet on the game, hoping to earn enough money to repay a debt to someone who doesn't forgive easily. While Chris tries to walk a thin tightrope between helping his brother and staying out of trouble, his friend Theo does some behind-the-scenes detective work to learn what Jax has been up to. The day Chris is roped into a police investigation is the day he realizes he made the wrong play.

Genres: Sports, Realistic Fiction, Mystery, Basketball, Fiction, Middle Grade, Family

304 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2015

About the author

As a center for the Los Angeles Lakers from 1975 to 1989, American basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, originally Lew Alcindor, led the all-time scores in history of national basketball association in 1984.

This former professional player current serves as assistant coach. Typically referred to as Lew Alcindor in his younger days, he changed his name when he converted to Islam.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kareem_...

Reviews

[Wandering Librarians · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chris is a quiet kid. He keeps his head down and doesn't stir the pot. Chris' parents have high expectations for him. They expect him to go to law school like his older brother Jax, who Chris looks up to. But then Jax turns up, apparently having dropped out of law school and gotten involved in some pretty questionable things. Chris is confused. Something doesn't seem right. This isn't the brother he knows. Has Jax gotten himself into something bad? Or is something else going on? Chris has never thought of himself as the smart kid who could figure things out. But this is something he's willing to take on.

What we have here is mystery story with a good dose of sports action. Chris and his friends all play basketball, and one of the shady things Jax does is set up Chris and his friends to play a game against another team, a team who turns out to be way older and bigger than they are.

The story has plenty of action and excitement. Aside from the basketball games, there are blow-ups with family and friends, elaborately staged break-ins, amateur sleuthing, and more sports action. Chris gains confidence throughout the book, realizing he's not just the dumb younger brother who will never live up to his parent's expectations. He's got a lot going for himself, and he finds the courage to speak up and show what he's good at.

What's actually going on with Jax seemed a little far-fetched and out of the realm of likelihood for me, but I think it will work just fine for middle school boys, who will find the story exciting and probably won't focus on plausibility so much.

I will definitely get this book for my library, along with the first one in the series, Sasquatch in the Paint.

Stealing the Game comes out February 1, 2015.

[Heather Jenner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, so I didn't actually finish this book. I tried, I really did, but it is just not my cup of tea. It took me over a month to try and finish this book but I just couldn't. I got about 3/4 of the way through and just could not read any more of it. I do, however, think that it would be a very interesting read for a preteen/teenage boy. From what I was able to read it seems that a reader from that background would be better able to relate to the main character of the book and would therefore be more interested in the plot. So, if you are a preteen/teenage boy or even girl that likes sports mixed with a little bit of drama then I say give this book a try! If you happen to finish it, unlike me, let me know how it ends!

Call Number - FIC ABD

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://www.pussreboots.pair.com/blog/...

[Oliver Arling · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the story, Stealing the Game, a boy by the name of Chris is on the school basketball team, but one day, he was brought upon quite the surprise when his big brother Jax, the golden boy, came home to tell Chris that he dropped out of Stanford law school. Although Chris was surprised, he knew something was fishy so him and his good buddy Theo investigate. After a few days they discover , in fact, that his brother Jax never even went to Stanford. That is a brief summary of the book without giving too many spoilers. Now I will proceed to give you my thoughts and overall opinion of the book.
One minor detail that I specifically liked about Stealing the Game was that it wasn’t like most sports books today. It’s not for example: some sports team going to a championship, and the protagonist of the story gets a game-winning score. Totally cliche. This story although, is different. Stealing the Game has an a roller coaster of a storyline. A majority of sports related books that you’d find today also don’t really go into detail about each character. In this story you actually get a feel and you could possibly relate someone in your life to each character individually.
Another thing I enjoyed about Stealing the Game was that the storyline was near unpredictable. I can just tell you personally that I never would’ve guessed that Jax never even attended Stanford. There was also many other scenarios in which a specific part of the book surprised me, but if I were to go into detail of any others I would spoil parts of the book and a reason I am making this is to possibly persuade you whether or not to read this.
In conclusion, I enjoyed this book, and I’d especially recommend this to anyone who plays/enjoys sports especially. I think Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did a great job on the storyline and plot of this book, and I plan on reading more of his works in the future.

[BiblioBickie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chris is a quiet but powerful presence on the 8th grade basketball team. While he struggles in math and science, he is an insightful student of English and History. Chris is also a secret comic book writer whose main character is Master Thief, a kind of Robin Hood meets James Bond type. Always falling short of his older brother's achievements, Chris is perplexed when "Golden Boy" Jax shows up at home saying he is on "academic leave" from Stanford Law School. Jax is drinking beer, and he seems to have some large debts to an unsavory character Chris dubs "Fauxhawk." As Chris's lawyer parents begin to focus on Chris and his future (a tutor, PSAT prep classes, Stanford brochures, full court press to quit the school team and join a club basketball team - yes, he's in 8th grade), Chris tries to figure out what is going on with Jax. This is a solid 2nd book in the Streetball Crew series, focusing on a different student. Best for ages 11-14.

[Alex Hagood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chris wants to believe the best of his older brother, Jax, but when Jax drags Chris and his friends into a pick-up game of basketball to wipe away some debts, he has to question whether his brother is the role model he thought. This was a fun book and, though I’m not much of a sports fan, I appreciate that this can open a new area of reading for reluctant readers who do enjoy sports. It also sends a really nice message about family, trust, and being careful about who you look up to. I would have liked to see a little more behind Jax and his motivations. While we get some of his story, it felt forced and I wanted to see a little bit more of his story, even though I know that wasn’t really part of the novel’s scope. Overall, great for basketball fans and those who want to find a new direction.

[M_oooEo · Rating 3 out of 5]

STEALING the GAME by Kareem Abdul-jabber one of favorite basketball players of all time.the book is based on true events that occurred in Kareem's middle school the character is Chris Richard is a kid who keeps his downs and parents have high expectations for him. unlike his brother Jax who is a high-school star but recently jax droped outta law school and his parents get mad at him so now they have way more high expectations of him.

I actually did not finish this book because I found it to be boring. I thought the book was going to be more about basketball, not just about his life. But, this is a good book if you want to learn about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

[Jessie Antonio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stealing the Game is a really good book its funny in some parts and other times it could be mysterious. Chris is a kid who loves to play basketball with his friends, he has a older brother names Jax who was the "Golden Boy" in he family which meant he was the good boy in the family. Until one day Jax came back from law school and he said he dropout, he parents were't happy, Jax reason waas because he was failing. Chris didn't fall for that reason, Chris knew that Jax doesn't fail, so he questioned Jax, but Jax kept refusing there was another reason for dropping out. So Chris had his friend Theo investigates what was the real reason why Jax dropped out.

[Bernadette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good, entertaining reading for teens/young adults, 2nd book in the Streetball Crew series from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Raymond Obstfeld. 13 year old Chris Richards deals with middle school, puberty, the return of his older brother who has" dropped out of law school", to the dismay of their parents, both of whom are lawyers, increasing the pressure on Chris to improve his grades and aspire to the law school track, something that doesn't interest him at all. Yet, things are not always as they seem. Secrets abound, some get shared, some do not. There's basketball, hangtime with friends and team members, and discovering shared interests.

[Tyler]

I read the book Stealing The Game by Kareem Adbdul-Jabbar I liked this book because it talked about Kareem's childhood and what it was like. I also like how kareem and all his friends have the same goal on trying to get to the NBA and being the best to play. The book also has a little bit of detctive stuff go on at the end that involves the cops.

[Devon · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a good book for lower levels of reading. It is about a kid that likes to play basketball and likes stealing but he has never stole before because his mom and dad are stricken and want him to be just like them.

[Ava · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again I love basketball books.

[Andrea Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kinda good ig

[Joe d · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really good. I thought it was very cool that chris had found all the clues about hannah and that Jax was a cop and he caught rand

[Darius]

Yes I enjoyed the book, because it was about basketball and how a kid was improving. The book is about a boy named Chris who loves basketball and his brother goes college but thats not what everyone else thinks. My favorite part about the book was how the author and how he worded the game when they were winning games. I would recommend this book to people who like basketball.

[Trenton Dianovich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stealing the Game by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Raymond Obstefeld explains how Chris Richards helps his brother get out of trouble. His brother Jax had always been the good kid in the family. Now Jax has dropped out of Stanford Law School and is hanging around suspicious looking people. Chris finds out that Jax has a gambling problem and owes big money to a friend. Jax has Chris get some of the best basketball players he knows to play a pickup basketball game. Chris did not know that he was getting his friends to play basketball so that Jax's gambling debt would be removed. Jax is not acting normal and Chris knows this and will do anything to get the old Jax back.

This was a very good book. I liked it so much because I never knew what was going to happen next and there were lots of surprises. I will definitely read the next book in the series when it is released.

I recommend this book to boys and girls in grades fifth though eighth. There is very little profanity but the book is fine. You should definitely check out this series.

[Dj · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chris Richards wants to play basketball because, his older brother dropped out of law school and he played for a really long time. So Chris Richards kept on playing basketball and he was practicing and practicing till he got better. But one day he made a shot and he wanted to play for his high school basketball team. In the middle of the story Chris got on the team and he got a basketball game every Saturday. So Chris went to the game on Saturday and he was a point guard. At the end of the story Chris was losing the basketball game by 2 points. The team called a timeout since the other team had the ball which was winning. So Chris blocked his man and the passer threw to Chris and the clock went down really fast and everyone started counting down, 5,4,3,2,1 and then the buzzer went off and Chris got the 3 pointer and won the game for his team. Everyone was going around Chris and Chris won his first game of his basketball game. He was happy for himself since he won the game for his team.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chris Richards' older brother Jax is the Golden Child. He excels at everything he touches, got good grades, played every sport and now is a Law Student at Stanford. Chris will never live up. But then Jax starts to act strange. He drops out of Law School, begins hanging out with a rough crowd and asking Chris to do things a brother should never have to do. Chris is caught between trusting the brother he has always looked up to and believing what his eyes are seeing.

This is a good book for kids who enjoy basketball, realistic fiction, or stories of strong bonds between brothers. Recommended for ages 10-13.

[Debbie Tanner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the second in a series of books written by Kareem Abul-Jabbar and Raymond Obstfeld. The main character, Chris, is in 8th grade. He loves basketball and comic books and his big brother. His big brother comes home from college with a lot of surprises for his parents (like he dropped out). Chris is trying to figure out why his brother has changed so much and how he can get him back to the way things were. I really liked the fresh voice of this story but the timeline was a bit confusing.

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Not only did this book cause me to laugh out loud a few times, I was also pleasantly surprised that I did not have the mystery all figured out. I was a little worried at times about choices that Chris and his brother were making and what the consequences would be, but the review blurb on the back said the story had a "solid moral compass," so I kept going. I'm really glad I did, as the conclusion answered all my questions and was satisfying. If one were to give up partway, they'd have a totally different and incorrect impression of the book's characters and "message," so to speak.

[Kate K. F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stealing the Game is a wonderful middle grade novel about brothers, family and basketball. Chris is a basketball player who dreams of being a comic book writer and uses silence to keep from feeling foolish. His older brother Jax is the family golden child but suddenly everything seems to be going wrong. Jax is drinking and not acting like himself and Chris and his friends figure out what's going on. A good mystery combined with a thoughtful look at figuring out who you are.

[Sourav · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chris is always look up to his brother.So have his mom and dad. Chris would call jax golden boy because his parent love him so much ,because he was go to law school. then one dad he droped out of it.then he started hanging out with some bad people. After that thing else happens you will just have to read it.

[Donna]

Chris' big brother, Jax, bets on bb games - he ends up working for CHP and looking for criminals

[Blake Spraggins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Implausible but fun.

[Abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very suspenseful. I liked the whole thing because it was never bring it always had something happening. The ending was very good.
I hope t read more books like this.

[Brandon Kopceuch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad for a kid's book written by a former player.

[Will]

another great book by Kareem Adbul-Jabbar all round well written I would recomend this to all people who want a good mystery or good basketball book.