Night Hoops - by Carl Deuker (Paperback)

About the Book

Nick Abbot knows he can handle being on the varsity basketball team, but Trent Dawson, the troubled boy from across the street, is also on the team. In their nightly practices, they begin to work out their differences to form an uneasy friendship.

Book Synopsis

Nick Abbott and Trent Dawson have nothing in common but basketball. Or so it seems. But as the basketball season progresses, their lives become unexpectedly intertwined. In this coming-of-age story of an unlikely bond, award-winning author Carl Deuker explores that dark and confusing place between loneliness and friendship, between faithfulness and betrayal. Filled with gripping game play, this YA basketball novel will leave readers wondering how much they themselves would reach out to a kid like Trent.

• Rivals on the Court: Nick is dedicated. Trent is dangerously unpredictable. When the troubled kid from across the street becomes his biggest competition, the tension is about more than just a game.
• A Complicated Friendship: As their lives become intertwined, Nick and Trent must navigate the gray area between loyalty and betrayal, learning who they can trust when everything is on the line.
• High-Stakes Basketball Action: Filled with authentic, play-by-play game sequences, this story captures the breathless energy of high school sports and the pressure of the final shot.
• Navigating a Family's Divorce: While fighting for his spot on the varsity team, Nick must also deal with the fallout of his parents' painful separation and a family breaking apart.

Review Quotes

"Once again Deuker strikes a happy balance between issues and action, examining topics such as parental pressure and the edgy realtionship between play makers and their less gifted teammates while transporting his readers right into the bleachers with vivid play-by-plays." --Bulletin * "The author perfectly captures the swirl of ideas in the adolescent mind. . . . Deuker delivers a story that features rounded characters dealing with real problems, set against the backdrop of a varsity basketball season. . . .This is an excellent novel."--SLJ, starred review "Deuker adds further luster to his reputation for top-flight sportswriting matched to uncommonly perceptive coming-of-age stories." --Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Carl Deuker is a celebrated author of "top flight sports writing matched to uncommonly perceptive coming of age stories" (Kirkus Reviews). He describes his younger self 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." He was a teacher for many years in the Seattle area, where he now lives with his wife. carldeuker.ag sites.net/bio.htm