Title/Author:
“Shadow
Games” by Jim Lester
Tags:
Basketball,
college, fiction, gambling, young adult
Publish
date:
June 20, 2018
Length:
236 pages
Rating:
4 of 5
stars (very good)
Review:
Danny McCall could be considered a basketball
junkie. His hard work at the game paid off in a basketball scholarship to St.
Patrick’s College in New Wexford, New Jersey. However, he and a teammate,
Ronnie Knox, risk everything to aid gamblers in a point shaving scheme. The
story of Danny, Ronnie and the sports editor of the college paper, K.C. Donovan
is told in this quick-reading, fast moving novel by Jim Lester.
Set in the early 1990’s, the story is mostly about
Danny and his love for the game. His parents have the mindset of the hippie culture
of the 1960’s and their home and finances show their disdain for capitalism.
Therefore, he is careful to ensure that he stays on a straight path to keep his
scholarship despite little playing time at point guard his freshman year and the prospect of little
more in his sophomore year when St. Patrick’s recruits a prized point guard.
His teammate Knox is a high-scoring ultra-talented player who gets involved in
gambling in order to get paid plenty of money and talks Danny into joining the
scheme.
This puts Danny into a pickle as he and K.C. are not
only both basketball junkies, they become a couple. However, Danny grows distant
from her as he gets more involved into the gambling. It affects his game as well as his
scholarship. The ups and downs of all three of these main characters are told
from their viewpoints alternately throughout the book, making the story
balanced. This is one of the few novels I have read from multiple points of view
that not only was easy to follow but also balanced in how much each character contributed
to the story.
The basketball scenes and descriptions are excellent
as any hoops fan will enjoy reading about either Knox’s cocky attitude while
scoring almost at will or McCall’s tenacity and behind the back passes that
seem to get crisper with each game. The reader will feel like they are on the
court with these two and the rest of the St. Patrick’s team during game passages.
While the ending did complete the story of these
three characters, it left me wanting to know more about some of the other
lesser characters fared. That said, it
didn’t keep me from enjoying the book from beginning to end. It is one that readers who enjoy basketball,
young adult or college life stories or just a good coming of age story should
consider adding to their libraries.
I wish to thank the author for providing a copy of
the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Book
Format Read:
E-book (Kindle)
Buying Links:
NJ. Gambling. Basketball. Sounds like a fun read. Thanks for sharing!
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