Part of Series
"As a childrens/YA bookseller, I LOVED THIS BOOK. The language, the characters, the basketball—they are all spot on perfect . . . I am so excited about this series."—Cynthia Compton, 4 Kids Books, Zionville, Indiana Junior year. Derrick Bowen has put in two good years getting ready for this season. He put in the work and earned his coach's trust and his role as the starting point guard for Marion East. Marion has never won the Indiana state championship, but this year the team is Derrick's. And Derrick is good. Opponents worry when Derrick—D-Bow when he's pounding the rock—steps onto the court. Major colleges work feverishly to recruit him. Derrick is ready to run teams off the court. If only he could get on the court and stay on it. Old school coach Bolden suspends Derrick for the first game of the season after Derrick's best friend Wes gets busted for carrying a joint while in Derrick's car. Even after that, Marion High's team just doesn't quite click. They don't want to follow Derrick's lead as squad's dominant player. Dissension and selfishness are threatening to tear the team apart. And then Derrick hears a thickening snap as he lands awkwardly after a thunderous dunk. Can Derrick lead the team to victory from the bench? Kevin Waltman is an instructor at The University of Alabama. He lives in Coker with his wife Jessica and their dog Henry. Pull is the third book in his D-Bow High School Hoops series.
Author
Kevin Waltman was born in Bedford, Pennsylvania, and spent his teens and twenties in Indiana—time spent mostly around basketball courts and political events. He moved to Tuscaloosa, Alabama in 2001 to get his MFA in fiction at The University of Alabama. There, he met his wife, Jessica Kidd. He now lives in Coker, Alabama, with Jessica, their daughter Calla, and their dog Henry. He teaches. He writes. He gardens. He cuts kudzu from their woods. He is the author of four y.a. novels. The first two are Nowhere Fast and Learning the Game. The two most recent—Next and Slump—are the first two parts of a four-part series from Cinco Puntos Press. The third in the series, Pull, will be out in late 2015. You can see more about Kevin, or find teaching guides to some of his work, at kevinwaltman.com..
