Whistler Independent Book Awards Friendship or Foul Play

Some nice words from the folks at the Whistler Independent Book Awards:

Plot: Coherent, well developed narrative arc; age appropriate and with a satisfying ending. Story arc moves forward with tension-filled description of protagonist's challenges intermingled with descriptions of the game of basketball with just the right balance between the two.  A reader with no knowledge of the game (like this reviewer) was able to stay focused on the story as a result.  Very satisfying ending that left the reader wondering til the last minute whether a win was actually going to happen.

Pace: Events unfold effectively to engage children throughout. A well-paced read that went back and forth between game/practice action and relationships, as the protagonist struggles with changes along the clear path towards the final game.

Characters: Characters have distinct personalities that children can relate to and understand. Main character emotional development progresses at a good pace throughout the story, showing both forward and regression movement that is believable.  As a reader, I like to picture characters in my mind, and as a young reader, I used to imagine myself as the main character.  Because the only physical descriptions in the story are hair colour and height, I would suggest having the protagonist Taylor have dark hair, so that readers of different diversities could picture themselves.

Dialogue: Dialogue reveals, reflects and reinforces the character of the speaker. Dialogue is used to good effect especially during practice/game playing; coach communication.  This works better than pure description of game.  Also good use of dialogue to show character:  Nicole, brother Jason and antagonist Rachel.

Setting: Whether visually or verbally, the environment is well presented and engaging. Good opening descriptions of home illustrating socio-economic level of protagonist (including shoes).  Comparison of the two schools also illustrates the under-dog nature of protagonist Taylor’s school. Great descriptions of school gyms and also of school-yard basketball areas as places of refuge for young people.

Writing: Sentence structure is varied; writing is imaginative, patterning/rhyme is effective. Nicely varied sentence structure with the majority of sentences either grammatically simple or compound for this age of reader.  Description of basketball play and rules is good for readers with knowledge of other team sports (this reader has knowledge of the game of hockey and its rules, but not basketball).  Good balance between description of game/practice and description of relationships.

Language: Vocabulary is age appropriate; word usage is fresh, engaging and natural. Language is appropriate for age.  Jargon of the game of basketball (even words/phrases as simple as ‘defence’ ‘layup’ ‘lose possession’) largely transfer to other team games so that readers who enjoy sports in general will enjoy this story.

Themes: Themes are present and effective, but do not preach or overwhelm the narrative. The theme of home tensions was present but did not overwhelm the main themes of learning how to cope with changing friendships and team play both in sport and school.  None of the themes preached but were addressed matter-of-fact via inner thought and dialogue.