Scan barcode
randyribay's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
In the first book in this series, NEXT, Derrick “D-Bow” Bowen is a rising high school basketball star trying to earn the starting point guard spot and figure out whether or not to transfer to a schfancy private school. In SLUMP, Derrick is back for his sophomore year.
But even after the starting position is secured and his decision about the transfer behind him, things are not coming together the way that he hoped they would. He’s got girl problems, family problems, best friend problems, and team problems. Once again, the question is can he overcome these to help his team win the state title?
Like NEXT, this is a solid book that will appeal to basketball fans. Waltman’s got a strong character in Bowen and develops him well through this installment. He’s in his element when writing the play-by-play style game scenes, which will make you feel like you’re sitting courtside. However, also like NEXT, the climactic playoff games feel rushed and therefore flat. These should be the most important scenes in the book, but he gives way more pages to the games that occur earlier in the season that have less riding on them.
If you’re not a basketball fan, I’m not sure how much this book will appeal to you. Even I—a casual fan of the sport—started to just skim through the games to just find the winner and move back into the story.
(More reviews over at The Book Mark.
In the first book in this series, NEXT, Derrick “D-Bow” Bowen is a rising high school basketball star trying to earn the starting point guard spot and figure out whether or not to transfer to a schfancy private school. In SLUMP, Derrick is back for his sophomore year.
But even after the starting position is secured and his decision about the transfer behind him, things are not coming together the way that he hoped they would. He’s got girl problems, family problems, best friend problems, and team problems. Once again, the question is can he overcome these to help his team win the state title?
Like NEXT, this is a solid book that will appeal to basketball fans. Waltman’s got a strong character in Bowen and develops him well through this installment. He’s in his element when writing the play-by-play style game scenes, which will make you feel like you’re sitting courtside. However, also like NEXT, the climactic playoff games feel rushed and therefore flat. These should be the most important scenes in the book, but he gives way more pages to the games that occur earlier in the season that have less riding on them.
If you’re not a basketball fan, I’m not sure how much this book will appeal to you. Even I—a casual fan of the sport—started to just skim through the games to just find the winner and move back into the story.
(More reviews over at The Book Mark.
More...