There's only one slot left at the local basketball camp, and both Russ and Owen Evans want it, but it goes to Owen. When the twins arrive at camp, though, thing. Russ's only option is the 'Multi-Sport Sampler' camp, and he's anything but enthusiastic. While the girls face serious issues, amusing details and the caring adults in their lives keep the tone relatively light.There's only one slot left at the local basketball camp, and both Russ and Owen Evans want it, but it goes to Owen. The conversations she has with her sister, as well as her insights about their relationship, likewise ring true. Breathless and engaging, Fella’s distinctive voice is convincingly childlike. Fella’s present-tense narration paints pictures not just of the difficulties they face on the trip (a snowstorm, car trouble, and an unlikely thief among them), but also of their lives before Mama Lacy’s illness and of the ways that things have changed since then. The year is 2004, before the Supreme Court decision on gay marriage, and the girls have been separated by hostile, antediluvian custodial laws. The two white girls squabble and share memories as they travel from West Virginia to Asheville, North Carolina, where Zany is determined to scatter Mama Lacy’s ashes in accordance with her wishes. Twelve-year-old Ophelia, nicknamed Fella, and her 16-year-old sister, Zoey Grace, aka Zany, are the daughters of a lesbian couple, Shannon and Lacy, who could not legally marry. Two sisters make an unauthorized expedition to their former hometown and in the process bring together the two parts of their divided family.ĭooley packs plenty of emotion into this eventful road trip, which takes place over the course of less than 24 hours. He's the dork.' With the clear, stylish art, the strongly appealing characters and just the right pinch of drama, this book will undoubtedly make readers stand up and cheer. When Greg snubs Callie in the halls and misses her reference to Guys and Dolls, one of her friends assuredly tells her, 'Don't worry, Cal.

The palpably engaging and whip-smart characterization ensures that the charisma and camaraderie run high among those working on the production. Equally determined to make the best sets possible with a shoestring budget and to get one of the Mendocino boys to notice her, the immensely likable Callie will find this to be an extremely drama-filled experience indeed. Callie's healing heart is quickly captured by Justin and Jesse Mendocino, the two very cute twins who are working on the play with her. Callie's just getting over popular baseball jock and eighth-grader Greg, who crushed her when he left Callie to return to his girlfriend, Bonnie, the stuck-up star of the play. Seventh-grader Callie Marin is over-the-moon to be on stage crew again this year for Eucalyptus Middle School’s production of Moon over Mississippi.

Owen comes across as much less attractive readers may be surprised by the level of his anger and his childish behavior.ĭespite the differing perspectives, though, it’s never more than a superficial exploration of the differences between brothers, enlivened by welcome infusions of basketball.įrom award winner Telgemeier ( Smile, 2010), a pitch-perfect graphic novel portrayal of a middle school musical, adroitly capturing the drama both on and offstage. Russell's chapters are amusing, as he discovers unexpected talents and abilities. Chapters alternate between the brothers’ first-person accounts, providing readers with a nice look at their diametrically opposed thinking. Owen, no longer the sole star athlete in his family, becomes increasingly jealous as his father, who once more or less ignored Russell, begins to focus on both sons. Then the new coach asks Russell to try out for the team because he's tall, and with that height comes a surprisingly satisfying skill in blocking shots. Russell and Owen don't understand each other's worlds, but previously, it hardly seemed to matter. He's generally regarded as physically inept. Russell, more concerned with academics, serves as leader of his school's Masters of the Mind team, a group that competes against other schools to solve tough mental puzzles. Owen is the quintessential jock: He plays basketball nearly all the time, and when he isn't playing, he's thinking about it.

Seventh-grade fraternal twins Owen and Russell are as different as night and day, and that spells trouble when both of them make the basketball team.

Athlete vs mathlete wc mack