Kick by Walter Dean Myers and Ross Workman

Book:  Kick

Authors:  Walter Dean Myers and Ross Workman

Publisher:  Harper Collins

Year:  2011

Reason I read it:  This is one of 8 required reads for my YA lit class

My grade:  C

Kevin Johnson is thirteen years old. And heading for juvie. He's a good kid, a great friend, and a star striker for his Highland, New Jersey, soccer team. His team is competing for the State Cup, and he wants to prove he has more than just star-player potential. Kevin's never been in any serious trouble . . . until the night he ends up in jail. Enter Sergeant Brown, a cop assigned to be Kevin's mentor. If Kevin and Brown can learn to trust each other, they might be able to turn things around before it's too late.

My Review

This book had an interesting premise.  Walter Dean Myers, prolific YA writer, paired up with a teen fan to write this book.  Every other chapter is in a different point of view, with Ross Workman writing the POV of the teen and Myers writing the POV of the adult police officer.

The book is not very long and the writing is fine, even from the teen fan, but there’s just not a lot going on.  There are descriptions of games and the whole mystery of why Kevin was driving at age 13 with his friend Christy in her dad’s car.  Of course, the story progresses through the eyes of both characters as they grow closer and learn to trust one another.

I was very disappointed by the ending.  I’m still not sure why Kevin didn’t tell someone what the real story was to begin with.  I kept reading because I wanted to know what had really been going on that night and when I found out, it felt anti-climactic at best.

I think this is a good book for middle school boys who like sports but don’t like reading.  It’s short and fast-paced with lots of descriptions of soccer games.  More serious readers will probably be bored by it and high school students will not find a lot to which they will relate.

My grade is a C.  The book was ok, but it was nothing to write home about.  I honestly expected more from such a legend of YA lit.  It makes me wonder if I should bother with any of his other books.