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Shadowed
Beloved, award-winning author Carl Deuker serves up another fast-paced sports novel—this one about basketball and friendship.
Nate plays soccer, but he doesn’t love it. He plays because it’s what his family expects.
Then Lucas Cawley moves in across the street. Lucas isn’t like any of Nate’s sports friends—he’s poor, his parents are mostly absent, and he’s devoted to his sister, Megan, who has a learning disability. Lucas may be an outcast at school, but he and Nate find common ground in their fierce games of one-on-one basketball.
It’s not long before Nate realizes that basketball is his sport. But Nate has an ax to grind with star players Colin and Bo, who have disrespected him for years. Nate believes that outplaying those two is the most important thing . . . until he learns that life is about more than getting ready for the next game.
Nate plays soccer, but he doesn’t love it. He plays because it’s what his family expects.
Then Lucas Cawley moves in across the street. Lucas isn’t like any of Nate’s sports friends—he’s poor, his parents are mostly absent, and he’s devoted to his sister, Megan, who has a learning disability. Lucas may be an outcast at school, but he and Nate find common ground in their fierce games of one-on-one basketball.
It’s not long before Nate realizes that basketball is his sport. But Nate has an ax to grind with star players Colin and Bo, who have disrespected him for years. Nate believes that outplaying those two is the most important thing . . . until he learns that life is about more than getting ready for the next game.
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First published November 5, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
March 10, 2025
I picked up Shadowed from the library thinking it would be a nice escape. A YA book about boys playing basketball? Give me friendship and competition and growing up, etc. Well, no. Imagine my surprise when (NOT AT ALL MENTIONED IN THE BOOK DESCRIPTION) Shadowed is actually about death and grief!! It's not the fluffy sporty friendship story I thought I would get. It seems like every adult novel I pick up lately starts with a list of content warnings yet, funnily enough, this children's book had none. So for you guys please heed my CW: child death!
My shock aside, I loved this book. The friendship, competition, and big feelings I wanted from a book about high school basketball players were all there. The story follows Nate through his entire high school basketball experience, from trying out for the team to his last game as a senior, so it's kind of epic in scale and you really get to know him and the world around him. He's a flawed and real person, he makes tons of mistakes regarding friendship, his family, and of course sport, but he reflects and learns from them all (eventually).
I love this coming-of-age basketball book and I highly recommend it to people of all ages who also love basketball, especially probably to kids who like basketball more than they like reading because there is SO MUCH basketball in this book but also SO MUCH more.
My shock aside, I loved this book. The friendship, competition, and big feelings I wanted from a book about high school basketball players were all there. The story follows Nate through his entire high school basketball experience, from trying out for the team to his last game as a senior, so it's kind of epic in scale and you really get to know him and the world around him. He's a flawed and real person, he makes tons of mistakes regarding friendship, his family, and of course sport, but he reflects and learns from them all (eventually).
I love this coming-of-age basketball book and I highly recommend it to people of all ages who also love basketball, especially probably to kids who like basketball more than they like reading because there is SO MUCH basketball in this book but also SO MUCH more.
March 27, 2025
“when i’m on the court, you’re on the court” absolutely wrecked me from start to finish it follows such a regular but grim undertone he’s had shadow his whole life to then lucas turn around of “the shadows are going wild tonight.” truly the most beautiful use of basketball in fiction (non fiction hanif you are safe) lucas was such an incredible brother and nate was so emotionally in tune with everything in his life wow also seattle ?! i had no idea actually before picking it up it made the book even better for me this is my contender for book of the year already i loved every page couldn’t put it down i cried so so much 💜💛
January 22, 2025
I love a good YA basketball story. I went in blind and was heartbroken by the middle of it, but I loved this one a lot.
January 22, 2025
Woooooohooooo! Another basketball book with great game play!!!
It's a Librarian's dream to find short-chapter-engaging-fast-paced-boys-basketball novels. 😁😁😁😁😁
Pace ✔️✔️
Story ✔️✔️
Pathos ✔️✔️
Personal growth ✔️✔️
Realistic game play ✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️
CW: drowning
Y10
It's a Librarian's dream to find short-chapter-engaging-fast-paced-boys-basketball novels. 😁😁😁😁😁
Pace ✔️✔️
Story ✔️✔️
Pathos ✔️✔️
Personal growth ✔️✔️
Realistic game play ✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️
CW: drowning
Y10
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 24, 2025
Once upon a time I got used to having teachers and librarians tell me that they appreciated my books because they got boys reading. And back then, that was considered a good thing. I don't hear that sentiment as much these days (or at all), and I'm not sure what happened, but I know there's been a general movement away from reading for pleasure in favor of video games and phone fixation and online this and that. And to agents and editors, the business of attracting boy readers must at times seem like a futile exercise. Fortunately, though, "boy books" can still be found.
But I've strayed a bit from the business at hand, and that business is writing a review of Shadowed, a young adult novel by Carl Deuker, who has had a long and successful career of writing books targeted at (and reaching) young male readers (and girl readers, too). I've read most of his books, I believe, and they've all been not centered on sports, exactly--because their focus is on the overall life conflicts of the protagonist of each story--but set in an environment of sports of one kind or another. I've found them to be consistently engaging and authentic, and Shadowed is no exception. In my opinion, it's one of Carl's finest.
As usual, despite a strong thread of athletic competition (in this instance, basketball), the personal story (in this case, high-schooler Nate's) takes precedence. And there's a lot of story here. He lives in the shadow of his highly-competent, high-achieving sister, and his parents aren't shy about letting the world know who they favor. He also has conflicts with the jocks at his school, and a neighbor kid, and concern for the kid's special needs sister, and a crush on a girl who's already taken (by the school's star basketball player).
But Nate decides he's not going to simply take what the world is throwing at him. Even in the face of major tragedy, even when his parents and grandparents scoff at his dreams, he chooses a sport--basketball--and sets out to prove them, and other people in his life, wrong. Along the way, Carl Deuker expertly gives the reader many high-intensity, you-are-there glimpses into Nate's conflicts on and off the court, his choices, and the changes he goes through. As a long-time coach of youth basketball, I appreciated Carl's knowledge of the game and his ability to bring it to the page in gripping play-by-play narrative.
But whether or not you're a basketball fan, or a kid, or a boy, or in the midst of heavy conflicts in your own life, you should read Shadowed. Boy book? Yes. But that shouldn't hold back anyone else from reading--and enjoying--it.
But I've strayed a bit from the business at hand, and that business is writing a review of Shadowed, a young adult novel by Carl Deuker, who has had a long and successful career of writing books targeted at (and reaching) young male readers (and girl readers, too). I've read most of his books, I believe, and they've all been not centered on sports, exactly--because their focus is on the overall life conflicts of the protagonist of each story--but set in an environment of sports of one kind or another. I've found them to be consistently engaging and authentic, and Shadowed is no exception. In my opinion, it's one of Carl's finest.
As usual, despite a strong thread of athletic competition (in this instance, basketball), the personal story (in this case, high-schooler Nate's) takes precedence. And there's a lot of story here. He lives in the shadow of his highly-competent, high-achieving sister, and his parents aren't shy about letting the world know who they favor. He also has conflicts with the jocks at his school, and a neighbor kid, and concern for the kid's special needs sister, and a crush on a girl who's already taken (by the school's star basketball player).
But Nate decides he's not going to simply take what the world is throwing at him. Even in the face of major tragedy, even when his parents and grandparents scoff at his dreams, he chooses a sport--basketball--and sets out to prove them, and other people in his life, wrong. Along the way, Carl Deuker expertly gives the reader many high-intensity, you-are-there glimpses into Nate's conflicts on and off the court, his choices, and the changes he goes through. As a long-time coach of youth basketball, I appreciated Carl's knowledge of the game and his ability to bring it to the page in gripping play-by-play narrative.
But whether or not you're a basketball fan, or a kid, or a boy, or in the midst of heavy conflicts in your own life, you should read Shadowed. Boy book? Yes. But that shouldn't hold back anyone else from reading--and enjoying--it.
July 30, 2024
E ARC provided by Netgalley
Nate's family is heavily invested in soccer, and his older sister, Amelia, is working hard to get the attention of college scouts so that she can get a scholarship. This is important, since the family's subway shop business in Salmon Bay, Washington is continually struggling. Both parents are frequently at work, and they get little support from their own parents, one set of which lives in Portugal, and the other set in Missoula. When Nate suffers a bad concussion when he is hit with an errant ball at his sister's soccer game, he struggles for weeks to stand up straight without being nauseated. He tells his parents that he is no longer going to play the sport, but wants to try out instead for the basketball team. They don't take him seriously, because he's never been involved in the sport, but he starts to play pick up games with his neighbor, Lucas Cawley. Lucas' family is troubled; the father does woodworking at home, the mother works in a hospital but is a functioning alcoholic, and Lucas' sister is developmentally delayed. His oldest brother, Richard, is considered "wild", and Amelia is told to stay away from him. Lucas is devoted to his sister, and always makes sure she is safe on the bus. He even goes to her unit during the day and will play with her, giving way to the derisive nickname "Creepy Crawley" that popular basketball players Bo and Colin bestow upon him. Nate doesn't stand up for Lucas, and the two stop playing basketball together. As high school starts, Nate struggles. Amelia is off at college, and his parents are still more invested in her sporting career than his. When he wants to join an expensive travel team, they say that they don't have the money. Feeling that he needs some kind of preparation and coaching, Nate plays rec ball, and eventually gets good enough to try out for the team. He barely makes it, and reconnects with Lucas. The two compete with each other, and always have a slightly wary relationship. When there is a big tournament during their junior year, a tragedy occurs when the team is goofing off. Having to come back for his senior year, Nate tries to make peace with what has happened, and to make plans for how he can go forward with the rest of his life.
Strengths: I loved the family dynamics with the parents' restaurant and Amelia's soccer playing. I think there are a lot of high school students who are often left to their own devices because parents are busy, or concentrating more on another child. Nate's a good kid; he even gets decent grades when recovering from the concussion. The fact that Lucas has more urgent struggles is also realistic, and Nate doesn't really have a solid enough situation to really be able to understand and support Lucas. (If this were a Mike Lupica book, there would be an awesome mother who took care not only of Nate, but of Lucas AND Megan, but this is more realistic.) It's interesting to watch Nate change over the four years of high school, and watch him meet the different challenges that come his way. He is a resilient character, and we certainly need a lot more of those!
Weaknesses: The contemplative tone, as well as the long time period, makes this more of a young adult book. I definitely appreciate that Deuker is always circumspect in his use of language and situations, making his books suitable for younger readers as well as older ones. The story moves more slowly because so many emotions are being processed.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who want an upper middle grade/lower young adult book that covers a long range of time, like Volponi't Top Prospect , and reminded me a little of Whitaker's Snap Decision. The way the death is treated is somewhat reminiscent of Stokes' Fadeaway, and definitely reminded me of Bunting's hard-hitting 1999 Blackwater. This is not quite as sad as Deuker's Swagger (2013), but lacks the intrigue of High Heat or, my favorite, Runner.
Nate's family is heavily invested in soccer, and his older sister, Amelia, is working hard to get the attention of college scouts so that she can get a scholarship. This is important, since the family's subway shop business in Salmon Bay, Washington is continually struggling. Both parents are frequently at work, and they get little support from their own parents, one set of which lives in Portugal, and the other set in Missoula. When Nate suffers a bad concussion when he is hit with an errant ball at his sister's soccer game, he struggles for weeks to stand up straight without being nauseated. He tells his parents that he is no longer going to play the sport, but wants to try out instead for the basketball team. They don't take him seriously, because he's never been involved in the sport, but he starts to play pick up games with his neighbor, Lucas Cawley. Lucas' family is troubled; the father does woodworking at home, the mother works in a hospital but is a functioning alcoholic, and Lucas' sister is developmentally delayed. His oldest brother, Richard, is considered "wild", and Amelia is told to stay away from him. Lucas is devoted to his sister, and always makes sure she is safe on the bus. He even goes to her unit during the day and will play with her, giving way to the derisive nickname "Creepy Crawley" that popular basketball players Bo and Colin bestow upon him. Nate doesn't stand up for Lucas, and the two stop playing basketball together. As high school starts, Nate struggles. Amelia is off at college, and his parents are still more invested in her sporting career than his. When he wants to join an expensive travel team, they say that they don't have the money. Feeling that he needs some kind of preparation and coaching, Nate plays rec ball, and eventually gets good enough to try out for the team. He barely makes it, and reconnects with Lucas. The two compete with each other, and always have a slightly wary relationship. When there is a big tournament during their junior year, a tragedy occurs when the team is goofing off. Having to come back for his senior year, Nate tries to make peace with what has happened, and to make plans for how he can go forward with the rest of his life.
Strengths: I loved the family dynamics with the parents' restaurant and Amelia's soccer playing. I think there are a lot of high school students who are often left to their own devices because parents are busy, or concentrating more on another child. Nate's a good kid; he even gets decent grades when recovering from the concussion. The fact that Lucas has more urgent struggles is also realistic, and Nate doesn't really have a solid enough situation to really be able to understand and support Lucas. (If this were a Mike Lupica book, there would be an awesome mother who took care not only of Nate, but of Lucas AND Megan, but this is more realistic.) It's interesting to watch Nate change over the four years of high school, and watch him meet the different challenges that come his way. He is a resilient character, and we certainly need a lot more of those!
Weaknesses: The contemplative tone, as well as the long time period, makes this more of a young adult book. I definitely appreciate that Deuker is always circumspect in his use of language and situations, making his books suitable for younger readers as well as older ones. The story moves more slowly because so many emotions are being processed.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who want an upper middle grade/lower young adult book that covers a long range of time, like Volponi't Top Prospect , and reminded me a little of Whitaker's Snap Decision. The way the death is treated is somewhat reminiscent of Stokes' Fadeaway, and definitely reminded me of Bunting's hard-hitting 1999 Blackwater. This is not quite as sad as Deuker's Swagger (2013), but lacks the intrigue of High Heat or, my favorite, Runner.
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April 25, 2025The book Shadowed by Carl Deuker is a fictional sports book that isn't part of a series but the author has written other books similar to it. This book was released on November 5th, 2024.
The book takes place in Seattle, Washington where a kid named Nate had grown up playing soccer and living in the shadows of his older sister Amelia who's a soccer star. But one day he sees that basketball is his main sport and wants to just hyper-focus on it. Then a kid moves across the street from him named Lucas and gets called weird names at school since he was a little different and protective of his younger sister Megan who has special needs. Once Nate saw Lucas playing basketball he realized Lucas was not the best on offense but on defense he would turn into an animal. Throughout the novel they try to make the varsity basketball team by going to different camps and also going to their local gym, but kids like Colin and Bo make life hard for them, since they are both star players and make fun of the other players for not being as good as they are at basketball. Both Colin and Bo have disrespected Nate for years about this and now they make it even worse. However, something happens that makes Nate learn that life isn't all about playing basketball and standing up to people; it's about a lot more.
This book offers several different themes throughout it. For example, the theme of perseverance is shown by Nate and Lucas working to improve their basketball games to try and prove themselves to Colin, Bo, and their coaches. Nate and Lucas don't give up or quit when things get hard for them. Something in the book that worked well for me was the flow of the story. The sequence of events followed a logical order, and the author did a nice job of adding conflicts to make the story interesting, which made me want to keep reading to see if they all got resolved by the end.
I would recommend this book to people who love a good sports book that has action in it. There are parts in the book where you don't want to stop reading since you don’t know what is going to happen next. Also there is a major twist in the book that you do not want to miss out on.
The book takes place in Seattle, Washington where a kid named Nate had grown up playing soccer and living in the shadows of his older sister Amelia who's a soccer star. But one day he sees that basketball is his main sport and wants to just hyper-focus on it. Then a kid moves across the street from him named Lucas and gets called weird names at school since he was a little different and protective of his younger sister Megan who has special needs. Once Nate saw Lucas playing basketball he realized Lucas was not the best on offense but on defense he would turn into an animal. Throughout the novel they try to make the varsity basketball team by going to different camps and also going to their local gym, but kids like Colin and Bo make life hard for them, since they are both star players and make fun of the other players for not being as good as they are at basketball. Both Colin and Bo have disrespected Nate for years about this and now they make it even worse. However, something happens that makes Nate learn that life isn't all about playing basketball and standing up to people; it's about a lot more.
This book offers several different themes throughout it. For example, the theme of perseverance is shown by Nate and Lucas working to improve their basketball games to try and prove themselves to Colin, Bo, and their coaches. Nate and Lucas don't give up or quit when things get hard for them. Something in the book that worked well for me was the flow of the story. The sequence of events followed a logical order, and the author did a nice job of adding conflicts to make the story interesting, which made me want to keep reading to see if they all got resolved by the end.
I would recommend this book to people who love a good sports book that has action in it. There are parts in the book where you don't want to stop reading since you don’t know what is going to happen next. Also there is a major twist in the book that you do not want to miss out on.
November 17, 2025
Maybe more like 4.5? Once again, a “sports” book has me in tears as this kid grapples with some crazy stuff life threw his way!
It’s so honest and gut wrenching. I can’t get over all the selections topics and the expert way they were addressed through the eyes of high school boy. You zip through several years of his life (so believe you start in middle school?) to get all the way to his senior year, and let me tell you, it’s a wild ride! There were things I did not see coming (Lucas’ sister Megan and his relationship with her was both heartwarming and heartbreaking) and the whole second half of the book was leading up to the end.
I must say- it could have gone either way and I think it would have been a great book either way- because as they say, it’s the journey not the destination!
This is great for older readers, think 6th grade and up, and not just fans of sports (this book is about how life is more than sports!) The MC deals with some heavy stuff, including a superstar older sibling (who has the best name IMHO 😂) the stress of needing to get a scholarship, loneliness at school, bullies and/or the cool kids, and not wanting to be seen with “the weird kid” (something he thankfully overcomes like most of us do!) Yay growing up! the “weird kids” are usually the best 😜
It’s so honest and gut wrenching. I can’t get over all the selections topics and the expert way they were addressed through the eyes of high school boy. You zip through several years of his life (so believe you start in middle school?) to get all the way to his senior year, and let me tell you, it’s a wild ride! There were things I did not see coming (Lucas’ sister Megan and his relationship with her was both heartwarming and heartbreaking) and the whole second half of the book was leading up to the end.
I must say- it could have gone either way and I think it would have been a great book either way- because as they say, it’s the journey not the destination!
This is great for older readers, think 6th grade and up, and not just fans of sports (this book is about how life is more than sports!) The MC deals with some heavy stuff, including a superstar older sibling (who has the best name IMHO 😂) the stress of needing to get a scholarship, loneliness at school, bullies and/or the cool kids, and not wanting to be seen with “the weird kid” (something he thankfully overcomes like most of us do!) Yay growing up! the “weird kids” are usually the best 😜
November 7, 2024
Nate has always been in the shadow of his talented soccer playing older sister; she sucks up all the limited family attention and resources. Nate is more interested in basketball, so he starts playing street hoops with Lucas, his neighbor. School bullies have targeted Lucas, who has a sister with special needs and parents whose own problems leave little energy left for their kids. Halfway through the book, a tragedy knocks Nate off his plans for making varsity at his high school and cause him to reassess everything he thought was true about himself. Decker has always written solid, well-described sports fiction, and with Shadowed he adds mastery of short, suspenseful chapters to his narrative style. Since I’m from the same Seattle neighborhood where the story is set, I especially loved all the local references. I miss you, Little Coney! EARC from Edelweiss.
November 15, 2024
Wasn't my favorite Deuker book because it was more disjointed than this others. With competing topics to cover including a struggling family business that takes the parents energies away from their kids, one daughter who is the star being recruited by colleges which leaves the son feeling less than cared for, and a new neighbor with a host of struggles, this one has too much happening over the years of time the book takes place.
Though in true sports fashion for a fiction title, there's plenty of descriptions of games, shots, and plays that are included as Nate moves away from soccer and begins to play basketball. It's about the losing more than the winning, which I liked, and growing up and learning to be a good teammate and a good friend.
Though in true sports fashion for a fiction title, there's plenty of descriptions of games, shots, and plays that are included as Nate moves away from soccer and begins to play basketball. It's about the losing more than the winning, which I liked, and growing up and learning to be a good teammate and a good friend.
November 18, 2024
This is Carl Deuker at his finest. Simply put, Mr. Deuker writes the best best-friend novels that exist. His understanding of teens (and human beings in general) is absolutely astounding. He has an ability to remind us just how easy and simultaneously impossible it is to be a teenager. Without preaching, he has a way of putting characters in situations that demand we, as readers, make the right choice while understanding how his fabulous characters fail to.
Aside from his insights into human nature, he writes sports fiction as well as anybody currently writing. The basketball is crisp and believable, keeping the readers nerves up, throughout.
But above all, the book reminds us just how much one person—just one best friend—can teach us. Another in a long line of favorites!
Aside from his insights into human nature, he writes sports fiction as well as anybody currently writing. The basketball is crisp and believable, keeping the readers nerves up, throughout.
But above all, the book reminds us just how much one person—just one best friend—can teach us. Another in a long line of favorites!
October 28, 2024
Thanks to @netgalley and @harpercollins for the advance Kindle copy of this 11.5.24 release. All opinions are my own.
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 for this sports story with a lot of heart. Told in two parts, Before and After, it follows Nate Dravus, whose family idolizes his athletic older sister but doesn’t really pay him much mind. When he decides to switch from the family’s main sport, soccer, to basketball, they are less than enthusiastic. He practices with his neighbor and social outcast, Lucas, and the two eventually form a good pair for the school’s JV team. But can they make it to varsity? Recommended for grades 7+. #yalit #librarian #librariansofinstagram #middleschoollibrarian
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 for this sports story with a lot of heart. Told in two parts, Before and After, it follows Nate Dravus, whose family idolizes his athletic older sister but doesn’t really pay him much mind. When he decides to switch from the family’s main sport, soccer, to basketball, they are less than enthusiastic. He practices with his neighbor and social outcast, Lucas, and the two eventually form a good pair for the school’s JV team. But can they make it to varsity? Recommended for grades 7+. #yalit #librarian #librariansofinstagram #middleschoollibrarian
December 10, 2024
Really well done! Great basketball action, but also a lot of other complexities including familial pressure, unlikely friendships, bullying, neurodivergence, grief etc. I don’t know a ton about basketball, so at times the descriptions of the games went over my head. I think a diehard basketball fan or player would follow better though! I did find myself wishing Megan was a more developed character and that you had a few more moments with Nate and Lucas hanging out, but these are all small quibbles. I’m desperate for quick moving sports books to introduce students to and this is a great one.
January 22, 2025
This kind of reads like scrolling through TikTok or YouTube shorts if it was all YA sports tropes. This book is packed full of storylines, and I found myself wishing the author had cut at least half of them so we could spend a little time focusing on just a few of them. The chapters are short, the conflicts arise and resolve quickly (for the most part), and then we’re on to the next thing. With that being said, younger readers might enjoy the rapid fire stream of new storylines being thrown into the mix every few pages.
March 3, 2025
When Nate gives up soccer for basketball and starts practicing with his outcast classmate who moved in across the street, he has to prove himself to his family, varsity players, and himself. This novel is broken into two parts: before and after a lifechanging spring. The whole story spans over a year and not only offers insight into Nate's character, but also his older sister who is on a college soccer scholarship. The journal entries in the second half change up the narrative in a good way. A great book with detailed game plays and emotion.
March 10, 2025
When Nate decides to quit soccer and take up basketball, he knows he doesn't stand a chance of making the team without a lot of practice. As tryouts get closer, Nate starts training with loner, Lucas, who moved in across the street.
Shadowed is a great story for basketball fans--tons of basketball action. Also good for relationships and character growth. Will potentially also appeal to fans of Orbiting Jupiter.
Shadowed is a great story for basketball fans--tons of basketball action. Also good for relationships and character growth. Will potentially also appeal to fans of Orbiting Jupiter.
June 14, 2025
This has been one of my favorite YA novels. Boys who are interested in basketball would particularly love it, but it's more than just a sports book. It really gets into the psyche of the main character. Nate seems very much like a real teenage boy. I felt so much sympathy for him in his bad moments and happiness for him in his good moments.
September 14, 2025
Solid basketball book with at least one major twist. It's a little technical if you're not heavily into basketball and the third act is maybe a little disjointed on account of time jumps, but it's otherwise a really solid novel with well-developed characters and some great moments, both in sports and in life.
November 25, 2024
This was a very accessible story - quick chapters & a main character who was easy to like. It was a big story for such a short book, but I think it is an easy sell for students and will be popular with more reluctant readers. Good mix of sports and deeper topics.
December 26, 2024
Probably 3.5 stars. Good writing. Typical Deuker, but I felt the pacing was rushed in parts and dragged in others. I wanted more development between the protagonists and between Nate and his sister. A few scenes with the parents bugged me a bit, too.
May 22, 2025
Having read all of Carl Deuker’s other books, I feel like with this one he was just kind of phoning it in and following the formula. Not that it’s a bad book, it’s just missing something that the others had, especially the first few like On the Devils Court, Night Hoops, and Heart of a Champion.
June 26, 2025
Good book, beginning felt a bit boring, and then it slowly picked up w the small details building into one big story. As you think they’re going to make it to finals or smth BOOM it hits w a one-of-the-main-characters-dies it was a really new take that was decently executed
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 18, 2024
Possible BoB title? Guy main character, lots of basketball/sports stuff, more than just a sports story.
February 4, 2025
3.75
This is bare bones, yet effective, storytelling perfect for my younger teen boy readers. Plenty of basketball action with some tender moments mixed as the main character deals with grief.
This is bare bones, yet effective, storytelling perfect for my younger teen boy readers. Plenty of basketball action with some tender moments mixed as the main character deals with grief.
February 4, 2025
It's the second basketball book I've read, and I didn't know they have so much heart!
February 6, 2025
Basketball, soccer, friendship, bullies, death, special needs, and family.
March 24, 2025
Slow start, great basketball moves, way to show the tension!
April 9, 2025
oh my god i cried its so good
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews