by John Coy
Scholastic Press
ISBN-13 978-0-439-87032-0
$16.99 Hardcover
Published June 2008
YA Fiction
Basketball / Teenagers / Set in small town in Midwest
MBA Bookseller Information
Visit John Coy’s website at www.johncoy.com.
Order from your Scholastic sales rep or your preferred wholesaler. Be sure to order the companion book to BOX OUT, too –
CRACKBACK
ISBN-13: 978-0439697347
$6.99 Trade Paperback
For more information on Box Out or to inquire about events with John Coy please contact Sheila Marie Everett, Scholastic Publicity, at (212) 389-3786 or severett@scholastic.com.
Downloads
- Midwest Connections Rebate Form (PDF)
- Black & white print ad (PDF)
- Author photo (JPG)
- Book photo (JPG)
- Midwest Connections Generic Display Materials
About the Book
Award-winning author John Coy’s newest novel Box Out is about discovering how to stand up for yourself when you stand up for what’s right.
Liam has just been bumped up to starter on the varsity basketball team, and the pressure’s on. With the girls’ team heading to State, the boys’ team is under even greater scrutiny than usual in Liam’s small midwestern town. When the team’s coach starts counting on the power of prayer—and enforcing teamwide participation—Liam finds himself in a spotlight that’s more nerve-racking than any trip to the free-throw line. In trying to stand up for what’s right, Liam is forced to stand up for himself—against his teammates, his fellow students, and even his parents.
Is a place on the high school varsity basketball team worth the price he’ll have to pay to keep it?
Liam couldn’t believe it when Coach Kloss told him he’d made varsity. One of the guards had broken his leg, and Coach needed someone tall, who could box out and catch rebounds, starting with the game that night. But playing varsity wasn’t like playing JV, even before they left the locker room. Coach knelt down prayed for their success in the game, and the whole team had to say the Lord’s Prayer together. And afterwards, Coach said he wanted them to play team basketball, without any hotdoggers or showing off. Do your job, and only your job, and win the game.
But the only player he seemed to be talking to was Darius, a black sophomore who’d just moved to town. At halftime, Coach barely mentioned the two balls Liam had dropped, and concentrated on Darius, who’d made some plays on his own, rather than doing what he was supposed to. Darius just sat there calmly, listening to Coach yell at him. Finally he went to his locker and started to change clothes. When Coach asked him what he was doing, he had only one word-”Quitting.”
The next day, Liam learned about some of the advantages of being on the varsity team. Jared Drake, the captain, offered him a part time job in his dad’s shoe store, so he could get 40% off anything he bought. Jared also reminded him that all the varsity players had to go to HAF, the Horizon Athletic Fellowship, every Thursday morning before school. Missing HAF wasn’t an option, and neither was wearing the HWJC wristband during games, to remind him How Would Jesus Compete.
Coach continued to pray before games and at halftime. Sometimes he asked a player to lead the prayers. Not all of them believed the words, but no one refused. HAF was more praying, more talk about what it meant to be a Christian and a basketball player. By now Liam was certain that he didn’t really like being forced to do things he was uncomfortable about. Having his own private beliefs was one thing, but having to do and say things he didn’t really believe in was another. But if Liam refused to go along with all of it, would he still have a place on the varsity team?
This booktalk was written by university professor, librarian, and booktalking expert Joni Richards Bodart.
JOHN COY is an award-winning book author born in Minnesota. He has worked as a dishwasher, mattress maker and tour guide before taking up writing as his current occupation. Some of John’s hobbies include sports, yoga, and travel. John has traveled to all fifty states as well as to Scotland, the United Arab Emirates, and Kenya.
John’s work is driven by the desire to give children books that speak to their own interests and experiences. He is the author of numerous picture books, including Strong to the Hoop, an American Library Association Notable Book, and Two Old Potatoes and Me, which was chosen as one of Nickelodeon Jr.’s Best Books of the Year and featured on PBS’ Reading Rainbow. Some of John’s other books include Night Driving, winner of the Marion Vannett Ridgway Award and Vroomaloom Zoom and Around the World.
His first novel Crackback (Scholastic Press, 2005), was published to rave reviews, including a star from Booklist. John’s days spent playing defensive on his high school football team brings a certain credibility to the novel.
John lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with his family.
