Hot Hand (Mike Lupica's Comeback Kids)

"Lupica (Miracle on 49th Street) again relays fast-paced basketball action in this involving first volume of the Comeback Kids series. The narrative moves equally sure-footedly off-court to explore the dynamics of 10-year-old Billy's family. His parents have recently separated, and his father, Joey, has moved to another house. Joey is also Billy's demanding, hot-headed basketball coach, constantly criticizing his son for shooting rather than passing during games. Billy's well-intentioned mother works long hours as a lawyer and travels frequently. Younger brother Ben, as passionate about the piano as Billy is about basketball, becomes increasingly withdrawn and, alarmingly, begins to skip piano lessons. Billy comes to Ben's rescue when a school bully picks on him, but resents feeling that his often-absent parents expect him to take care of his vulnerable brother. Tensions peak when Ben's piano recital and Billy's championship game occur at the same time; their mother is called out of town, and their father refuses to miss the game for Ben's recital. The resolution is pat, but pleasing — although not as pleasing as the sports writing. Lupica moves to the gridiron in the series' Two-Minute Drill, due the same month. These should score big with middle-graders looking for alternatives to Matt Christopher's titles.Ages 8-up. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Mike Lupica, the #1 "New York Times" bestselling author of "Heat," begins "Comeback Kids," a new sports-themed series for middle-grade readers. Billy Raynor is one of the best shooters in the league. But with his dad as his coach, and his parents newly separated, somehow everything has become complicated.

Mike Lupica writes a nationally syndicated column for New Yor‛s The Daily News and is a regular on ESP‛s The Sports Reporters. He lives in Connecticut.