The Hoopster, by Alan Lawrence

I chose  The Hoopster, by Alan Lawrence, because I decided to change my "book reading routine" and read a book about sports. The story I read was completely different than what I expected. Andre, an African-American and the main character, is a superb writer who works at Affairs magazine as the printer is suddenly given the task of writing about racism. His article raised the amount of readers and he was given a raise; but his good fortune was short lived when he got ambushed by a viscous gang of racist and they broke his right hand which wouldn't let him play the sport he loved and beat him up badly which threw him into an all too quiet depression.

My favorite quote is "'Revenge? How can someone really ever get revenge, Andre.....It doesn't exist.'" because what Andre's dad is saying is true. Sure, he can do what someone else did to him, but would it make him happy? I think not. The author really captured the slang that people use and put it in the story, making it a lot more realistic. I would actually recommend this book to anyone who likes drama and a "satisfying ending" ending kind of book because it has those genres in this book. 

Reviewed by Narek A., grade 9
Glendale Central Library