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Hoop City #4
New York City
"Darnell is a talented high school basketball player from Brooklyn, primed to be the first to attend college in his family. But he can't seem to get out of his own way, making silly mistakes like being late for school, and getting distracted by the many girls he encounters. When his mother tells him that she has a new boyfriend, an event from Darnell's past takes him to a dark place. Will he be able to confront his past and try to overcome it?"--
- GenresSportsYoung Adult
198 pages, Library Binding
First published September 1, 2015
8 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 13, 2017
Darnell is a star basketball player at his High School who is trying to become the first person in his family to attend college and even better get a full ride. He runs into some trouble in the beginning of the season with school and it allows him to think his whole life over. He gets suspended and is not allowed to go to basketball and for most of the book he is waiting to see if he is allowed back at school and more importantly for him to be back on the team. Could this incident at school cost him a full ride into college or can he overcome the hardships and become more of an adult?
Hoop City New York City is an extremely good book aimed mostly towards teens who enjoy or participate in sports. It shows the harsh reality of life and the things that can happen from one incident. It is a very good book for people who are struggling in life because it shows how one thing can cost you a great future and how to mature. I would give this book a 5 because I am in sports and know how accurate this book is and it helps you to think about how you act and the choices you make. I would encourage athletes to read this book because it shows what can happen from your mistakes and how much they can cost you.
Hoop City New York City is an extremely good book aimed mostly towards teens who enjoy or participate in sports. It shows the harsh reality of life and the things that can happen from one incident. It is a very good book for people who are struggling in life because it shows how one thing can cost you a great future and how to mature. I would give this book a 5 because I am in sports and know how accurate this book is and it helps you to think about how you act and the choices you make. I would encourage athletes to read this book because it shows what can happen from your mistakes and how much they can cost you.
March 14, 2019
The book New York City (Hoop City) by Sam Moussavi is about a teenager from Brooklyn, New York named Darnell that lives with his mom. Darnell is one of the most skilled basketball players at his school so talented that the coach made him one of the captains. Although Darnell is good at sports, he’s not good at showing up at school on time. One morning Darnell wakes up late and while crossing the road in a rush to get to school on time he causes an accident. This accident gets him kicked off the basketball team and leads to him running away so he won’t get in trouble with his mom.
I like this book because it gives me an insight into life as a teenager in Brooklyn and how choices are important for your future. I also like how the author wrote in the type of slang that New Yorkers use because it shows me what different words New Yorkers say. Overall, I really like this book and I’ll for sure read more books from this series.
I like this book because it gives me an insight into life as a teenager in Brooklyn and how choices are important for your future. I also like how the author wrote in the type of slang that New Yorkers use because it shows me what different words New Yorkers say. Overall, I really like this book and I’ll for sure read more books from this series.
October 27, 2016
I think this book was great. I liked it alot because it was about a kid from New York, Brooklyn, & im from there so i have a connection towards the text. It is about a kid named Darnell who plays basketball & is the top player of the team following 2 others. He is a good student, and athletic. Everything is good, until one day he was late to school & caused a big scene.
February 28, 2024
Hoop City (New York City), Is about a boy named Darnell that lives with only his mom. Darnell is really good at basketball and he is going into senior year at a new school. Right away this book goes straight into the story, where Darnell and the basketball team start their summer tryouts and Darnell and his coach start a very strong relationship. Later on in tryouts Darnell got named one of the captions “That means no more showing up late for school” ( Darnell 11). He had already been working really hard to become the best player and gain his coaches trust with the ball, and coach always told his player that “Coach was not one of those coaches who kissed a player’s ass” so basically he was telling them you have to work for your playing time and if you dont you wont play. This is the most suspenseful timing in the story of Darnell and his basketball team, so after everyone had tried their hardest to resolve a spot on the team they started putting in all the plays and defense that they would be running. Later on in the book the first game comes around and Darnell and the other seniors go for a very big scoring game and then win by 2 in a really important rivalry game, but some players were upset they didn't play much so they got into a big argument and showed up to practice late the next couple of days. Then Darnell took advantage of his captain role and “Guys started coming out of the locker room in pairs, and suddenly we were a team again” (Coach 25). Finally, Darnell had been going through some life things and had not been showing up to basketball or school because of it, and his mom wasn't coming home at night so he texted her and texted her and she didn't answer and short story short she was trying to find Darnell a father figure in his life and he didn't want that so he ran away from home. This book did a great job generating the story and making the plot very interesting.This book also was very easy to read and even though I don't like reading, I actually read the whole thing. My overall impression and rating for the book was 5 out of 5 because I really enjoyed it and the ending was very good.
2 quotes
“Guys started coming out of the locker room in pairs, and suddenly we were a team again” (Coach 25).
“That means no more showing up late for school” ( Darnell 11).
2 quotes
“Guys started coming out of the locker room in pairs, and suddenly we were a team again” (Coach 25).
“That means no more showing up late for school” ( Darnell 11).
May 25, 2019
When I started reading Hoop City: New York City by Sam Moussavi I thought it would be more about a team trying to get to the Championship. However, while I was reading it the story was more like a life story and how to rebound from a mistake you made. Darnell, the main character is a senior on his high school basketball team and a captain. One day he gets out of bed and realizes he is late so he gets his things and heads for school. He might have made his biggest mistake of his life that day.
Darnell was really trying to be the best team captain he could be this year for his senior year. He was always late to school and his coach was getting upset. One day his coach called him in late for a meeting before practice. The coach told him that if he was late one more day he would get his captain privileges take away. The next day he was running late so he ran to school. He was almost to school when he ran across the street. He just made the biggest mistake of his life. He was kicked from the basketball team for two days and expelled from school for that day. Those two days he would learn the most about himself and his future. He tried to find out more about himself and see where his life was going. He was going down and bad road with the decisions he was making. He was getting in trouble with girls, stealing and smoking.
He saw where his life was going if he continued on this road and did not want that to happen to him. He decided to stick to one girl that he thought was the right one. He got over hs issue with his mother and went back to playing basketball. He turned his life around when he see it was going somewhere he did not want to go. That is a something very important that you can take away from this book. If your life is not going the way you thought it was going to then turn it back around. Don’t let life change the way you will live your life because you are the one in charge.
Darnell was really trying to be the best team captain he could be this year for his senior year. He was always late to school and his coach was getting upset. One day his coach called him in late for a meeting before practice. The coach told him that if he was late one more day he would get his captain privileges take away. The next day he was running late so he ran to school. He was almost to school when he ran across the street. He just made the biggest mistake of his life. He was kicked from the basketball team for two days and expelled from school for that day. Those two days he would learn the most about himself and his future. He tried to find out more about himself and see where his life was going. He was going down and bad road with the decisions he was making. He was getting in trouble with girls, stealing and smoking.
He saw where his life was going if he continued on this road and did not want that to happen to him. He decided to stick to one girl that he thought was the right one. He got over hs issue with his mother and went back to playing basketball. He turned his life around when he see it was going somewhere he did not want to go. That is a something very important that you can take away from this book. If your life is not going the way you thought it was going to then turn it back around. Don’t let life change the way you will live your life because you are the one in charge.
November 1, 2017
A surprisingly interesting read for a Hi/Lo title. Lots of boy appeal, good story, interesting characters. There was a bit of language (I really don't see the 'd' word in a lot of YA titles) but I guess it was pretty realistic for how teens talk. My students enjoy this series.
February 1, 2018
It was a pretty good book. I recommend it to people who enjoy reading sports and realistic fiction books.
February 13, 2019
Great book
Read
November 12, 2019I thought it was a good short book and I liked it cause I like to watch basketball so it was interesting to read about basketball.
November 9, 2021
it was one of my favorite books
January 7, 2016
Darnell lives in Brooklyn with his mom. He is a really good basketball player and has his eye on college. However, he is easily distracted, often late, and has an eye for cute girls. These things, plus mom's new boyfriend and an event from his past threaten to make him lose his focus and determination to succeed.
With almost 200 pages to work with, I felt like there should have been greater depth, especially depth of character. However, struggling and/or reluctant readers as well as those who like their sports stories with a tang of urban grit to them will enjoy the story. I was also distressed by the lack of grammatical editing in several places. I doubt that will bother most students, however.
With almost 200 pages to work with, I felt like there should have been greater depth, especially depth of character. However, struggling and/or reluctant readers as well as those who like their sports stories with a tang of urban grit to them will enjoy the story. I was also distressed by the lack of grammatical editing in several places. I doubt that will bother most students, however.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews