Jake Maddox

There's always more to sports than what goes on during the game, and that's what Jake Maddox's books are all about. In this collection of four short stories, Maddox focuses on four middle school boys all trying to prove themselves on the same team. Each boy--Isaac, Trey, PJ, and Daniel--has his own pressures to deal with, but they all find a place on the court. Although the other characters make appearances, each story is a self-contained narrative divided into ten short chapters (two to seven pages). As a result, the stories can be read in any order and are ideal for reluctant readers (especially boys). The text is made up of short sentences and dialogue, along with a scattering of manga-style pictures. While written for young readers, the author also expects his audience to understand basketball jargon like "point guard", "power forward", and "top of the key."… (lisätietoja)

Love that this book is an everyday adventure with a character in a hijab and it's not about her race or religion -- it's about running, and getting so carried away with wanting to succeed that you damage your ability to do so. 8th grader Nimo made the varsity team, and is so excited about it that she pushes herself to the brink of exhaustion rather than listen to the advice of parents and coach and friends. It's a short, well written, action packed graphic novel. I am massively irritated that this book claims to be by Jake Maddox -- it's not. It's written by Connie R. Colwell, art by Tina Francisco, lettering by Jaymes Reed and cover art by Berenice Muniz. I don't really understand why you need a famous name to sell a book that can absolutely stand alone on its own merits, but such is life.… (lisätietoja)