Slam! by Walter Dean Myers is an intriguing story of thelife of a 17-year-old boy from Harlem. Greg "Slam" Harris is great atbasketball and has big dreams, but he also has obstacles to overcome and choicesto make, both in basketball and in life. Through Slam! one learns about life'stemptations and the types of problems that face teenagers, particularly those inNew York City.
Slam knows he has potential and could be one of the luckyballplayers to make it to the top. His best friend, Ice, also has incredibletalent, but Slam is worried his friend is becoming involved with drugs. Slamwants to help, but he has problems of his own. If he doesn't pull up his grades,he won't be allowed to play.
This book successfully portrays a real-lifesituation. The reader can identify with the characters and truly understand howthey feel. Many teenagers have similar problems. A few times in the story Slamasks Ice about his involvement with drugs, but each time Ice blows off theanswer. Eventually the two get into a fight, and Slam has to acknowledge thattheir friendship is over. Slam knows he cannot allow himself to go down that samepath. Sometimes however much you want to help a friend you cannot do it withoutharming yourself.
Slam! is much more than a great story about basketball.You learn you can take skills and desires from one setting and apply them toanother part of your life. There is a lot for us all to learn from this book.
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