Centerville (Orca Sports)

Basketball-crazy Jake Burnett is thrilled to be leaving home to attend the prestigious Centerville Prep.

It’s an opportunity to pursue his hoop dreams at the highest level. But things aren’t quite as advertised at his new school, and Jake soon finds himself struggling both on and off the court. At first, Jake is determined to play harder and ignore the warning signs. Until he discovers that his new head coach is a scam artist, putting kids at risk for his own gain. Now Jake has a difficult choice to make―advance his basketball career or do the right thing.

This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for middle-grade readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read!

Jeff Rud was a print journalist in western Canada for twenty-eight years, twenty of them as a sports writer. He is currently executive director of communications and strategy in British Columbia's Office of the Representative for Children and Youth. He lives in Victoria, British Columbia, with his wife, Lana, and likes to coach high-school basketball in his spare time.