Stepping Up

By Mark Fink

Book Overview

Ernie Dolan, 14, is plagued by the curse of the average. Nothing about him stands outexcept his stutter. Only best friend Mike Rivers sees him at his best. Then, at a competitive basketball camp, Mike... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1934813036
• ISBN13: 9781934813034
• Release Date: March 2009
• Publisher: WestSide Books
• Length: 216 Pages
• Weight: 0.92 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 1.0" x 5.5"
• Age Range: 13 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 8 to 12

Customer Reviews

Great read!

I read this book in one sitting, and I only do that when the story is excellent. Stepping Up tells the story of Ernie Dolan, a 14 year-old kid who comes to summer basketball camp an average kid with a stutter, low self confidence and less game than the others and leaves "the man." I liked that the main character wasn't a superstar. He was easy to relate to and root for. Having attended many basketball camps as a kid--the drills, the basketball jargon, the bullying, the pranks, and the tournament all came rushing back. I look forward to reading future Mark Fink novels.

ANYTHING BUT ORDINARY

At last, a book geared for the teenage reader, with gadget-savvy teenage characters, who speak the lingo; yet refreshingly absent from the story are dysfunctional families, major transgressions and supernatural forces. Unexpected plot twists made me eager to read on to find out what would happen next. I felt like I had a ring-side seat which allowed me to observe the "secret life of adolescent males", as they scramble to establish their ranks in the pecking order. The author is truly in touch with the trials and tribulations of modern American teenage boys. The protagonist's reflections and ruminations were realistic and uncommonly touching, and proved that there is not such a great distance between being ordinary and being extraordinary. He learns some important life lessons which I daresay many adults have yet to learn.

You Don't Have to be a Teenager to Enjoy this Book!

I was literally transported back to age 14 when the rights of passage between childhood and adulthood were marked by success and failure in a competitive setting. "Stepping Up" was a book I could not put down. There is a little of Ernie Dolan in all of us. The author obviously knows his hoops and the basketball action is so real I was reminded of the "words eye view" that only the maestro Chick Hearn could deliver. It is even more difficult to convey the action in written form than verbal form. Mark Fink is a fabulous writer, who definitely gets it, delivers and has "stepped up" big time.

Stepping Up

This is a "must" read. The background may be basketball, but it's about so much more. Thoroughly engaging and very funny from cover to cover. Ernie Dolan is definitely someone you want to spend time with.

Engaging read!

I bought this book as a gift for my young cousin. He's a teenage boy and a sports fanatic. I'm neither. I LOVED IT! It was warm and funny and thought-provoking. It's refreshing to read something meant for teenage boys that has a meaningful message as well as a great story. The characters and teenage angst were believable. I think this is a story that adolescents will relate to and parents can be happy with, knowing that their teenagers are not wasting their brain cells.