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Pick-Up Game: A Full Day of Full Court Audiobook
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(3.08) - 122 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
It’s one single steamy July day at the West 4th Street Court in NYC, otherwise known as the Cage. Hotshot baller ESPN is wooing the scouts, Boo is struggling to guard the weird new guy named Waco, a Spike Lee wannabe has video rolling, and virgin Irene is sizing up six-foot-eight-and-a-half-inch-tall Chester. Nine of YA literature’s top writers reveal how it all goes down in this searing novel in short stories that ingeniously pick up where the last one ends. Characters weave in and out of narratives, perspectives change, and emotions play out for a fluid and fast-paced ode to the game. Crackling with humor, grit, and streetball philosophy, and featuring poems by Charles R. Smith Jr., this anthology is a slam dunk.
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"One day, one court, ten testaments to the drama inside the game and out. This is the home of pick-up basketball, downtown Manhatten, where the immortals played when black players weren't allowed in big-time college basketball and the NBA. And still they come, troubled, homeless, too young, too old, nothing matters but your game when you step into The Cage."
— Michael (4 out of 5 stars)
Pick-Up Game Listener Reviews
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" I especially loved the concept of this book. The writing of the different authors worked really well. I was a little disappointed in the ending chapter, but I really liked the book as a whole. "
— Robin, 2/9/2014 -
" So here's my problem with this one - I'm so clearly not the right audience at all that I don't feel even close to capable of evaluating it. I like a good sports story but I didn't even understand what was going on with the basketball half the time. I think the language was just a little beyond me. Basically, I'm willing to take other people's word that it's good and will recommend it to readers as appropriate, but it's just not my thing. "
— Jennifer, 2/8/2014 -
" A great book that is a collection of short stories that follows one day on the court. It's great to see things from a bunch of different characters view. Each player has a unique story to tell and even the spectators of the games are interesting. A great book for anyone who likes basketball. "
— Matthew, 1/28/2014 -
" Aronson weaves short stories from nine YA authors about pick up basketball game at a popular street court. Occasionally it seems a bit disjointed; however, guys will understand the lingo and atmosphere. "
— Pamela, 1/17/2014 -
" The beggining was good and made me want to keep reading but i feel like some parts were stretched out longer than it needed to be and it would be more enjoyable to read if there was more drama and action. I really liked the poems in the begging of each chapter, thats my favorite part of the book. "
— Latisha, 9/30/2013 -
" Most of the stories are excellent, especially stand out stories from Walter Dean Myers and Sharon Flake. If you love ball, you'll love this book. "
— Chris, 8/13/2013 -
" Clever premise with amazing contributors, but Pick Up Gamefails in execution. Recommended only for those who love to read urban basketball stories. "
— Carrie, 6/23/2013 -
" This book was promising and I could tell that the writing was good, but I couldn't stick with it. I don't have enough background knowledge about basketball slang to understand the narrative or dialogue. "
— Donalyn, 6/17/2012 -
" Really well done, but likely to be most appealing to those who live and breathe basketball. (Or at least love it an awful lot.) "
— Heather, 4/13/2012 -
" A good book for basketball fans "
— Nancy, 2/29/2012 -
" Readers who love nothing but net will love this collection of connected stories and poems written by a lineup of stellar authors. "
— Edward, 6/1/2011 -
" Readers who love nothing but net will love this collection of connected stories and poems written by a lineup of stellar authors. "
— Ed, 5/19/2011 -
" connected stories of a day on the basketball court. From top to bottom, this is an incredible collection. "
— Carter, 12/10/2010
About the Authors
Marc Aronson is an editor and author of many award-winning books for young people, including Master of Deceit: J. Edgar Hoover and America in the Age of Lies and Pick-Up Game, which he coedited with Charles R. Smith Jr.
Charles R. Smith Jr. is an award-winning author, photographer, and poet with more than thirty books to his credit. His awards include a Coretta Scott King Award for his photographs accompanying the Langston Hughes poem “My People” and a Coretta Scott King Honor for his biography on Muhammad Ali, Twelve Rounds to Glory. He is the author of Rimshots, Hoop Kings, Hoop Queens, Tall Tales, Short Takes, Diamond Life, and I Am America.
Xe Sands has more than a decade of experience bringing stories to life through narration, performance, and visual art, including recordings of the Nightwalkers series from Jaquelyn Frank. She has received several honors, including AudioFile Earphones Awards and a coveted Audie Award, and she was named Favorite Debut Romance Narrator of 2011 in the Romance Audiobooks poll.
About Dion Graham
Dion Graham is an award-winning narrator named a “Golden Voice” by AudioFile magazine. He has been a recipient of the prestigious Audie Award numerous times, as well as Earphones Awards, the Publishers Weekly Listen Up Awards, IBPA Ben Franklin Awards, and the ALA Odyssey Award. He was nominated in 2015 for a Voice Arts Award for Outstanding Narration. He is also a critically acclaimed actor who has performed on Broadway, off Broadway, internationally, in films, and in several hit television series. He is a graduate of Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts, with an MFA degree in acting.