Quicks

D-Bow High School Hoops #4

by Kevin Waltman

D-Bow’s game has it all, and colleges are taking notice. But he’s still rehabbing a knee injury and his job as Marion East point guard is under threat. Plus he’s got family drama. And girl trouble. Can he put it all together for his senior season? Or will he crash and burn like so many Marion East players before him?

Genres: Sports

216 pages, Hardcover

First published November 15, 2016

About the author

Kevin Waltman was born in Bedford, Pennsylvania, and spent his teens and twenties in Indiana--time spent mostly around basketball courts and political events. He moved to Tuscaloosa, Alabama in 2001 to get his MFA in fiction at The University of Alabama. There, he met his wife, Jessica Kidd. He now lives in Coker, Alabama, with Jessica, their daughter Calla, and their dog Henry. He teaches. He writes. He gardens. He cuts kudzu from their woods.

He is the author of four y.a. novels. The first two are Nowhere Fast and Learning the Game. The two most recent--Next and Slump--are the first two parts of a four-part series from Cinco Puntos Press. The third in the series, Pull, will be out in late 2015.

You can see more about Kevin, or find teaching guides to some of his work, at kevinwaltman.com..

Reviews

[Caleb · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading “Quicks, by Kevin Waltman” ,thoughts may vary. I'm going to give my thoughts on the book, but first a quick story on how I came across the book. My teacher told me to find a book to read, and the book has to be a fiction book. I don’t typically like fiction books, so I looked around the library and saw the bright green cover of the book and thought it looked interesting, then I noticed it was a basketball book. I decided to read it because it looked interesting.
The story begins in a small town in Ohio. We meet Derrick and his uncle Kid. They are practicing basketball and we learn Derrick had an injury in his leg the previous year and he's still recovering. Later after their practice they go home and we meet the rest of Derrick's family, Derrick's pregnant Mom, his dad, and his little brother. We learn Derrick is a senior in highschool and basketball season is starting soon. We meet the team for the year and Derrick has a Rivalry with the freshmen trying to take his spot as the point guard. Derrick has some life trouble with his girlfriend and his basketball team starts their losing streak. He is also going to colleges that are offering him scholarships. Derrick starts acting like a ball hog during their next game and his team starts resenting him at practice, it causes him to get into a fight, and his friend that tried to intervene got punched in the face and got a broken nose. Derrick decides to talk it out with his teammate and they start to lead the team.
The end of the book was pretty nice. It told which school he decided to go to, and kinda had a happily ever after type feeling. My favorite part of the book was probably any basketball games.I just liked the details of everything, like what Derrick was thinking through the game, the sounds, and feels through the game. I also like the play by play of the games the other would include. I thought when the author included the background on the best players of the opposing teams was pretty cool.
I personally think it was a good book all and all. It was very realistic, I could actually see a young athletic black kid getting lots of college scholarship deals, and being annoyed at a young white boy trying to one up him. Derrick's progression in the story was also realistic. I think this book is for people that want a realistic basketball player's high school life.

[Jose Baca · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fourth and final book in the series “Quicks” was a really good ending for the series. Just like every other book in the series I am feeling the same feelings that Derrick is throughout the book. As you read the final book you really see how Derrick himself as a character has developed over the series. Through all the struggles that he has going on through his life you still see him show up when it matters most.
If you don’t like basketball I recommend you read the first 3 books to get to this one. Derrick has trouble with everything in his life and it’s his senior year so he’s gotta show how good he is for the colleges while struggling to adapt to his life at home and by adapting to his new teammates. Things start a little shaky at the beginning of the book, in the end Derrick shows why he’s one of the top guards in the state.
Even though he’s basically out the door, Derrick still steps up and shows his teammates what a senior should be like on the team, and what a true leader looks like. Even though he has to show out for the college scouts, he also knows that helping his teammates become better. That really has you thinking about what type of person someone should be. If someone is on a team and they may be succeeding but the team overall isn’t then are they really succeeding? I highly recommend this book and series, it shows you character development and what a true team leader really is, it also shows you how to adapt to the situations that are going on around you and how to adapt and become better from them.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Following up on the success of his three previous books featuring D-Bow, the talented Indianapolis basketball player, the author follows Derrick Bowen during his senior year at Marion East High School. Although several colleges are still interested in D-Bow, he is recovering from a knee injury and still unsure about how it's healed. The team has a new coach, which makes him appreciate his previous coach much more. And there's a new guy on the team--Darryl Gibson, a white boy who reminds D-Bow of himself when he was a freshman--who threatens the status quo. Especially early in the season, the team doesn't seem to come together or to take the game seriously, and even D-Bow questions how much effort he should give since he'll be leaving soon. What with a pregnant mother, girlfriend drama (from the past and present) and the continued downward slide of his friend Wes, D-Bow has his hands full. This is an action-packed read, filled with basketball terminology and descriptions of the action during practice and on the court that attest to the author's own years of playing and loving basketball. Little touches such as how he resents Darryl's nickname of D-Train or how his former girlfriend is struggling with her college courses or how the scouts try to use his current girlfriend to sway his decision about what scholarship offer to accept or even the drama between D-Bow and Uncle Kid add to the book's realism and complexity. It's a basketball book, yes, but even more than that, a book about a young man facing adult dilemmas.

[Carson · Rating 5 out of 5]

[Spoilers] Quicks by Kevin Waltman is a 5/5 and the genre is sporting this book is one of my new favorite books because the reason is said that is because it's about a kid name D-Bow and he is a senior who likes to play basketball. His high school has never been to a championship so that want he wants to do. Some other things in this book are like 12 colleges are scouting him and he will have to pick which one he wants to go to. His mom is pregnant, and his dad gets drunk all the time and his uncle is his new basketball coach. With that there is a freshman who doesn't really like D-Bow and is trying to take his position on the basketball team. He also has a girlfriend, and she is very clingy, and he can't really do much without here being there, so he gets annoyed. Then with his little sister being born he has to sometimes take care of her cause his dad doesn't really care. Some things I like about this book was the plot and how D-Bow wanted to get to the championship and the kid who was trying to steal D-Bows position. It is written in first person point of view and that is another reason why it is pretty good. I was a little confused at some parts because the uncle didn't do anything when D-Bow and the kid who was trying to steal his position would fight. Some parts are forgettable because they do not talk about them too much. These are the reasons I give it a 5 out of 5.

[Mya Richter-Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book I read was “Quicks” by Kevin Waltman. In this story about D-bow, a high school senior who plays basketball. The school they go to is called Marion East High School. Their high school has never even been to a championship! D-bow becomes determined to take their school to a championship for his first and last time. The championship isn’t the main focus of the book, though. D-bow has a huge list of schools looking to recruit him for college. He has to choose. He has about twelve different schools keeping an eye of him. His decisions vary throughout the book, and they are disrupted by a couple things going on at home. His mom is pregnant, his dad is an abusive drunk, and his girlfriend is indecisive and clingy. D-bows uncle is the new coach, and there is a freshman who keeps trying to steal D-bows spot. Coach doesn’t do anything to help so that results in conflict against the team and possibly against the colleges looking at him. What’s he going to pick?

[Justin Bias · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the book, because it talked about basketball and the hard work D Bow did to come back from his injury and play. It also was interesting how well him and his team got along. I didn't like how many pages there were. Nor did I like how they described the characters it was indirect. However if you're an athlete and like to read, I would recommend reading this book.

[Jillian Grindstone · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book was good. I just like how it told about a boy how he got himself into basketball and how much he like it. what inspired him to follow his dreams to become a famous basketball player.

[Merry · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fitting end to a riveting series. I savored every moment of Derrick's senior year, and I loved that the end provides such satisfying results for him and his family. While I appreciate and marvel at Waltman's attention to detail during the basketball games and his obvious love for and knowledge of the game, it was the moments within the Bowen family that were the most meaningful to me: the birth of a baby girl and the joys and struggles that brings to their household; the rebirth and rehabilitation of Uncle Kid's career and love life; the quiet and important moments between parents and their son about to leave the house for college. It is in these moments that Waltman shines and helps his readers appreciate the messy beauty of family. I can't recommend this entire series enough.