My first book by Mike Lupica, I had heard good things about his books especially for middle school boys who struggle with finding books interesting. I can definitely see why he’s a popular author among teacher’s libraries!
A story centered around basketball, Fast Break has a great way of combining the more detail oriented aspects of basketball with a captivating overarching plot of a young boy named Jayson. Mike begins the book explaining Jayson’s backstory, a young boy orphaned in middle school who starts stealing to get by after his mom dies, and gets caught stealing shoes from footlocker. This act ends up placing him in foster care with a family named the Lawtons.
Jayson navigates his new middle school, new basketball team, and new home with difficulty at first, and there’s a lot for a boy in a similar situation to connect with. This book is also really good for boys who like sports or are detail oriented (I myself skipped over some scenes since they were too detailed about dribbling with what hand etc. to score the point!)
Overall a great book grade 6+, maybe 5 if they’re a stronger reader, and overall gets a 3.5/5 from me!