Slam! by Walter Dean Myers

From the Publisher

Sixteen-year-old "Slam" Harris is counting on his noteworthy basketball talents to get him out of the inner city and give him a chance to succeed in life, but his coach sees things differently.

Publishers Weekly

A love of basketball isn't necessary to enjoy this gritty, feelingly told tale, but it would certainly help. Myers (The Glory Field) uses contemporary urban black locutions to relay his narrator's view of the mean streets of Harlem, as well as describe some heart-thumping hoop action in a novel that, like most good sports stories, is about more than just sports. "I can hoop," says Slam. "Case closed.... You can take my game to the bank and wait around for interest." Grandiose fantasies of his future as a millionaire NBA star-or maybe a millionaire movie producer-are about all that he has on his mind, even though he is on his way to flunking out of the magnet high school he just transferred to, his grandmother is dying, his father is out of work and hitting the bottle again and his oldest friend appears to be dealing crack. Only when he is playing basketball does Slam know what moves to make and how to relate to the people around him. The rest of the time he stumbles, alienating his mother, girlfriend, teachers, even his coach and teammates. But, as the plain-speaking assistant coach tells him, "Everybody is in the game off the court," and Slam finally realizes that it's his attitude, not other people, that holds him back. Enduring truths, winningly presented. Ages 12-up. (Nov.)

Children's Literature

Slam! tells the story of a Harlem high school boy who has basketball in his heart and trouble with academics at the challenging new school he's beginning, Those aren't the only storms he faces: his grandmother's sick and his Moms is grieving. His Pops is out of work again and drinking. His young brother won't go out to get dinner because "they had a drive-by on 141st Street . . . a little girl got nicked." His white coach is on his case and readers will wonder who's the one with attitude. Slam deals with the difference between sexuality stemming from want and that coming from love, learning his closest friend is dealing crack and keeping his cool amid the prejudice of teachers and peers. As his girlfriend Mtisha says, "you're letting everything mess with you, you need to have your emotional immune system checked out." This is a character and story adolescent bovs will love; it's got sex, drugs, sports and drama. To an adult, the most admirable part might be Myers' refusal to be glib or pretty in telling his story, making characters and dialogue so real they can't help but be felt. For example, Slam and a white student embark on a video project; he films and she edits. She begins to see the commercial potential of this ''ghetto" portrayal while Slam views his 'hood living its life. A teacher affirms his talent in seeing and the girl's "immature attitude" and then later the same teacher almost provokes Slam to violence by slandering his use of "be," asking if "that's directly from your African background? Maybe from the We-Be tribe?" Myers asks readers to see beyond the race lines. Slam's best advisor, retired white coach Coldy, tells him "the only difference between on the court and off the court is that everybody is in the game off the court. You're in the game, Slam whether you want to be or not." 1998 (orig.

Children's Literature

Myers' novel is set in Harlem. Its narrator is a 17-year-old basketball player, Greg 'Slam" Harris, who has transferred to a citywide arts magnet school. He struggles to keep up academically, and the adults on and off the basketball team give him a hard time. Along with adjusting to his new school, Slam must confront his best friend who appears to be slipping into the nether world of drugs. The book is filled with fast-paced dialogue and action-packed basketball scenes that help show Slam's identity crisis as he tries to decide where he belongs. An excellent book for older teenage readers.

VOYA

"Basketball is my thing. I can hoop. Case closed...You can take my game to the bank and wait around for the interest...But without the ball, without the floorboards under my feet, without the mid-court line that takes me halfway home, you can get to me." Greg "Slam" Harris knows himself; as narrator, he has been to the end of this book, taken what he needed from his experiences, and come back to share his story with his reader. Slam is a junior in the visual arts program at Latimer, a New York City magnet school. He is struggling everywhere, including on the basketball court, where he assumes he knows more than anyone. After successive run-ins with the principal and the coach, he is fortunate to acquire as mentor Assistant Coach Goldstein. "Goldy" helps Slam see that the skills and maturity he usually brings to his game are also worth developing in the rest of his life. Slam is wary of the temptations on every corner in Harlem, steady in his relationships with his family and his girl, concerned about his friends, and, after nearly throwing it all away, willing to work hard to get what he wants. He interacts with his family and friends with a light humor that underscores the seriousness of the world in which they live. The author of Hoops (Delacorte, 1981) and The Outside Shot (Delacorte, 1984) puts the reader at the games and in the 'hood through Slam's descriptions. Open to any page, and let Myers' skill with words pull you into the story. Slam! will fly off the shelves into the hands of basketball fans, and will give them a lot more than a game. VOYA Codes: 5Q 5P J S (Hard to imagine it being any better written, Every YA (who reads) was dying to read it yesterday, Junior High-defined as grades 7 to 9 and Senior High-defined as grades 10 to 12).

School Library Journal

Gr 8 Up-Seventeen-year-old Greg, nicknamed Slam because of his ability on the basketball court, is the narrator of this street-wise novel. He is one of a small number of blacks who attends the Latimer Arts Magnet School in the Bronx. Though a junior, this is his first year at Latimer; he has problems keeping his grades up, and his basketball coach and some teammates resent his playing style. Along with these struggles, Slam faces some typical teenage woes with the opposite sex, his younger brother, etc., as well as some more serious concerns-a father who drinks too much, drugs on the streets, and a good friend heading for big trouble. Slam's battles both on and off the court parallel one another, demonstrating that easy resolutions to difficult problems are rare. As the book reaches its climax, the young man begins to realize that he needs to approach life like he does basketball, which is a possible start in the right direction. Plenty of high-intensity basketball action and street lingo from the "hood" will appeal to reluctant readers. Once again, Myers produces a book that reinforces his standing as a preeminent YA author. Booktalk this title along with James Bennett's Squared Circle (1995) and David Klass's Danger Zone (1996, both Scholastic) to basketball-minded teens.-Tom S. Hurlburt, La Crosse Public Library, WI

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