Rucker Park Setup by Paul VolponiBest friends, Mackey and J.R. love playing basketball and their goal is to play in the NBA but first they have to get into a good college. They play for a local basketball team at Rucker Park, a famous basketball court in Harlem, NYC. While playing in an important basketball game, J.R. is murdered and Mackey seen it all but refuses to tell anyone about what happened on that fateful day on the court. Generally, I am not into sports fiction however, I really enjoyed this one. The play-by-play made me feel like I was actually there during the basketball games. Although some violence is included, it is not descriptive or graphic and should be appropriate for students in grades 8 and above. If you like this, then you will Walter Dean Myer’s Slam.
Hey, thanks for the nice review of Rucker Park Setup. This June I’ll have a new novel called Hurricane Song, about a teen and his jazz musician father who spend two hellish nights in the Supersome during Katrina. I believe it will give YA readers a chance at a type of historical fiction that they have actually lived through. –Paul
Thanks for the great post. It is always helpful to hear what others have to say on the matter. I would like ot invite you to read my blog of a live journal of my personal story and hope it brings as much as your story brought to me. Thanks again.
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I want to say Rucker Park Setup is one or the best book I have ever read. I love the plot, setting, characters, I just loved everythin about the book. Keep doing a good job Paul Volponi!!!!!!