Slam! by Walter Dean Meyers

Growing up in the hood can be rough. Greg "Slam" Harris has all the skills he needs on his domain. The basketball court. On the court he's the man and he knows it. But his game is struggling off the court. He knows when the ball is in his hands the games under control. So does everyone else. But his hot-headed temper causes him trouble with his coach and teammates. But off of the court the ball is right in his hands and he can't handle it. His grades are pretty bad and he knows it. His school tries to help him but he doesn't want to take it. Slam has to deal with troubles from his girlfriend, his main man Ice, and his parents.

I loved everything about this book. I could sense how "Slam" was feeling at times. Slam narrated the story so there was a young sounding voice that was easy to understand. I never felt like i could get bored with this book and it always kept me wanting to read more. I like that i could relate to most of the topics in the book. The characters in this book were great. I could visualize every character in my head and they were identifiable with me. I could feel what all of the characters were going through. Any great story about basketball would make my day. But "Slam!" gave me a positive feel about reading. The author was very descriptive about every scene and I could visualize everything. The in depth thoughts going through his head while he is playing in his basketball games really elavated the heartracing writing in the story. "Slam!" is the most unique book I've read yet.

There was no real specific plot in "Slam!". His whole life living day to day was the plot of the book. This made the story line more believable. The problems that Slam went through in the story were problems that many people deal with every day. Even if they're not in the hood. "When I got home it was like my whole head was going to explode. Moms wanted me to talk about it, but I didn't have enough words to say how i felt. Bad wasn't enough. Terrible wasn't even enough."(pg. 260). I really liked that passage because it shows some of his feelings while being overloaded with issues he couldn't explain. I know many, including myself, have felt that way before.

I definately recommend this book to anyone looking for a great book with great characters and great story line. Not only does this story talk about the rough life of an athlete growing up in the hood with many distractions, but it has writing that will make u never stop reading


by FINCH (Bilal Finch)