SPORTS FICTION Deuker

Play Ball! Books about Sports
Reviewed by Ms. Belben
Updated December 2006

Nick has long lived in his older brother, Scott’s shadow, but when their father’s pressure becomes too much, Scott decides to pursue his love of music over his father’s determination that he become a basketball star, and Nick has an opportunity to take his brother’s place as the star son. Their father’s persistence, however, proves to be too much for his marriage, and he leaves the family. Nick is left to deal with their dissolution and with the challenge he faces as a basketball player on a team dominated by seniors. His father’s coaching has helped, however, and he makes the varsity team along with his friend, Luke, and the troubled boy, Trent, from across the street.

It is Nick’s relationship with Trent that forms the core of this story, as Trent’s trouble with the law, and his older brother, Zack’s, arrest that threaten the school’s basketball team. Nick sees an opportunity to help, however, so when Trent begins coming over every night to practice basketball, they form an unlikely friendship, one that is threatened only by the knowledge that Nick gains about Trent’s role in his older brother’s crimes.

Deuker has written another novel that will appeal to readers who enjoy the play-by-play details he included in his earlier works, as well as the suspenseful plotline that incorporates a wider range of events than just sporting contests. Characters face realistic challenges and decisions that teenagers will relate to.

Kevin Schuler has never been a phenomenal athlete. Passable, yes, and good enough to secure a steady position on his eighth grade track team. But when a tragic accident claims the lives of most of his teammates and his coach, he finds himself entering high school with an amazing new talent: suddenly, he is running at a record-setting pace.

Strangely, however, Kevin isn’t thrilled with his new talent. He feels pressured by the school superintendent and his new coach to pursue his sprinting and to push his talents to the max—and his does so, becoming a hometown hero and a threat to rivals everywhere. Despite his fame, however, he isn’t happy. He is struggling to define his relationship with two girls at this school, the aggressive, self-assured Andanda, a reporter for the school paper who is investigating Kevin’s talents for a series she is writing; and the mysterious and more sensitive Henny, who approaches Kevin, but backs away just as they get close.

At the heart of Kevin’s trouble, however, is the tragedy. Immediately following the accident, he is unable to remember his teammates or what they meant to him—including the girl he was dating at the time she was killed. Kevin isn’t suffering from a physical amnesia—he wasn’t involved in the accident—but a psychological torment that protects him from facing the details of the tragedy but also prevents him from feeling much for anyone or anything. As he matures, and as he gains success as a runner, he is gradually able to recall more and more of the past and come to terms to with his tremendous loss.

A story that will appeal to runners and non-runners alike, Life at these Speeds introduces a truly sympathetic and admirable character, whose moral and psychological dilemmas become real and compelling as we enter his mind and his world.

Frank Herbert has been dead for almost ten years, having died of leukemia as a senior in high school. But he hasn’t entirely passed on. In the mind of his brother, Herbie, Frank is still very much present, and increasingly so as Herbie reaches the age his older brother was when he died. As he practices for the football team and takes runs through the cemetery training for cross country, Herbie feels his brother’s presence—and for good reason.

Frank is still present, never having completely passed from the world of the living into the world of the dead, Frank is able to watch his family members’ and friends’ lives go on—and he’s able, in very subtle ways, to make his presence known. As he watches Herbie run and listens to his younger brother speak to him during visits to his grave, Frank harnesses the power of another undead sould named Eamon Connelly in an attempt to reach his brother, assure them that he is listening, and then pass on peacefully into the next world.

Rich Wallace combines sports and spookiness in this story of brotherhood, loss, and moving on. Fans of The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold will see similarities in Frank Herbert, and appreciate the gently way he tries to reach out to his brother, help him overcome his grief, and allow them both to move on.