On the Line
Author: Paul Coccia and Eric Walters
Publisher: Orca Book
“When you’re hurt, the natural instinct is to hurt back. That doesn’t make it right. But it does make you human. Making mistakes is human, but trying to make things right after makes you a better one.”
This novel is a perfectly-flowing, well-told tale that intersperses delicate issues and emotions with gripping basketball scenes. There’s everything from fun, snappy dialogue to raw emotions and the restorative power of best friends and caring family. Boys accustomed to locker-room banter and team-sports pressure will relate. Athletic and independent-minded female readers will embrace it for the high-spirited character named Tammy, a budding basketball star who chooses to be the first girl on a boy’s team.
Basketball theme aside, this novel is really about dealing with being suddenly thrown off your game in life, and navigating the stages of shock, fear, resentment, anger, victim mentality and backing up to see the larger picture and accept change.
I didn’t care if my dad wanted to talk or give me a call. I had nothing to say to him. It wasn’t just that I was angry or upset. I also had no idea what I was supposed to say, and I didn’t want to lie and tell him everything was fine when it wasn’t. I wanted him to know we weren’t okay.
The journey sometimes feels like a basketball slamming against one wall after another. But the emotional roller coaster the protagonist rides also feels entirely realistic, from his wrapping himself in sorrow and blindly blaming others, to pushing away those he loves, until he doesn’t. Never does the pace sag, although the basketball action disappears for several chapters mid-novel. As for the tension, it’s delightfully punctured here and there with best-in-class teen humour:
The song ended, and I realized what she meant. I tilted my head to the side. I worried that my breath might be bad or taste funny, my lips might be dry or I’d have too much spit in my mouth. Maybe my hands would be sweaty or I’d do it wrong or…I closed my eyes and leaned in, found her lips with mine. They were soft, sliding smoothly, our noses bumping gently into each other. She exhaled, and I breathed it in. One of her hands slipped from behind my neck and gripped the front of my shirt. We kissed for probably only a few seconds. But we kissed. My first kiss.
Jordan’s best buddy Junior is not only a steadfast friend and mentor, but his lively banter lifts the novel’s dialogue to delectable heights.
“She hasn’t really given up on you. At least, not yet.” “What makes you think that?” “Look who you’re talking to. I have my black belt in understanding girls. I am wizard of women, a ninja of knowledge, a PhD of—you get the idea…You and Tam were just sooooo cute together. Puppy-dog, furry-kitten, baby-unicorn cute.” “Shut up.”“Sitting together, your arm over her. That look of young love. The sparks flying, both of you glowing and—” “Please, shut up.”
Never has “heavy stuff” (to quote the novel itself) been so easy to read about, ponder and navigate through these highly believable, fully drawn characters. This book is a tour de force by two outstanding co-authors who, it turns out, are greater than the sum of their parts.
-P.W.