Last Shot: A Final Four Mystery

January 24, 2005
Sports and mystery get equal play in sportswriter and adult author Feinstein's (A Season on the Brink
) novel set during a Final Four basketball tournament in New Orleans. Taking center court is 13-year-old Stevie, who—along with Susan Carol, another eighth grader—landed tickets and press passes to the weekend's games by winning a writing contest sponsored by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. The story starts slowly with some superfluous dialogue and a surfeit of detail about specific players, coaches, sports writers and announcers. Yet the pace picks up when Feinstein casts the two aspiring young sports journalists in additional roles of sleuths: the pair overhears a man blackmailing Chip Graber, the star player (and son of the coach) of the Minnesota State team to throw the championship game against Duke. Though they can't see the culprit during this conversation, it takes the youngsters no time at all to identify him as a member of MSU's faculty—ironically, an ethics professor. As Stevie and Susan Carol team up with Chip to uncover the intricacies of the blackmail plan—and to try to foil it—the author's plotting entails some fancy footwork that will keep readers on their toes. The minimal on-court action is nonetheless dramatic and briskly paced. Young basketball fans will most appreciate the caper, but mystery buffs will also turn these pages eagerly. Ages 10-up. (Feb.)

FYI:
The novel's final page announces a sports-oriented writing contest, the winner of which will receive a trip to the 2005 NCAA men's Final Four championship game.

March 14, 2005
Author, journalist, National Public Radio commentator and college basketball junkie Feinstein is in the zone—the comfort zone, that is—with this crisp adaptation of his first book for kids, a page-turner set during college b-ball's championship tournament. At age 13, aspiring sportswriter Stevie Johnson has scored a coup: he's won a writing contest that has earned him a trip to the NCAA final four, with official press access. But the amazing weekend gets especially interesting when Stevie and his fellow contest winner Susan Carol overhear a potential blackmailing scheme, as someone threatens a star Minnesota State player to throw the final game against Duke. Can the newbie reporters unravel a scandal? Listeners will want to stick with Feinstein's knowing, relaxed reading to find out. Though the low-key narration does not always paint a big dramatic sound, the author's passion for sports and knack for creating an exciting plot is evident. Feinstein's shout-outs to real sports journalists, coaches and players are a bonus for fans, as is an interview at the end of the program about the author's early career path and his opinion of contemporary college athletics. Ages 10-14.