*I got this book for review from Net galley*

I really enjoyed this book. I loved how this book was told from two boys POV and how it really focused on their friendship and how it changed over the course of the novel. It was such a impactful novel and it was super hard to put down. I thought the racial elements in this book was super well done and it was handled so well. I loved how sports was used to increase tension in this novel. I was equally invested in both POVS and loved the cast of characters that populated this world. I was super impressed by this novel as well! I will def.check more stuff by this author in the future! ( )

*I got this book for review from Net galley*

I really enjoyed this book. I loved how this book was told from two boys POV and how it really focused on their friendship and how it changed over the course of the novel. It was such a impactful novel and it was super hard to put down. I thought the racial elements in this book was super well done and it was handled so well. I loved how sports was used to increase tension in this novel. I was equally invested in both POVS and loved the cast of characters that populated this world. I was super impressed by this novel as well! I will def.check more stuff by this author in the future! ( )

Great read. I wasn’t sure what direction we were heading, but enjoyed where it finished. Lessons to be learned all around on this one. ( )

Straightforward story of two friends (alternating narration) Bunny & Nasir: growing up together in urban neighborhood outside Philadelphia, playing for their high school basketball team. Bunny is offered a scholarship to the much more upscale private St Sebastian's High school and makes the difficult decision to leave the familiarity of his neighborhood and high school to travel across town to expand his chances for college scholarships, & continue to "up his game" as an exceptional ball player. Nasir, with his struggling, more angry cousin Wallace, watches from afar as Bunny continues to excel - the growing bitterness is not overnight, portrayed realistically. It's even more complicated because Bunny has now begun dating Keyona, a dedicated athlete herself, and the girl Nasir has secretly had a crush on for a long time. real pluses: realistic dialogue without resorting to much vulgarity; respectful treatment of Keyona & Bunny's romance; characters are fleshed out a bit at a time, with life progressing as it would in a school year; good basketball game excerpts-appealing to those who love the sport. Potential drawbacks: story is done at leisurely, relationship-give and take pace - some students may want faster story/suspense. Does build to a violent climax - some students may find disturbing - but there's been a build up to it throughout the chapters. ( )

I abandoned this one because I'm only reading books for ages 9-12 at the moment. If I were reading for high school, I would definitely read this one since I'm always looking for good sports books. There was some profanity in the beginning which knocked it out of the running for my school.