Paintball Invasion (Jake Maddox Sports Stories)
This entry in the Impact series of hi-lo sports fiction begins with Annie oversleeping on the day she is to try out for the basketball team. Last year, she and her friends were cut, while Sarah and Dani, mean girls to the core, made the team. Annie, Emma, and Megan have both hopes and fears about the lengthy tryouts, but only Megan isn’t sure if she really wants to be on the team. Told from Annie’s point of view, the book marches steadily through several tryouts before the expected ending. The writing is unremarkable, but the story does capture the anxiety that often accompanies playing sports. Taking the girls through several days of tryouts seems artificial, but it builds a little tension, and Megan’s indecision makes for a nice twist. The gray-washed, full-page pictures will attract readers. Grades 4-7. --Ilene Cooper--This text refers to theLibrary Bindingedition.