basketball

I read this book a couple of years ago and recently I noticed one of the captains, Jamila Wideman, as being on the local WNBA team here the Sparks. I am a regular at the games and she is my favorite player. This tempted me to read this book again. After reading it I noticed I had to skip through many parts because of the authors continuos banter about the town, its inhabitants, and its history. The town is influencial on the girls story but this was a matter of overkill. I loved the personal stories of the players maybe because I'm a high school girls basketball player myself. I only recommend this book for people who are really interested in the players and the women's game and only if they skip the Amherst sections. I also strongly recommend Tara Vanderveer's "Shooting From the Outside". For Jamila Wideman fans this book is a must read and so is the article about her in Sports Illustrated.

I had heard good things about this book, so I checked it out from the library to give it a try. Once I started reading it, I could not put it down. It's the story of a girl's high school basketball team who had always been good but could never quite produce when it really mattered, during the playoffs. But it's more than about that. It's about the girls who make up the team, and how each one of us has a story to tell. It's about determination and puring yourself into working toward a goal. It's about being part of a team. It also shows, sometimes painfully, the state of girls athletics, how peple sometimes don't take them seriously until there is a championship season. It also shows how vulnerable little girls are, and how they need role models like Jen Pariseau and Jamila Wideman, the books main characters. Even though I don't play basketball, I still loved this book. (after I returned it to the library, I had to go out and buy it for myself) It made me laugh and it gave me goosebumps. It inspired to go and work my butt off, becuase hope really is a powerful muscle in everyone

I have read dozens of books about sports, and this one ranks up there with the best. First of all, Madeleine Blais tells a great story, start to finish, of an exciting basketball season played by high school girls at the top of their game. But Ms. Blais makes the reader care deeply about these girls by bringing them to life as full human beings. The snapshots of their home lives, academic efforts, and personal relationships brings these girls alive. Finally, this is a thoughtful book that, without ever preaching, makes you realize that girls are naturally just as competitive and spirited as boys. Indeed, in these girls hope is a muscle. May they all live long, productive, and happy lives.