Next by Kevin Waltman

Next is the story of Derrick Bowen, a high school freshmen with the potential to be an NBA player. He lives in Indianapolis and attends his local high school, where basketball is a BIG deal. This book is the story of his freshman year, in which he struggles to make the starting lineup on his team and he considers transferring to a mostly white private school in the suburbs where he might be more likely to win a state championship. This is a book for basketball fans—it is full of the play-by-play of Derrick's games and descriptions of practices and basketball strategy. Don't look for symbolism or deep meaning here—this book is just straightforward narrative. It's easy-to-read and pretty clean, so I would recommend it to hard-core basketball fans who might not otherwise be interested in reading. (Grades 7-9.)