On the Line

February 1, 2022
A middle school basketball player enters a season of strife off the court. Star power forward Jordan Ryker feels more at home on the basketball court than anywhere else. His parents fight constantly about everything, but especially money with the imminent shutdown of the local automotive plant where his dad works. After every argument, his mom vents her feelings to him, while his ever calm father drives off in his rebuilt '69 Camaro. At least Jordan can count on Junior, his best friend. When Jordan's parents announce their separation, even basketball season can't distract him from his overwhelming home life. Complicating his feelings further, he learns his dad is gay and dating a man. Through Jordan's first-person point of view, the women and girls in the story are portrayed one dimensionally as highly emotional, an outspoken feminist who doesn't fit in with other girls, and an attention-seeking flirt. Aspects of Junior's identity only reveal themselves to serve as sources of conflict. Basketball action plays second string to interpersonal drama, most of which comes as a consequence of Jordan's father's coming out. Although Jordan does experience character growth, it happens all at once in a sudden transformation before the resolution. The book follows a White default; Junior is described as half Filipino (the rest of his parentage is not specified). A relationship-driven story let down by limited characterization. (Fiction. 10-14)

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March 1, 2022
Grades 6-8 Thirteen-year-old Jordan is close to his parents, especially his dad, who taught him everything he knows about basketball. But his parents fight constantly, and Jordan wants them to stop. One day, they tell him that they are separating. Jordan throws his attention into basketball and his new teammates, one of whom turns out to be a pretty girl named Tammy. However, Jordan soon discovers that his parents are not going to get back together and that his dad has a huge secret that throws Jordan's world upside down: he's gay. It takes a startling revelation from Jordan's best friend, Junior, to understand that life is full of changes but there are things, like being true to oneself, that don't change. Coccia and Walters highlight a young teen navigating obstacles he's never encountered before, such as homophobia and progressive masculinity, while living in a conservative small town. An emotional, thought-provoking journey exploring identity, with a basketball backdrop.

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