Athlete vs. Mathlete: Double Dribble

by W. C. Mack

Overview

One month ago, academic whiz Russell Evans never thought he'd be a basketball superstar. But now he's playing on the seventh-grade team alongside his fraternal twin, Owen, and they're tearing up the court. The Pioneers are on a winning streak, and Russ and Owen are getting along better than ever. Until the Matthews twins (Mitch and Marcus) show up. These twins are a triple threat: practically basketball pros, academic geniuses, and . . . identical. Things heat up on the court and in the classroom as these brothers are poised to rule the school.

Now Russ and Owen are fighting for the spotlight, and sabotage seems like their only hope. But when Marcus suffers an injury and Mitch falters during a big game without him, it becomes clear that the Matthews are powerless when separated. Will Russ and Owen take advantage? Or do they have other plans in mind?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781619631502
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	11/05/2013
Series:	Athlete vs. Mathlete Series , #2
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	208
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

W.C. MACK is the author of Athlete vs. Mathlete, as well as 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
W.C. MACK is the author of Athlete vs. Mathlete and Athlete vs. Mathlete: Double Dribble, as well as numerous books for children. She was raised in Vancouver and now lives in Portland, Oregon.

www.wcmack.com.

Editorial Reviews

01/01/2014
Gr 5–8—Twelve-year-old Owen and Russell are twins, but they're about as different as can be. Owen is athletic; Russell is bookish. But Russell has discovered that he is a capable basketball player, so he and Owen converge on the court to make an imposing point-scoring duo, until a new set of twins comes to town. Mitch and Marcus exhibit prowess at everything they do-including basketball. They're granted spots without having to try out, and while their phenomenal skill helps the team, their time on the court means that someone else is getting benched. And when it's Owen, he has a hard time seeing past his jealousy-until one of the newcomers suffers an injury, and everyone learns that their confidence and skill may be a facade. Owen must decide if he can push aside his feelings in order to find out what the new twins are really all about. This is a straight-up sports story from an author who clearly loves basketball. Chapters alternate between the brothers' viewpoints, and lots of dialogue moves the story right along. Most of the supporting cast is hard to differentiate, but Owen's and Russ's characterizations solidly depict middle school life. This second book in the series is a good choice for reluctant readers who like sports, but it may not have broad appeal beyond that demographic.—Amy Holland, Irondequoit Public Library, NY

School Library Journal

"Owen’s and Russ’s characterizations solidly depict middle school life. This second book in the series is a good choice for reluctant readers who like sports." - School Library Journal

 

"An honest and funny representation of sibling rivalry and peer pressure, this contemporary tale . . . ought to find a large fan base." - Publishers Weekly on Athlete vs. Mathlete

 

"The light-hearted banter and family dynamics make it wholesome and sweet." - VOYA on Athlete vs. Mathlete

From the Publisher

2013-10-01
Seventh-grade fraternal twins Russ and Owen (Athlete vs. Mathlete, 2013) return for a second outing, once again exploring in alternating first-person voices the differences between brothers as filtered through their basketball experiences. Russ, the brainiac, and Owen, his athletically focused twin, are now getting along better, both doing their parts to make sure their basketball team has a winning season. Things are going well until the coach invites a pair of newcomers, identical twins Marcus and Mitch, to join the team midseason. These twins dress and act alike and have little interest in making friends outside their comfortable but seriously limiting brotherly relationship. Worse, they're gifted athletically and academically, creating competition with both Russ and Owen, and the coach is giving them plenty of court time, which leaves Owen feeling especially jealous and very resentful. Remarkably, he even contemplates hurting one of the twins to save his place on the team. It takes an accidental injury that sidelines Marcus to expose the weaknesses the identical duo share and quite a lot of prompting from the more mature Russ and other teammates to get Owen to put the team's needs before his own feelings. Once that's accomplished, a too-easy resolution neatly wraps up the conflict. Although hardly an insightful examination of brotherly problems, ample basketball play-by-play makes this a more attractive offering for reluctant readers. (Fiction. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews