Perfect Shot by Elaine Marie Alphin
by Sam Arnold-Boyd on Jan.18, 2015, under Historical Fiction, Mystery, Real life, Sam's Reviews, Sports, Thriller
Who would like this book? Anyone, grades 7 and up, who likes murder mysteries, basketball action, social issues, relationship issues, and/or meaningful history.
The goods on this book: In this ambitious book, Brian struggles to come to terms with the violent deaths of his girlfriend Amanda, her brother, and her mom. Their father has been charged with shooting them to death, but Brian saw another person close to the scene of the crime. He assumes that those in charge are following up on his lead, and he continues his senior year as leader of a basketball team that are tight as brothers but must work to keep their grades up. A unique assignment from their history teacher connects Brian with Todd, an outsider who has been the target of their bullying. They must research the 1913 Leo Frank murder case, which turns out to have disturbing parallels to the current murder trial of Amanda’s father. Another significant layer of this book’s engaging plot involves Julian, the star of the basketball team who encounters trouble only because he is African-American. The author does a great job of pulling all the different parts of the plot together, and Brian is an engaging, empathetic narrator. As the book drives toward its thrilling climax, I couldn’t put it down!
The details: 360 pages, 2006 Review by Samrarian
