Customer Reviews

First Round Lottery Pick

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First Round Lottery Pick is about a high school senior named Langston, "L", Holiday, from the inner city of Columbus, Ohio. L is a star basketball player with potential to go straight to the NBA from high school. The only catch is that if he signs with an agent and doesn't get chosen in the NBA draft he is also not eligible to enter college on a basketball scholarship. L has decided to enter the draft without an agent so that he has a backup plan for college if he can't get into the NBA. L has a good idea but an old head with shattered hoop dreams named Toy is eager to have L sign with him by any means necessary, including messing with his girl, friends and family.

I thought this book was a good debut for a series that the author is writing titled "The Vil". It wasn't perfect, a few spelling and grammatical errors but the storyline was interesting enough that I could overlook them. L is a good kid that wants to do right by his mother who raised him alone, his best friend Jalen, and girlfriend Tori but with money comes problems.

I would recommend this book for pre-teens and teenagers because it's a very quick read. The only thing is the copy I have says a copyright date of 2005, yet I haven't seen any follow ups in this series so I'm not sure what happened. Hopefully the follow ups will come soon.

I agree with the other two reviewers that this was a good book. I was able to finish it in 2 days. The story line was interesting and fast-paced - it definitely kept me interested.

The ending does seem to imply there will be a part 2 since many readers will want to know how things worked out for Langston, his girlfriend, and their families.

While I agree that the story seemed realistic regarding the likelihood of leaving the ghetto by playing pro-basketball, it might also give false hope to many teenagers who are sacrificing their education by banking on making millions of dollars by playing pro-basketball. I think a book where a character has the talent and everything seems to be working out but doesn't might have more of an impact on today's teenagers. It would expose them to the fact that they should always have a Plan B which should include an education.

But, as a light-hearted read, I would recommend the book and I look forward to checking out other books by Franklin White.

Lottery Pick was an easy to read book, with a good storyline behind it. The book gave you an insider look at how the street can change the lives of an individual just trying to make it out of poverty. Langston and along with is family from the "THE VIL" which include is best friend Jalen and girl Tori shows you that fame is not all that its cracked up to be. I think every young person that believes that sports is the way out the hood should read that book, because of the real talk and realistic points that come through Mr. White writing.