Streetball Is Life - by Paul Volponi (Hardcover)

About the Book

Written by award-winning YA author Paul Volponi, this book is an autobiographical account of Volponi as a 17-year-old intent on becoming a legitimate NYC streetballer. Woven throughout are the important social skills learned on the basketball court, showing readers that their ...

Book Synopsis

From award-winning young adult author Paul Volponi comes the true story of his unforgettable summer spent proving himself as a legitimate New York City streetballer, only later discovering that he had gained a set of skills that would enhance his life off the court, as well.

During the sweltering summer of seventeen-year-old Paul Volponi's life, he had only one goal--he wanted, no, needed to become a legitimate and respected New York City street basketball player. It was a passion that consumed him night and day, and at times even isolated him from his friends and family. So he entered through the gates of the Proving Ground, the roughest streetball yard in the city. It was a place where the fouls resembled felonies, and the atmosphere mirrored that of the Roman Coliseum more than Madison Square Garden. It was where teens and adults contested pickup games with a ferocity seemingly greater than that of the NBA Finals. The Proving Ground was a difficult place to cultivate friendships and an easy environment to make enemies.

This is the story of Paul's summer-long initiation at the Proving Ground. It is truly a streetball testament of a teenager who wanted more than anything else to earn his stripes in streetball society. Only what he didn't understand at the time was that this experience would deliver to him, as it does today for so many young adults, a set of skills that would enhance his life far beyond the boundaries of a basketball court.

Review Quotes

. . . Volponi conveys a passion for basketball while sharing a bittersweet reminiscence of a pivotal summer. The on-court action is tendered with an almost awe-like respect for the game, the players, and the relentlessly fierce way they play. Sprinkled with quotes from basketball greats as well as reflective life lessons the author learned from playing, this informative memoir reveals the unrelenting world of streetball and the talented athletes who rule it.

[Streetball is Life] is filled with cinematic details and colorful characters, which bring the streetball subculture to life. . . . An entertaining title that will likely be very popular with basketball fans and will appeal to readers who enjoy realistic fiction.

Paul Volponi's latest, Streetball is Life, is a fitting heir to his signature work Black and White. The rhythm of the city streets envelops the reader with the grittiness of a hard-fought game of hoops that is careening toward an unknown finish. Volponi's coming-of-age story will attract those just beginning to make their mark on the world as well as those further along in practicing what they learned through early competition. Streetball is Life is a slam dunk.

Streetball is Life is written the way Volponi's ballers hit that cracked cement: hard and true.

Volponi's microcosm of American culture is a page turner that entertains and informs.

About the Author

Paul Volponi is an author, journalist and educator. His twelve novels for young adults have been the recipient of a dozen American Library Association honors. His novel Black and White, winner of the International Reading Association Children's Book Award, is a staple in many middle school and high school English classes. The Final Four is on the New York City Chancellor's Ninth-Grade Reading List. Volponi's most recent book is That's My Team: The History, Science, and Fun Behind Sports Teams' Names (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019), a nonfiction sports book for young adults. You can learn more about his books at paulvolponibooks.com.