Reviews

Pick-Up Game: A Full Day of Full Court by Marc Aronson, Charles R. Smith Jr.

jwinchell's review

5.0

This is how a collection of short stories should be done! I loved hearing how Aronson & Smith set up the authors to write in succession. The way the feel and the flow of the pick-up game really is carried through each story, told by a different author. The writing is mad fly (as Shane would say), and I loved so many of the chapters--Sharon Flake, Walter Dean Myers, Rita Williams-Garcia, Adam Rapp, Robert Lipsyte were my faves. Stellar, finely crafted voices.

This could be a gateway book, and not just for boys/girls who like basketball. I want to know more about The Cage and the Rucker and how street ball and civil rights co-mingled.

dlberglund's review

4.0

This was a great collection of short stories, strung together with poems in between, that followed the events on one street court on one weekend day. The first story takes place early in the morning, and the last is edging on dusk. Each is written by a different author, with a different narrative perspective. Some of the characters- the strong personalities and the best ball players, who get to play the most games over the day- show up in multiple stories. You'll meet one as an opponent in an early game, as background noise in another, as an ally in another. Together, this makes for a cohesive whole. This is one of the strongest multi-author story collections I have read. Whether you love basketball or only tolerate it, this is a a great study of the characters who play, want to play, used to play, and watch street ball.

deborahs's review

I read the stories by Walter Dean Myers & Adam Rapp so it isn't right to rate this, but if your a basketball fan, you'll like it.