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Summary
Summary
Basketball is a passport. For Adam Reed, this means basketball can take him anywhere. Before basketball, Adam moved from Poland to the United States. Adam's mom died, and his father left him. His adopted mom, Renata, brought him to Minnesota, where his only friend is Barry Roland, and where Kase Kinshaw calls him "the Refugee." Adam does not like to talk about his life before basketball--it gives him nightmares, an inky blackness chasing him in his dreams.
On the court is where Adam finds happiness. Because of basketball, he meets Carli Anderson, who smells like honey and who shoots a basketball with feathery fingertips. Adam is invited to join a select AAU team, with all-stars like Devin Mitchell and Khalil Williams. And this changes everything. Adam begins to find what he's always wanted: a family. Basketball is more than a passport.
This great new life, though, is more complicated. Like so many times before, Adam sees how easy it is to lose what you love. When an off-court incident threatens Adam's basketball career--and his new family--he must decide what matters to him most.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 8 Up-Abandoned by his father at a Polish orphanage, Adam had no one until fate brought him to Renata, an American studying abroad whose heart was so moved by the lonely little boy that she adopted him. Now living in the Minnesota, Adam Reed has grown tall and strong enough to be a beast on the hardwood. On the basketball court, chants of "MVP" follow his colossal dunks. His raw talent gains him not only the attention of beautiful fellow baller Carli Anderson, but also of an elite AAU (amateur athletic union) team. With "Basketball is my passport" as his mantra, Adam throws his heart into trying out for this team. But focusing isn't easy. The class bully takes particular joy in mistreating Adam, regularly calling him "Duh" and "the Refugee." That same bully spends time picking on Adam's best friend, Barry, a kind kid with a deeply troubled home life. Juggling his AAU team responsibilities, his friendship with Barry, his relationship with Renata, and a blossoming romance with Carli, Adam finds the balance he's struck tenuous at best. There's much to love in this sports tale. Fast-paced play-by-plays vividly depict the speed and beauty of the game. Adam's backstory is heartrending and with immigrant mistrust and nonviolent protests in the national spotlight, this is a timely and realistic teen drama and swish-nothin' but net. VERDICT Highly recommended for first purchase.-Abby Bussen, Muskego Public Library, WI © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
Adopted Polish American Adam relates--in broken English--his high-school basketball successes and his move to a diverse town in Minnesota. In the often-humorous first-person narrative, socially insecure and self-involved Adam adjusts his comfort zone thanks to his friend, teammates, coach, and crush. Herbach fully develops secondary characters, and he skillfully intertwines social, political, racial, and economic issues with exciting basketball action. (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Adopted from Poland three and a half years ago, Adam decides that basketball may be his "passport to a good life." Originally Adam Sobieski, the white teen is now Adam Reed, his adoptive single mother's name, and life has gotten more complicated. The two of them have moved to a small Minnesota college town from Philadelphia, where Adam first began to learn basketball. With his increased heighthe's now 6 feet 6 incheshe is gaining attention and is invited to play with an elite team in the Twin Cities. Teased for his poor English and social awkwardness, Adam has only one friend until Carli Anderson, also a basketball star, enters his life. The green-eyed white girl pushes him in multiple ways, and gradually Adam begins to understand more than just the game. When Adam plays with an all-black team of excellent players, he learns some uncomfortable truths. Class and money, racial injustice, and loyalty to true friends come into focus. The book is written as though Adam is speaking to readers in broken English that is both unconvincing and unfortunately played for laughs. Nonetheless, Adam is appealing, and Herbach's ability to expand the narrative from solid game play to confronting racial injustice is remarkable. No one here is perfect, and their failures make readers cringe yet root for success. Hoops and so much more. (Fiction. 14-18) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Basketball is Adam Reed's lifeline after he moves with his adoptive mother, Renata, from Philadelphia to Northrup, Minnesota. Renata adopted Adam from Warsaw after his mother died and his father abandoned him at an orphanage. While Adam excels on the court, school is harder. He doesn't like practicing his English, his classmates bully him, and his one true friend is the school outcast, Barry. When Adam gets the chance to play for an elite AAU team, he learns he's not the only one struggling with being ostracized. The director of the organization that runs Adam's new team is subtly racist against his black players, and Adam has to learn what it means to be black in America (he displays some ignorance about how police treat black kids), and acclimate to a different kind of team playing. Lessons on small-town politics and what it means to be a good friend abound in this well-plotted work.--Gilfillian, Courtney Copyright 2017 Booklist
