Elena Delle Donne

Elle and her friends are back with more sports, fun and a wonderful dog, who makes life more stressful than Elle imagined.

With the dance behind her, Elle is ready to hit school and basketball. Unfortunately, things aren't moving that smoothly yet. Her coordination is causing problems and she finds herself in a new slump. She's began volunteering, too, but between that and a new dog, she finds herself under a time crunch. School isn't running as great as it should either, and she's finding it almost impossible to spend time with her sister. Somehow, she's got to figure everything out or might just drown in her schedule.

This is another lovely book in the Hoops series. Elle loves sports and basketball holds a star spot in the tale. The court moments are true to life and feel like home to basketball fans. But this isn't only about sports. Elle is as active in sports as the rest of her life. The moments at school come across natural, and the time with her family is inspiring as well as natural. Add the fun moments with a great dog, and it's a wonderful, well-balanced mix.

The added dash of her volunteering and working with special needs children throws in a nice touch and wakens understanding as well as awareness for this area. It's obvious that the author has experience in this area, and she brings the moments across nicely.

This is a short read, which makes it great for the intended age group and reluctant readers. Girls, who love sports, will dive right into the pages and enjoy the familiar situations. The writing is smoother than in the first book, but it still is directed for the slightly younger end of the middle grade group, making it a better read for ages 7 to 10.

I received a complimentary copy and found it to be such a lovely book, especially for girls who love sports, that I wanted to leave my honest thoughts.… (plus d'informations)

Elena Delle Donne's life inspires this first book in the Hoops series about Elle Deluca. If you have a reader who loves sports and is struggling to find her place in the world this book is a must-read. My son loved sports and had the opposite problem of Elle, he was small for the sport that he wanted to play, however, it didn't stop him from playing and doing well. I truly believe that what a parent teaches their child about attitude helps them to learn to deal with their struggles with a more healthy approach. In this book, Elle's parents and friends try to help her with her outlook as she struggles to adjust to her fast-growing height.

I do appreciate the lessons that are taught in this book. I appreciate the fact that a middle-grade reader has fears, and hopes of what they should expect while going to 7th, 8th and 9th grade. This book helps readers to see that everyone is going through the same struggles, just not always talking about them or reacting to them where someone else can see the struggles.

This book reminds me of Matt Christopher's sports series that came out starting in the 50's and decades into the 2000's when my son read some of his posthumous released books.

Ms. Donne's writing is youthful, easy to read and great from your daughter or son. I think that this is a worthy book purchase.

I give this book 4 stars for middle-graders and younger who like sports.

I'd like to thank Simon and Schuster for allowing me to read this book via Edelweiss+ in lieu of my honest opinion.… (plus d'informations)