Free Throw

Lisa Arsenault is an elementary-school teacher in Ajax, Ontario.

Matt, a First Nations high-school student, must leave his beloved
basketball team when his mother remarries and they move away from the
reserve. As a result of his mother’s remarriage, Matt has acquired
five younger stepsisters, new family that adds to his troubles.

How Matt copes with the changes in his life is the theme of this novel
for teenagers. Initially, he is rebellious, demanding to stay on the
reserve with his grandparents and refusing to join his new school’s
basketball team. As he becomes accustomed to his extended family and
makes new friends, he learns to accept his altered circumstances.
Eventually, he comes to appreciate his blended family and joins the
basketball team. As the author skilfully charts Matt’s progress toward
acceptance and his growing maturity, we empathize with his feelings and
actions.

This well-written story has a very contemporary feel: Matt participates
in a basketball chat room on the Internet and makes a new best friend in
cyberspace. Guest has a good understanding of teenage angst and the
emotions that motivate a teenager in Matt’s circumstances
(uncertainty, fear of the unknown, loyalty to old ties, sibling rivalry,
etc.). She creates empathy for Matt by stressing his short stature. He
is not the typical tall, rugged basketball-hero type and has had to
overcome a physical shortcoming to excel at the game. This theme is
reinforced by the fact that Matt’s basketball cyberfriend is in a
wheelchair. While dialogue generally rings true, language that is
inappropriate for a 15-year-old male occasionally slips in, as
exemplified by Matt’s use of “scoop” and “it’s a shame.” But
this is a minor criticism about a great story. Highly recommended.