Review of "The Basket Counts," by Matt Christopher

Review of

The Basket Counts, by Matt Christopher ISBN 0316140767

Three out of five stars

 Matt Christopher is one of the best writers of adolescent sports fiction when measured by both quantity and quality. Yet, this is not one of his better efforts. The black Jensen family has recently moved into a nearly all-white community and Mel is on the Titans basketball team. While many of the white members of the community and in the school have welcomed the Jensen’s to the neighborhood, there are a few that have not.

 This animosity appears on the basketball court, where a few of the better players simply refuse to pass the ball to the two black players. Tension boils over to the point where team play suffers. Yet, Mel perseveres and through some off-court events, manages to win his antagonists over and the team succeeds at the end.

 Generally predictable and lacking in tension, this book is a dull read relative to most of Christopher’s other books.