Tanner-Kendra+Kerner

The Warriors practice together and start to play better and act more like a team. During one of the pracices, Ty Ross came to play with them. Afterwards, Danny, Ty, and Will hang out at Danny's house. A few days later, Danny and Will see Teddy Moran at a restaurant where he starts picking on Danny, especially making fun of his team and his dad. Danny eventually got tired of listening to Teddy's mouth and hit him. The Warriors and Vikings scrimmage together and Teddy is still bullying Danny. Finally Danny got fed up with it and elbowed him. When Teddy falls though, he causes Ty to fall and break his arm. Danny feels horrible because he thinks it's his fault. The Walkers had a great Christmas because they were all together. The Warriors beat Seekonk and decide to meet for pizza afterwards. Richie never shows up because he had another accident; he is not going to be able to coach the team for the rest of the season, so they need to find a new coach if they want to play in the

Danny is very talented when it comes to sports, and he really is a good kid. He doesn't give his mom a lot of trouble, which is kind of surprising since Richie hasn't been much of a father figure. He sometimes does not have enough confidence in himself though. He often brings himself down when something does go as planned, especially the basketball games. I understand that he is used to playing on a good team and winning, but confidence could make the rest of the team play better. Danny goes through a lot in this section - he learns that he dad is a drunk and then his dad is injured in another wreck. He is a strong boy and is lucky to have such a supportive mom.

Danny reminds me of myself in a way just because of the fact that he is short and so am I. My friends make jokes about my height, but I have come to accept it just like Danny has accepted his shortness. Danny also reminds me of one of my friends because she is short as well. She second guesses herself at times and cares too much about what other people think. Gaining confidence would be beneficial to both my friend and to Danny. I would like to have Danny's focus. I often get sidetracked while doing homework (mostly Facebook) and don't always get as much accomplished as I would like. When Danny plays basketball, it is all about basketball. Even if other things are on his mind, he plays hard.

Graduation is coming soon for both of us! Your next four years will probably fly by and you will end up your senior year thinking where did all that time go?? You guessed right, I cannot wait for summer to finally get here. It is so nice to not have to worry about school for a while. This summer I will be getting the last little things that I will need for college, so I'm pretty excited about that. You said you play a lot of sports, have you decided which ones you are going to do in high school? I can't wait to see how this book ends! Have a great week!

Sincerely, Kendra

They needed a plan to find someone to coach the team. Richie comes up with the idea that Danny should coach from the floor. He knows enough about basketball that he doesn’t need help with the plays and all the different aspects of coaching. With Danny as coach, the team does pretty well. They continue playing like a team even though they don’t have a traditional coach. When tournament time comes, they get the Vikings in the first round. One night, Danny gets an IM from Ty saying that he wants to play for the Worriors. Their mom’s talk and they get it settled so Ty can play on Danny’s team. The night before the big game, Danny is playing basketball outside and he slips and falls on his shoulder. He hurts it and is in a lot of pain, but he plays anyway. Danny’s mom finds his dad’s old jerseys for them to wear for the game as good luck. Once at the game, Richie shows up to support Danny. The game goes bad at first. The Vikings lead the whole game until the very end when Ty makes the winning layup.

I did enjoy this book. It was easy to understand and had some different events that you couldn’t see coming. I think that most guys should read this book. I would not really recommend it for most girls just because most of the girls I know only like romance novels. Danny changes in the story when he starts to gain confidence in himself and his team. He didn’t have any confidence at the beginning of the story. I think the main lesson the author was trying to express was that just because people don’t look like they could do something, that doesn’t mean that they can’t do it. Sometimes it’s the people you would least expect to do great things that make it big. I would like to know if the Worriors go on to win the tournament. I would also like to know if Danny and Tess end up becoming more than just friends. I would not change the end of this book. I like the way he wraps it up and ties all the loose ends up. This was a good book overall.

I am super excited for high school! I hope it goes fast because it seems like getting through grade school and the last two years of elementary school have taken forever. I plan on playing football, basketball and I haven’t quite decided about baseball yet. If I do decide not to play baseball I would like to play tennis instead. I would also like to play golf in the fall but I am afraid that with football and school that would just be way too much to handle. I’m sure I will figure it out in the near future. These last couple weeks of school are going to be ruff because of several projects that are due and I still have to put the finishing touches on them. I just can’t wait to be free for a while and not have to worry about homework. It seems like it is never ending. Well I won’t take up anymore of your time. Good luck with finishing school, I hope everything goes well for you. I hope you liked the book!

Sincerely, Tanner

Since Richie can no longer coach because of his injury and no one else knows enough about basketball, he decides that Danny should coach the team while playing. He believes that Danny is a smart player and is talented enough to handle this responsibility. The Warriors and parents all agree that Danny would be the perfect coach. After the team realizes that they still need to be serious with Danny as coach, they cooperate and continue to play well together. Ty tells Danny over IM that he wants to play with the Warriors instead of the Vikings whenever he starts to play agian. The Warriors are supposed to play the Vikings in the first round. Danny has a small team meeting the night before the tournament game and they hand out Richie's old team jerseys that Danny's mom found. Afterwards Danny goes outside to play around a little before bed. He slips on black ice and hurts his shoulder but he decides not to tell his mom because she probably wouldn't allow him to play the next day. Richie gets out of the hospital to watch the team he started; Mr. Ross stops coaching the Vikings and watches the game sitting beside Richie. The Warriors finally start to get in the game and they end up winning because of Ty's layup, assisted by Danny.

Surprisingly, I really enjoyed this book. At first I kind of thought "O jeez, this is going to be bad." Once I started reading though, the more interested I became. I agree that it's an easy book to understand and it has a great story line. There were some twists that made the book even more interesting, like Richie's accident and Tess and Danny's blossoming relationship. This is a book that most guys would like because of the link to sports and I am proof that it would be worthwhile for girls to read also just because it is something that girls don't normally read. Danny is down on himself in the beginning because he didn't make the Vikings team. He realizes later that he is much happier playing for the Warriors than he would have been with the Vikings so he gains confidence in himself. He starts to play with more heart and he also gains confidence in the rest of the team. I think the author was trying to say that everything happens for a reason in life. Danny didn't make the travel team like he would have liked to, but instead he got to play for a while with his dad as his coach, which meant the world to Danny. I would like to know if Mr. Ross appologized to Ty for his poor behavior as a father and if he actually changed after that tournament game. I would also like to know if Danny asked Tess out and if the Warriors won the tournament. I would not change the ending of this book because I like how the author leaves the book open for the reader to draw his or her own conclusions but he suggests that everything worked out as planned. This was a very good book.

Wow! You are going to be very busy but that will help you keep focused and motivated. Being involved in several activities will also make time fly by. This week is going to be very stressful because I have a lot to get done before school is over. The thought of being completely done in one week is my major motivation. Summer is going to be awesome because I'll be homework free! Enjoy the rest of your 8th grade year and good luck in high school...I have a feeling you will love it! Good book choice, and I'll see you at the party on Tuesday!

Sincerely, Kendra