Hot Hand

September 3, 2007
Lupica (Miracle on 49th Street
) again relays fast-paced basketball action in this involving first volume of the Comeback Kids series. The narrative moves equally sure-footedly off-court to explore the dynamics of 10-year-old Billy's family. His parents have recently separated, and his father, Joey, has moved to another house. Joey is also Billy's demanding, hot-headed basketball coach, constantly criticizing his son for shooting rather than passing during games. Billy's well-intentioned mother works long hours as a lawyer and travels frequently. Younger brother Ben, as passionate about the piano as Billy is about basketball, becomes increasingly withdrawn and, alarmingly, begins to skip piano lessons. Billy comes to Ben's rescue when a school bully picks on him, but resents feeling that his often-absent parents expect him to take care of his vulnerable brother. Tensions peak when Ben's piano recital and Billy's championship game occur at the same time; their mother is called out of town, and their father refuses to miss the game for Ben's recital. The resolution is pat, but pleasing—although not as pleasing as the sports writing. Lupica moves to the gridiron in the series' Two-Minute Drill
, due the same month. These should score big with middle-graders looking for alternatives to Matt Christopher's titles.Ages 8-up.

October 1, 2007
Gr 4-6-In these additions to the series, Lupica features kids who struggle with adversity to reach their full potential both on the athletic field and in life. In "Hot Hand", 10-year-old Billy Raynor must deal with his parents' recent separation, a situation complicated by the fact that his hard-driving, sometimes neglectful father is also his basketball coach. The protagonist of "Two-Minute Drill" is Scott Parry, the perennial new kid who tries out for the local sixth-grade-level football team in attempt to fit in with his classmates. His frustrations as the worst player on the team take a turn when the star player, Chris Conlan, comes to him with a secret: if he can't pass a state reading test, he'll be moved to special-education classes and taken off the team. Both novels strike a good balance between sports action and more interior explorations of social issues facing today's children. The characters are sometimes a bit shallow but are always sympathetic, particularly talentless but tough Scott, and the adults have complexity and depth, which can be rare in genre novels. The strongest point in both books is the quality of the sports play-by-play; Lupica portrays the action clearly and vividly, with a real sense of the excitement and unpredictable nature of the games. These are worthy additions to collections seeking to draw in middle-grade boys with an enthusiasm for athletics."Meredith Robbins, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis High School, New York City"

Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2008
In Hand, ten-year-old Billy struggles with his parents' separation, a situation complicated by his dad also being his basketball coach. In Drill, sixth-graders Scott "the brain" and Chris "the quarterback" work to make each other "better at football and...better at school." Lupica's underdogs courageously face life's challenges--bullies, divorce, dyslexia--with each book culminating in a dramatic game-winning victory.

(Copyright 2008 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)