Game

Drew Lawson is all about basketball. Everyone in his life knows that his game is taking him places. (It has to, because his grades certainly won’t.) Drew knows how hard it is to make it big, but even with the long odds, he is good enough to have a shot.

But when Coach hands the ball to another player—Tomas, a white kid from Europe—Drew can’t help but feel like he’s not the star on the courts anymore. He’s seen enough men in his neighborhood flame out to know that if he wants to be extraordinary, his game has to be the best.

As his team makes the playoffs with Tomas on the court, Drew knows he has to come up with a big move to save his fading college prospects. It's all up to Drew to find out just how deep his game really is.

Walter Dean Myers was a New York Times bestselling author, Printz Award winner, five-time winner of the Coretta Scott King Award, two-time Newbery Honor recipient, and the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. Maria Russo, writing in the New York Times, called Myers "one of the greats and a champion of diversity in children’s books well before the cause got mainstream attention."

Drew is fighting for his future. But can he be a team player when his rival is threatening to take it all?

• High-Stakes Basketball Action: From thrilling playoff games to tense practices, the on-court action is nonstop as Drew fights for his college prospects.
• Teamwork and Tension: When Tomas, a talented new player from Europe, joins the team, Drew must navigate a complicated dynamic with his coach and teammates.
• Realistic Teen Voice: Told from the perspective of a Black teen in Harlem, this novel explores the intense pressure to succeed when the game is the only way out.
• More Than a Game: Drew must look beyond the court to figure out who he is as a player and a person, learning that true strength isn’t just about individual talent.