Night Hoops - Hardcover

Deuker, Carl

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0395979366 ISBN 13: 9780395979365

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2000

Synopsis

An intricate tapestry of loneliness, friendship, faithlessness, and betrayal weaves the story of two boys--Nick Abbott and Trent Dawson--whose lives become unexpectedly entangled during basketball season.

About this title

About the Author

Carl Deuker participated in several sports as a boy. He was good enough to make most teams, but not quite good enough to play much. He describes himself as a classic second-stringer. "I was too slow and too short for basketball; I was too small for football, a little too chicken to hang in there against the best fastballs. So, by my senior year the only sport I was still playing was golf." Carl still loves playing golf early on Sunday mornings at Jefferson Park in Seattle, the course on which Fred Couples learned to play. His handicap at present is 13.
Combining his enthusiasm for both writing and athletics, Carl has created many exciting, award-winning novels for young adults. He currently lives in Seattle, Washington, with his wife and daughter.

Reviews

Grade 8-10-Nick Abbott finds himself trying to deal with his parent's divorce and a host of other problems that face him during his sophomore year. He wants above all else to be a star player on his high school basketball team. As the story progresses, Nick learns how to control the tempo of a game as a point guard, and he also begins to reach a greater maturity in his life. Central to the story is his relationship with his disturbed and angry teammate and neighbor, Trent Dawson. The young men form an uneasy bond as they quietly practice each night on Nick's backyard court. Eventually, they become a dominating duo on the court, with Trent's aggressiveness complemented by Nick's feel for the game. This is an excellent novel. Nick's first-person narration is authentic throughout. The author perfectly captures the swirl of ideas in the adolescent mind. The descriptions of the games are well written and accurate. Best of all, the complexities of basketball are contrasted with the complexities of life. Nick learns how important it is to make adjustments during the course of a game, and he learns that adjustments are also important in life. This message is imparted subtly, though. Deuker delivers a story that features rounded characters dealing with real problems, set against the backdrop of a varsity basketball season.
Todd Morning, Schaumburg Township Public Library, IL
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Always in the shadow of his older brother, Scott, Nick begins to catch his father's attention when Scott gives up basketball to spend more time on his music, and Nick's basketball prowess develops. Nick's talent is further nurtured by nightly one-on-one games with a disturbing neighbor, Trent Dawson. A master at writing good basketball sequences, Deuker vividly depicts every fast break, every trap, but as with On the Devil's Court (1988), he uses basketball as a device to tackle larger issues. This time, Deuker is writing about choices: Scott elects music instead of basketball and his father's approval; Trent seems to be choosing school (via basketball) instead of a life of crime; and Nick decides to support Trent despite his father's advice and his peers' disapproval. Complex characters make the story compelling. The basketball coach, Mr. O'Leary, is particularly endearing, gruff, and exacting but also willing to gamble on the kids when the moment seems right. Deuker offers no easy answers; he's honest enough to leave Trent's future unresolved. The conclusion isn't entirely realistic, but the story is satisfying and hopeful, and the book will be an easy sell. Frances Bradburn
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

"In the pale moonlight the basket seemed only half
real, half there. You'd think that the darkness would
make it hard to shoot, but it actually helped to make
me concentrate. There was nothing else to see, nothing
else to hear. O'Leary wasn't shouting instructions at
me; my dad wasn't scrutinizing my every move. There
was just the basket in front of me, the ball in my
hands, and Trent defending."

Edition details

• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0395979366
• ISBN 13: 9780395979365
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 212