Boost, by Kathy Mackel, is a realistic fiction book about a 8th grade girl and her struggling in basketball and with her family. Savvy, the main character is a star in basketball and was looking for more of a challenge in her sport, so she decided to try out for the U18 travel team as a 13-year old. The team brought on a huge challenge for her and her family. Her sister, Callie, a cheerleader, would do anything to boost her game and make herself better.  This brought a huge conflict in the book between Savvy and her. 

The part that really hooked me into the book was that I felt like I could relate to everything about Savvy and that made it so I wanted to read more. Mackel did a really nice job at portraying the setting, when I was reading I really felt like I was where Savvy was, like when she was in the field by the family barn I really could imagine the field. That made the book even better. I recommend this book to kids ages 11 through 19.  I think it has some content that kids under 11 won’t understand or appreciate. I think that for people over 19, the book would be somewhat boring for them.