Rebound

Prejudice can be defined in many ways as Ray finds out when he crosses the line as a white Polish-American boy who wants to play on his high school's black basketball team. VOYA Every student in the town of Franklin knows and follows an unwritten rule-if you are a black athlete you play basketball, and if you are a white athlete you wrestle-everyone except Raymond Wisniewski. Ray, who is Polish, has no interest in wrestling and is a good basketball player but has never made his high school team. When Ray finally realizes his dream and makes the team, his problems begin. He encounters constant conflict as he challenges the status quo at his high school. Ray struggles to juggle his friends who are white and his new teammates who are predominately black. Neither group believes that Ray should be playing basketball. Ray tries to fit in to both of these worlds, but he is caught in the middle as his best friend, Walter, pushes for a violent confrontation between the two groups. This novel tackles many familiar teen issues-friendship, fitting in, dating, self-worth, and authority-but issues of peer pressure, prejudice, and race dominate. The characters' views and conversations on race will make for a spirited discussion among teen readers. While confronting racial stereotypes, some YA novel stereotypes still exist-a pretty girl who is not pretty on the inside, a tough coach who always does and says the perfect thing, and a best friend who is not supportive. Readers will respond to honest dialogue about prejudices, however, and will appreciate the quality basketball action peppered throughout Krech's thought-provoking first novel.

prejudice Can Be Defined In Many Ways As Ray Finds Out When He Crosses The Line As A White Polish-american Boy Who Wants To Play On His High School's Black Basketball Team.

alan Review

polish American Kids From The Greenville Working-class, Rustbelt Neighborhood Don't Play Basketball; They Wrestle. Ray Wisniewski Doesn't Want To Buy Into The Idea That Black Kids Play Hoops And White Kids Wrestle. Ray Is Determined To Overcome This. Krech's Story Of Teenager Tries To Make Good Is Another Reminder That Subdivisions, Barriers, And Bigotry Can Pollute A School. Ray Learns A Hard Lesson When He Couldn't Make The Basketball Team Under The White Coach For Two Seasons. When A New Black Coach Arrives His Senior Year, Ray Is Suddenly Talented Enough To Make The 22-man Squad. The Only Problem With Making A Varsity Team Is That It Brings On Unasked-for Responsibilities And Treatments . . . And Makes Those Barriers Even Worse. What Should Ray Do When There Are Conflicts Between His White Friends And His Newfound Black Friends? Or When Some Of His Teammates See Him As A Detriment To The Team? Reviewer: Cord Mckeithen

Sheeps and Goats At the Egg Stand Committed to the Team That B-ball Crap ROCK Four Points Championship Invitation to Greenville Coach T Last Chance The List Dance Partners Little Head/Big Head Party at Hector's Defintely No Problem Tough Polack Guys Tutorial Whirl Big Gulp Sarah My Heart like the Sky Five Spades The Big Hero Movie Time Stay Out of My Way White is Right! Seven Turning a Corner Showdown Black and White Determined to make the varsity basketball team, seventeen-year-old Ray finds his efforts to play both hindered and helped by the atmosphere of racism in his town. As Ray fights to make his way onto the Franklin High Varsity, he finds that prejudice can be defined in many ways in a world that isn't black-and-white