Life, Love, and the Pursuit of Free Throws [Paperback]

Janette Rallison (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 22, 2006

Going head-to-head with your best friend is never easy, on the court or off.

Josie loves hottie Ethan Lancaster, the captain of the basketball team, but she never can do or say the right thing in front of him. So how can it be fair that Ethan is only interested in her best friend, Cami, when Cami isn't even trying for his affection? Or is she?

Cami dreams of winning her basketball team's coveted MVP award, and earning the chance to take the court during a special halftime demonstration with WNBA star Rebecca Lobo, but her best friend, Josie, is a better player. So how can it be fair that Josie is a shoo-in for the honor if she is barely interested in basketball in the first place and isn't even trying to be the best? Or is she?

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-9–Cami, 14, only has one thing on her mind–to become the MVP of her basketball team, giving her the opportunity to run drills with Rebecca Lobo, former star of the WNBA. But no matter how hard she tries, her best friend is better. For Josie, basketball comes naturally, but she is preoccupied with dreamboat Ethan, even though he never pays any attention to her. Friction between the friends arises when Ethan notices and begins to telephone Cami, and Josie feels betrayed and angry. This is a fun, realistic, sometimes poignant story about two teens and the ups and downs of their relationship. Written from their alternating perspectives, this book shows how petty differences can be overcome.–Sharon Morrison, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Durant, OK
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Gr. 4-7. High-school freshmen Josie and Cami are longtime best friends, but they are both vying for love and fame. They both like Ethan, but Josie liked him first, so when he starts flirting with Cami, Cami feels guilty flirting back (but does it anyway). Both girls play basketball, but Josie is a natural talent, while Cami works twice as hard and still blows her free throws. Their basketball team's MVP will get a chance to play with WNBA star Rebecca Lobo at an upcoming game, and both girls are in the running for the honor. This is light entertainment, short on characterization but full of myriad awkward moments in romance. Told in alternating narratives from Josie and Cami, this novel captures the tension of a best friendship gone sour from jealousy, and provides a believable happy ending that will please middle-school girls. Debbie Carton
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Walker Childrens (August 22, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080278898X
• ISBN-13: 978-0802788986
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,286,553 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Holds Pre-teen Interest, October 12, 2004

By 

Missustoad (Syracuse NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Life, Love, and the Pursuit of Free Throws (Hardcover)

This book is about the friendship of Josie and Cami, two teens who love basketball and are fast friends. But then, they both fall for the same boy. Josie and Cami, as well as their families, are entertaining and believable. While the adults are imperfect, they are not exaggerations or caricatures.

This book captured the interest of my very athletic eleven year old who is just noticing boys. And in the end, it reminds girls of the importance of friendship.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, February 3, 2007

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Life, Love, and the Pursuit of Free Throws (Paperback)

Josie and Cami are best friends, but they're both jealous of each other. It seems, to each of them, so easy for the other to get what she wants.

Josie wants Ethan Lancaster's attention. It's all she can think about. She loves basketball, but to her it's just a game. To Cami, however, it's serious, and she would kill to have Josie's talent on the court. Josie is just as jealous of Cami, though. No matter how much Josie crushes on Ethan, she always seems to be humiliating herself around him--he and Cami, however, seem to be interacting way more than he and Josie ever have.

LIFE, LOVE, AND THE PURSUIT OF FREE THROWS is a cute and fun book, though a little dull at times. The story is told in chapters where Josie and Cami take turns narrating--but their voices are often indistinguishable. Even though the characters have the same interests, one would expect them to be at least a little different from each other--but this is not the case throughout most of the book. Still, though, this is a fun read.

Reviewed by: Jocelyn Pearce

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Hilarious - 45 Year Old Teacher LOVED this book., December 23, 2006

By 

Rachel Reeves - See all my reviews

This review is from: Life, Love, and the Pursuit of Free Throws (Paperback)

I'm a 45 year old Teacher teaching English as a Foreign Language and I recently picked up this book for a class of 14 and 15 year old English learners. I read it last night in about an hour and a half, and it's one of the most well-written, funniest books I've ever read.

The section where the author describes Josie's fall going down on the up escalator with a broken cookie container making pig noises is THE funniest thing I've ever read in a young adult book. I laughed so hard I had tears streaming down my face and my stomach hurt.

My kids are going to LOVE this book! Great job Ms. Rallison.