It was weird. When I read this book I had almost the exact same problem the main character had. ( )

A book that is great for readers who enjoyed the first one. Nice to continue on with the characters and see how they're doing a year later. ( )

Summer Ball is a book about a 13 year old boy named Danny. He loves basketball and has big goals for himself and wants to be like his dad was. It is summertime and Danny has mixed emotions about a very high level basketball camp he is going to attend in Maine.

As the camp begins to get closer and closer Danny's emotions begin to kick in. His biggest question he has always had for himself is..what if i'm too short. Danny arrives at the camp and is one of the oldest yet shortest kids there. Danny experiences many problems along the camp like dealing with a much bigger kid with much hatred for him named Rasheed. Towards the end of the book Danny has even more problems at the camp with more kids, but he manages to fight through his problems and keep playing. At the end of the book Danny's team wins the camp championship game by 1 point.

I really enjoyed this book and I was constantly making connections to it. I think this book really has a lot of life lessons and is a good book to read even if you aren't the biggest basketball fan. To me this book really taught life values like Loyalty, Perseverance, and Courage.

Summer ball by Mike Lupica, is a book about a young kid named Danny Walker. He ends up going to a basketball camp in Maine called Right Way basketball camp to see how well he can play against other teams and kids he's not familiar with. When he ends up going to the camp, there ends up being a lot of older kids that are a lot taller than him and it ends up that Danny is one of the smallest kids there. He wasn't that good at playing basketball against all the other kids, so he had to try even harder to win the final game. Almost every body was making fun of him and how small he was and the coach didn't like him because of the history he had with his dad and basketball. Than in the end,he ended up helping to win the game against the Lakers and the Celtics (Danny's team) ends up winning the game by 1 point 63-64. ( )

Summer ball is about a kid named Danny Walker. He goes to a basketball camp called Right Way basketball camp.He goes to the camp and there were a lot of big kids so Danny was the smallest kid there. He wasn't that good against the other kids so he had to step up his game.Every body was making fun of him and how small he was.Near the end of the book people started liking him.Also in the end the celtics beat the lakers by 1 point 63-64 ( )

Summer Ball was a book that I thoroughly enjoyed and made connections to. This story is very realistic, where a 13-year-old boy named Danny is going to Right Way, a basketball camp in Maine created by Josh Cameron, the all-time basketball star for the Celtics. But Danny isn't too sure he wants to go to this camp. The problem: he is a midget.

Always the smallest kid on the court. Sure, he had done it before. In fact, sometimes he used it as an advantage. Like that time in travel, when they won against Baltimore the national championship. Danny was up against Rasheed Hill, a guy much taller than Danny. Rasheed was the only reason why Baltimore was winning at all. When Danny drew a charge on Rasheed with 3 minutes to go, therefore causing Rasheed to foul out, they formed a hate-hate relationship, just because Danny “flopped” on Rasheed. Danny’s dad, Richie Walker, was supposed to be coaching them. He was the coach. Until he hurt his knee. Meaning, he couldn't coach. Meaning, they had no coach. So Danny filled in. No wonder his team was the talk of the country. There was a team of 12-year-olds that was coached by a 12-year-old. Who happened to be the son of Richie Walker. Who was probably one of the best players out there in the NBA until he hurt his knee.

But as the camp approaches, Denny finds himself getting into a fight with Tess Hewitt, a girl whom he likes and has been friends with since forever, having his shot blocked by Will, a boy & close friend from the travel team, and asking himself a question: What will happen if I am too small? Danny loves the game. I have certainly been in the same situation. At 5’2”, I am almost always one of the shortest players on the court. Scratch that. Always. I also find it ironic how just this summer I went to a sleepaway camp for all the best players I have ever met. The many connections I made throughout the story made me like the book even more.

After Danny arrives at camp, he finds that Rasheed Hill was also attending the camp. To make matters worse, Danny has to sleep with the 11 and 12-year-olds instead of with his buds, Will, Ty. and Tarik. But his roommate is what causes Danny to stay. Because Zach is just like Danny.

The next day Danny is stuck with Coach Ed Powers, a coach who still hated Danny’s father, and now hates Danny too. For the next few weeks, Danny practices really hard and tries to win Coach Powers over, but it only gets worse. Then Danny takes a charge from Rasheed after telling Coach Powers that the players decide the game and hurts his knee. He asks Coach Powers if he can change teams. Coach Powers gives him a flat-out no and leaves Danny with one final thought:soccer. The next day, Danny scrimmages Ty’s team and in the end gets his shot caught-not blocked but caught- and Danny is humiliated to the extreme. Danny then realizes that the only way he would be able to win was to get hurt again and leave. So the next day, he takes a charge again from Rasheed and rolls around to fake another injury, which he assumes is “his only ticket out of here.” But Nick Pinto, a counselor, knows better. By now, Zach had grown to adore Danny, and Nick had been there to witness ‘the accident.’ Nick was furious and told him “You want to tell Zach what his hero’s got planned or should I?” It was then Danny realized he couldn't quit. He starts a chat online with Tess, the first one in weeks, and finds that she is at her uncle’s across the lake. he visits Tess that night, and leaves refreshed.

Although Danny seems as miserable as it can get, he makes yet another enemy. Lamar, a huge guy with a bad attitude. Danny made him look bad in a game, and that night picks a fight with him and Zach. To their surprise, Rasheed steps in. Danny, Zach and Rasheed are each suspended from two games and from then on are friends. I would have liked to have had a more detailed explanation on how Rasheed decided to become friends with Danny, but there was enough explanation to know they were friends. Danny continues to play, and Lamar breaks Tess’s camera. “Old rivals and new battles leave Danny wondering if he really has what it takes to stand tall.’

All in all, this was an amazing book that I continuously made connections to. it taught loyalty, friendship, and courage. A lesson to be told. ( )

I read the book Summer Ball by Mike Lupica. The book is about Danny Walker a normal thirteen year old with amazing basketball skill that is going to summer camp for the best basketball players in the country. This book was so good you couldn’t take it out of my hands.

Danny and his friends travel to Right Way, the best basketball camp in the country. When he gets there he sees Rasheed, his travel team rival. Danny and his rival still don’t like each other, but that’s not his only problem. His coach doesn’t like Danny and Danny doesn’t like him. Danny’s summer has changed drastically.

This is one of the best books I’ve ever read. I think many people can relate to it because a lot of people go to summer camps and many people have rivals. I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys sports or a good story.

ryan ( )

This book was good. I liked the original book in the series better but this was still a good book. ( )

This book was not to liking but i think you will like it if you have a strong intrest in basketball. ( )

The book " Summer Ball ", by Mike Lupica, is a terriffic book if you ever get a chance to read it. The story takes place in Cedarville,Maine, at a basketball camp called Right Way. Danny Walker, a thirteen year old boy from a small town known as Middletown, attends this camp where he meets some very interesting people. To name a few there is his roomate, Zach Fox, who's a look-a-like, there is Coach Powers, Dannys coach who he absolutely despises and so on. In my opinion, this book was superb,an I would reccomend this book to anyone who likes realistic fiction type books. I give this book four stars. This book is 10 A.R. points.
Michael Workman ( )

this book had exciting parts but not really many. I got bored so many times I had to force myself to read it all the way through. Sorry to the author but really it's not one of his best pieces. ( )

Ben S. A great sports book with very good details. The characters change a lot from the beginning. Great book to think about summer ( )

It's about a boy who is smaller than everyone on the basketball court. But yet he is still one of the best out there on the court. This summer he goes to a camp, so read this book and find out what happens. I would recommend this to anyone who likes basketball or just most sports fans. ( )

While Mike Lupica is great at creating suspense, I wouldn't recommend this book to my students. I felt the dialogue was weak and cliche and the ending too predicatble. Danny is very small for his age but a stellar basketball player nonetheless. During Summer Ball, he is heading off to his first summer basketball camp. The three week camp starts off poorly, and for Danny, things only seem to get worse. His coach, Ed Powers, doesn't think Danny is capable of being a good basketball player, and he rarely puts Danny in the games. To make matters worse, Danny is teamed up with Rasheed, an amazing basketball player from and opposing school year team that Danny "flopped" to win the 7th grade championship. Rasheed and Danny must learn to cooperate on the court if they want to win the final camp championship. Danny also has to keep his cool around Lamar, the camp Bully who is intent on breaking Danny's spirits, calling him "midget" and "shoo fly."
I found several editing flaws with this book, and I found the characters difficult to relate to (though this might have something to do with the fact that I am not a 14 year old boy). I won't read another of Lupica's books, though I have to say that I am not a fan of sports books! ( )

This is one of the best sports authors ever. This sequal to travel team is about feelings, and learning to stand up for yourself. A great read! ( )

Danny Walker who is 13 goes to a basketball camp. He really has a feel for the game but his problem is his height. Danny had just led his travel team to win the National Championship and when he gets to camp (Josh Cameron's Right Way Camp) with his friends (Ty and Will) he found that Rasheed was there. He had beated Rasheed in the final game for the championship. Rasheed asscused Danny of "Flopping on me." But Danny did not flop.
The boys at camp were assigned to a team and Danny and Rasheed were on the same team (Celtics) They eventually became good friends and worked together to wind the camp playoffs. The final game was against the Lakers and Lamar Parrish was the main player. Lamar was a bully and Danny had a fight with Lamar because Lamar put a needle in Zach's basketball.

Zach and Danny were in Dampel Pavilion (cabin for sleeping) and they became friends. Gampell was for 11 year olds and Danny was upset that he was assigned to a cabin with younger boys and not with his friends. Coach Ed Popwers was over his team and his rule was >My way or the Highway." He did not like Danny and gave his a hard time. He had Offered Danny's father a scholarship to play college ball but Danny's father turned it down so Coach Powers had it out for Danny. When Danny when to talk with Coach Powers about the team (faked a hurt leg) Coach Powers told Danny he was too short for the game and told him it would break his heart and that he should consider soccer!

Tess Hewitt and Danny were friends and Danny really like Tess but at the end of the school year, Tess started hanging around with Mr. Perfect, Scott Welles. Danny could not talk with Tess and really was messing up thir fiendship. However, when things were really bad at Camp and Danny wanted to go home Tess emailed him to let him know she was at her Uncle's place a mile away from the basketball camp. It chanaged everything for Danny. The day after Danny found out she was there, Danny, Will, Ty and Zach took a canoe from the cammp and went to see Tess!! Later Tess came to the camp to take pictures and Lamar smashed her camers. Lamar was out to get Danny but in the final seconds fo the final game for camp championship, Danny was able to steal the ball from Lamar Parrish and the final score was Celtics 64, Lakers 63. At the end of the game the boys called the plays and Rasheed forced Coach Powers to let Danny play. The book ended with Danny making a soccer kick with the game ball after he won the game for the Celtics! Showing Coach Powers that he could controll the ball!!! ( )

00010580

00012138

00012144

Travel Team meets Miracle on 49th Street ( )

Great sequel to Travel Team, boys will love the way basketball once again rules. ( )