Mrs. B’s Favorites, Media Center, Eastern Middle School, Greenwich, Connecticut,
February’s Good Reads (February 2007)
Add this one to your list of fantastic sports books! Raymond Wisniewski (heaven know I’ll mangle that name when I booktalk this) loves playing basketball. But in his town, the Polish kids all wrestle, and the black kids play basketball. Ray loves the game, though, and tries out for his high school team three years running. He’s cut the first two years, but continues to play in the town leagues to better his game. The third year, there’s a new coach—and Ray is one of the two white kids who make the team. This isn’t just about the underdog making the team and showing he can play on the court. Ray learns a lot about how prejudice isn’t predictable, good friends can become mean people, the loveliest girl can be nasty ugly inside, and your worst enemy can be an unlikely savior. An amazing story.

Instructor Magazine (August 2007)
Best Books on Friendship for Tweens
Why We Like It: The author is a teacher! And it’s a sensitive but fast-paced story about a white high school basketball player on an all-black team. It Gets Kids Talking About: Racial and class differences, friendship on sports teams. -Hannah Trierweiler

Book Notes – The Princeton Packet, Princeton, New Jersey (January 2007)
“Rebound Resounds with Truth” When a friend writes a book, we rejoice. Our inclination is to like the book. How wonderful to read it and realize we love the book––independent of our association with the author. REBOUND (Marshall Cavendish, 2006) has attracted national attention with strong reviews and a coveted nomination as a Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association. The ALA BBYA finalists will be announced later this month. REBOUND is a strong contender. The setting for REBOUND could be any racially mixed community. In the culture of this town, the white kids wrestle and the black kids play basketball. But Raymond Wisniewski––a scrawny white kid form the Polish neighborhood––wants with all his being tp play basketball on the high school’s varsity team that is dominated by black players. The white counselor/coach who makes excuses and breaks all the rules to accommodate the “poor black kids” won’t give Ray a second look at tryouts. But when a tough black coach––who doesn’t bend for anyone––takes over, Ray makes the team. He learns, however, his real challenge will be how to make it as a player. Krech is to be commended for writing a refreshingly realistic story of racial prejudice. He has white kids who are racists and black kids who are too. His Polish protagonist is truly not, but offends friends in the white and black worlds as he tries to live in both. REBOUND offers opportunities for rich conversation between teens of all ages and their adult reading partners. Ultimately the essential question––as posed by Coach T near the end of the book––is “Who defines us?” Ray’s struggle to be on the team becomes more than just playing a game. With courage and grace, Ray finds and defines himself. Bob Krech writes with courage and grace. He is to be applauded for writing truly realistic fiction that captures the shades of gray in a society that finds it must be defined beyond black and white. -Dr. Joan Ruddiman

School Library Journal (December 1, 2006)
Gr 9 Up – Ray Wisniewski loves basketball. However, at his New Jersey high school, the Polish boys are expected to excel at wrestling while basketball is left to the black kids. Initially, he struggles to make the team, attributing his failures to the fact that he is white. Once he makes it, he has trouble integrating with his mostly African-American teammates as well as some discomfort at home with the racist attitudes of his family and friends. The story ostensibly follows Ray from his sophomore through his senior year. Unfortunately, his sophomore and junior years are covered in one chapter each, creating a rather jerky pace. The central conflict is never entirely clear, though in the end one realizes that this is because Krech has attempted to show how prejudice motivates almost all of the characters in one way or another. The conclusion ties up all the racial conflict in a way that is satisfying while remaining realistic. The characters are compelling and their dialogue, complete with all the grammatical inconsistencies of typical male banter, rings true. The basketball action is fast paced enough to hold the interest of reluctant readers who are fans of the sport. If Paul Volponi’s Black and White (Viking) and Matt de la Pena’s Ball Don’t Lie (Delacorte, both 2005) are popular, it is likely that Rebound will also be well received. While not a first purchase, this noel will find an audience.
-Kristin Anderson,
Columbus Metropolitan Library System, OH
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