Second String Center

Winning Season #10

by Rich Wallace

As his own self-confidence grows, seventh-grader Dunk learns to be supportive both on and off the basketball court when his friend Jared goes through a difficult time, even though Jared's failure would provide Dunk more opportunities to prove himself.

128 pages, Hardcover

First published September 6, 2007

Reviews

[Lane C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dunk is a thirteen year old, 6 foot center. He is trying out for the middle school basketball team. He has big competition with his own teammates Jared and Louie, they are also trying to play center. When Jared starts having family problems Dunk starts to play more in games because Jared wasn't at the games a lot. But now they are playing the best team in the division, the Palisades, Dunk starts the game surprisingly since Jared was there. The time ticks down with only a few minutes left and they are behind, dunk gets fouled and is turned to the free throw line he swishes both. The clock ticks down, the game is over,Dunks team wins because he made those free throws!

This book's author Rich Wallace is good at getting the reader to keep reading on and on like me. This story is in 3rd person limited, you can really get a good feeling of the characters feeling if they are anxious, mad, sad, happy, etc… I didn't really like the ending because it just left like “there's no more?”

I recommend this book to anyone who likes sports or competition, age recommendation for this book id say 11-14. This book is for anyone who likes to read short little easy books. This book would be a good message for kids who are thinking about giving up on sports. I felt good about this book. It was just a short easy book about basketball.

[Elijah A]

I read the second string center by Rich Wallace. This book takes place in a city high school the main character is Dunk he is fast and can jump and is fighting for a spot on the team the main problem in the book and he doesn't have a lot of confidence. My thought on the book is that it was kinda boring for me because I like action and different things happening and this book wasn't really for me, I would rate it a 2 or 3 i would recommend this book that likes a calm sports story

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a thirteen year old boy named, Dunk. He is trying out for the middle school basketball team. He has tough competition from two other teammates named Jared and Louie. They are always fighting for the first string center position. When Jared missed a game due to his family issues, Dunk starts the game and immediately catches the coaches attention. From that point forward, all three have to work hard to earn a starting spot in the lineup.

I personally enjoyed this book. This book is a great story about rivalry. It is intense and reminds me of my teammates and I on the soccer field. I dislike the abrupt way the book ended. It just seemed to stop in the middle of a game. I would change the ending if I could. The game would have had a dramatic finish and Dunk would have saved the game.

I would recommend this book to people who enjoy reading sports related books. It had a great story line and was easy to follow. This book would be enjoyed by many.

[Cynthia Sherman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book in this series. I am impressed with how well this is written. I can not wait to read the rest of this series.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute quick read. Good message for kids about hard work paying off!