When 14-year-old Lincoln Mendoza moves with his mother from a working-class Latino community to a white suburban neighborhood, his main concern is that he make the basketball team at his new junior high. Once he does, life gets even more complicated as he tries to come to terms with his feelings about playing on the new team against his old junior high school. An appealing, fast-paced novel about divided loyalties and ethnic identity has many moments of humor and poignancy in addition to a credible, down-to-earth teen protagonist. (Ages 9-14)

Lincoln Mendoza remains loyal to his former school s basketball team, even after he moves from the barrio to the suburbs and plays for his new school s team. This touchingly realistic story explores the divided loyalties of a Hispanic basketball player who has recently moved from a poor neighborhood to a more affluent one. . . . Soto masterfully conveys the Hispanic-American experience. -Publishers Weekly
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