The Playmakers

"Brown and Morris winningly capture the middle schoolers’ humor, attitudes, and desires. Explorations of privilege, mental health, incarcerated parents, and financial precarity via the protagonists’ personal challenges culminate in a story that emphasizes the power of teamwork to uplift others." -Publishers Weekly A fun, funny, and empathy-building story about underdogs who will stop at nothing to get noticed. Jax has something to prove. After trying out for the basketball team, he and his friend Nic don’t make the final cut. Sure, Jax might be the shortest kid in the seventh grade, and Nic might not have a lot of confidence, but they’ve got skills. Luke is the tallest kid in the seventh grade. He’s not bad at basketball, but he didn’t even try out for the team. Instead, Luke’s an aspiring actor and auditioned for the school play. Unfortunately, he didn’t get cast. Jax and Luke decide to take matters into their own hands. They have a wacky, wild, outrageous idea, a plan that is sure to fail—unless it doesn’t. Jax decides to form his own basketball team and challenge the challenge the school team. Luke agrees to join the team, on the condition that Jax and his friends help Luke compete in a regional drama competition. Miley, probably the smartest kid at school, agrees to help both Jax and Luke. She’s been reading up on sports science and thinks she might have found a way for her friends to win through math. Can a team of underdogs prove to the whole school that they have what it takes to be noticed, or will it all go horribly wrong?