In her first novel, picture-book author/artist Russo (Goodbye, Curtis) gets off to a slow start but goes on to accomplish a number of difficult feats. First, the author creates a protagonist who is not always likable but usually three-dimensional, so that readers will stay with the story; and second, Russo describes the hero's maturation convincingly and movingly. Jim, a seventh-grader, seems to care only about basketball, doing poorly at schoolwork despite his brains and resentful of the time the family spends with Nana, his colorful, well-liked grandmother. His pleasure in winning a spot on the traveling team dims: in short order, he receives a failing grade on an essay, Nana has a stroke and Jim's aging dog has a crippling accident. Finally, after recognizing that both Nana and his dog are dying, Jim takes a hard look at himself and the person he hopes to become. While the point here is clear from the beginning Nana, an escapee of Hitler's Germany, is a vocal proponent of living one's life with passion and intelligence Russo's execution is sure. The dialogue flows spontaneously, even minor characters have complexities, and the optimism expressed flows naturally from the storytelling. Ages 8-up.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 6-8-Seventh-grader Jim Malone is obsessed with basketball, much to the dismay of his tough, funny, and intelligent grandmother, who is a Holocaust survivor. The relationship between him and his 82-year-old Nana is at the heart of this rich and touching novel, which perfectly captures the many moods and thought processes of a 12-year-old boy. At first, Jim is irritated by the woman's slow ways and immigrant outlook. He gradually realizes, however, that they share a special bond, and that she is leaving him a rich legacy-the stories from her past. This understanding deepens after his grandmother has a stroke. When Jim finds the speech she had planned to give at a Holocaust survivors' meeting in Washington, he makes up his mind to deliver it himself, much to his family's astonishment. Other aspects of the novel deal with the protagonist's relationship with his teammates and his family, his first serious friendship with a girl, and his grandmother's death. Throughout, the author nicely balances the comic and the tragic, creating scenes that ring true. Some readers may be put off by the book's cover and title, thinking that it is only about basketball. They will be pleased to learn that this is really a novel about growing up.
Todd Morning, Schaumburg Township Public Library, IL
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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