Travel Team Book Review

Author: Mike Lupica Title: Travel team Rating 4/5 This book was pretty good. Nothing ground-breaking, but a pleasant read.

Review Travel Team follows a kid named Danny Walker, who has aspirations of making his local travel team, the Vikings. Danny’s father, Richie, was the star of the team when he was Danny’s age, and even led their town to a national championship win, and later took his talents to the NBA. Richie Walker was a rising star in the league until he drove home drunk one night, and was in a car crash that derailed his career. Danny loves the game of basketball, but his hard work and dedication to the sport were overshadowed by his height at tryouts and he was cut from the team. Danny was devastated and ready to quit basketball, but his dad had decided to create their travel team, along with the other basketball outcasts. Danny’s dad was rarely present in Danny’s life until this point, because he struggled with gambling and alcoholism, but had recently started staying around town. The team was named the Warriors for the team that drafted Richie. It started with Danny, his best friend Will, and a couple of kids who were interested in basketball, but were just starting out. The team started rough, having no team chemistry, and they could barely make baskets during practice. Danny eventually recruited a bright woman named Colby who had a feel for the game and whom Danny could trust. The team lost their first few games to blowouts, but by midway were at least semi-competitive within the league. Towards the end of the season, Richie got into an accident and was hospitalized, meaning the team needed a new coach. Danny’s dad appointed Danny as a coach because he knew almost every play and was a great leader, and everybody concurred with the motion. Everybody had noticed Danny’s dedication, even the coach of the Vikings, who thought the team would fall apart after Richie’s accident and wanted to offer Richie his spot back. Richie politely declined the offer and wanted to stick it out with the Warriors. For the last game of the season, the Warriors were playing the Vikings, and it was a back-and-forth battle until the final seconds, where a last-second layup for the Warriors won them the game.

I would personally recommend this book to anybody who is interested in basketball and wants to read a book with an interesting and compelling story. This story captured my attention in particular because I love playing basketball, and can personally relate to the story about a vertically challenged sports player.

Overall I think this is a well-rounded book with an exciting plot and it carries a very important message.