"Why was I this little kind of nobody guy?... I was like a minus sign. A zero." In this moving if not exactly plausible novel, Chicago sports columnist Telander (Heaven Is a Playground) agilely projects the voice of an 11-year-old who is convinced he is a total loser—but whose dream is about to come true. An extra on his fifth-grade basketball team, Robby Denwood rarely gets to play, and even his coach addresses him as "Dimwit." His father abandoned the family two years ago, and his mother snaps at him whenever she's not arguing with his sharp-tongued older sister. The boy takes refuge in his fort, a cave in the woods, where he stashes such prized possessions as a poster of Jasper Jasmine, a Michael Jordan–like basketball star. After enduring the humiliation of running into a teammate's elbow on the court and suffering a concussion and broken nose, Robby decides to run away. Here Telander's plot begins to stretch credibility: having spent his last cent buying a bogus ticket from a scalper, Robby sneaks into a basketball game to watch Jasmine play, crashes a post-game press conference where he catches Jasmine's attention and later becomes tight pals with his hero. But basketball buffs will willingly make the leap as Robby, given the plum job of ball boy for Jasmine's team, witnesses dramatic on-court action. More memorable than these play-by-plays, however, is the author's sympathetic portrait of a boy who finds comfort and confidence in an uncommon friendship. Ages 9-12. (May)
