Swagger by Carl Deuker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Jonas Dolan has always planned to work with his father after high school, but then his basketball coach encouraged him to look for a scholarship to play Division II basketball. He is encouraged by a college coach and is told that a scholarship is possible, but he must raise his grades to show determination off the court. After his father loses his job, the family packs up and moves to Seattle. Now Jonas must improve his academic performance AND earn a spot as a starter on the varsity team. Between chemistry and a coach who doesn’t want to play fast ball, Jonas is unsure about his future.
Swagger will be an entertaining read for those who love basketball as well as those who are indifferent to the sport. Deuker includes several play by play descriptions of the game without pulling away from the overall story. Jonas struggles with many issues that student athletes must overcome during their high school sports career, but he also is forced to learn some life lessons that the reader may wish were not required of anyone. Decisions he makes on and off the court not only affect him, but those around him. To make matters worse, he is balanced with two decisions. One may ruin a friend and the other may ruin his chance to go to college. Deuker did a wonderful job writing another sports book with a cutting edge teen issue included.
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