Kick by Walter Dean Myers

Myers, Walter and Ross Workman Kick, 195 pgs. Harper Collins Publishers, 2010. $16.99.  Language: G, Sexual Content: G, Violence: G- Kevin is a boy who has good grades and doesn’t get into any trouble at school; the average thirteen year old kid. His father died many years ago while in the line of duty as a policeman and he only has his Grandma and Mother for family. Although Kevin has a good heart, out of the blue, a cop finds him behind the wheel of a car with a girl named Molly and he is on the edge of going to a juvenile detention center; all happening in what seems like seconds. The cops ask him why he was driving a car underage, but for some odd reason, he can’t tell them. He swears that he didn’t do this with bad intentions, but he still can’t tell them why he did it.  As his family, friends, and soccer teammates start to get more and more distant from him because of this, Kevin‘s life almost seems like it‘s falling apart. But Kevin has not lost all hope, a man named Sergeant Brown says that he will do all in his power to help Kevin out of this tight spot. However, with the trust between them being uneasy, will Sergeant Brown and Kevin be able to learn to trust each other so they can solve this mysterious case? I thought this was a great book. Walter Dean Myers and Ross Workman did a fantastic job with bringing out the characters; they all seem so real. When I first saw this book, I thought it might entirely be about soccer, but it surprised me when I read it. It had a great mystery tied into it and lots of action, while incorporating the story with soccer. I also loved the way they showed two character’s perspectives of what was going on in the story. They would first of all show Kevin’s point of view, and then show Sergeant Brown’s point of view; making the story very interesting. Although parts of this book might only make sense to people who play soccer, I’m sure that this book will grab many people’s attention. MS - ADVISABLE. Student Reviewer: JW.

Kick