Athlete vs. Mathlete (Athlete vs. Mathlete Series #1)

by W. C. Mack

Overview

Owen Evans lights up the scoreboards. His brother, Russell, rocks the school boards. These twin brothers couldn't be more different. They've long kept the peace by going their separate ways, but all that is about to change. The new basketball coach recruits Russell for the seventh grade team and a jealous Owen has to fight to stay in the game. When someone tries to steal Russell's spot as captain of the mathlete team, will the two be able to put aside their differences in order to save his position? Or will they be sidelined?

Perfect for fans of Matt Christopher and Andrew Clements alike, this is a lighthearted and hilarious look at what happens when brains meets brawn meets basketball.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781599908588
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	02/05/2013
Series:	Athlete vs. Mathlete Series , #1
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	327,656
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.60(d)
Lexile:	610L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

W.C. MACK is the author of numerous books for children, including After All, You're Callie Boone and the Canadian hockey novel Hat Trick. She was raised in Vancouver and now lives in Portland. www.wcmack.com

Editorial Reviews

In this series opener, Mack (After All, You’re Callie Boone) introduces athletic seventh-grader Owen and his klutzy, academic-minded fraternal twin, Russell. The boys are content with their respective roles until the new school basketball coach, impressed by Russell’s height, invites him to try out for the team. No one is more shocked than Russell when he makes the cut, along with Owen, but his victory precipitates a flurry of conflicts for both boys. Although Russell shows an uncanny talent for making three-pointers, his dribbling skills are sorely lacking, and basketball practice interferes with his responsibilities as leader of his academic competition group. Meanwhile, Owen resents the attention Russell gets as he crosses into sports territory (“Even though I knew it wouldn’t be a big deal to anyone else, I hated that Russ suddenly had the cool shoes and the awesome jump shot”). Offering an honest and funny representation of sibling rivalry and peer pressure, this contemporary tale, told from the boys’ alternating points of view, ought to find a large fan base. Ages 8–12. Agent: Sally Harding, the Cooke Agency. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

Seventh-grade fraternal twins Owen and Russell are as different as night and day, and that spells trouble when both of them make the basketball team. Owen is the quintessential jock: He plays basketball nearly all the time, and when he isn't playing, he's thinking about it. Russell, more concerned with academics, serves as leader of his school's Masters of the Mind team, a group that competes against other schools to solve tough mental puzzles. He's generally regarded as physically inept. Russell and Owen don't understand each other's worlds, but previously, it hardly seemed to matter. Then the new coach asks Russell to try out for the team because he's tall, and with that height comes a surprisingly satisfying skill in blocking shots. Owen, no longer the sole star athlete in his family, becomes increasingly jealous as his father, who once more or less ignored Russell, begins to focus on both sons. Chapters alternate between the brothers' first-person accounts, providing readers with a nice look at their diametrically opposed thinking. Russell's chapters are amusing, as he discovers unexpected talents and abilities. Owen comes across as much less attractive; readers may be surprised by the level of his anger and his childish behavior. Despite the differing perspectives, though, it's never more than a superficial exploration of the differences between brothers, enlivened by welcome infusions of basketball. (Fiction. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews