BACK COVER BLURB: Reggie has never felt destined for greatness. He dreams about basketball brilliance all day and night, but the hard truth is that he’s a benchwarmer for the West Bottom Badgers the worst team in the league. Even their mysterious new coach, Rolabi Wizenard, can’t seem to help them end their losing streak.

Reggie is willing to train tirelessly to improve his game, but the gym itself seems to be working against him in magical ways. Before Reggie can become the player her dreams of being, he must survive the extraordinary trials of practice.

Basketball legend Kobe Bryant presents this illuminating follow-up to the #1 New York Times best seller The Wizenard Series: Training Camp―a story of strain and sacrifice, supernatural breakthroughs, and supreme dedication to the game.

MY TAKE

I previously featured book one in the series—TRAINING CAMP—where each of the players are introduced along with their magical coach. SEASON ONE centers on a single player and it’s a welcome change to have the third person narration focus on this underachiever. It’s unfortunate the creator of the series, Kobe Bryant, isn’t around to see how the future unfolds for this series .

The magic or grana is back. Having that label so close to Gran, the name Reggie calls his grandmother, had me guessing there might be a connection there. Readers will have to wait for the answer in a hopeful third book centering on the tournament. A new face, Reggie’s younger sister, P, brings both humor and often inspiring comments. Her role as a secondary character shined.

This is a fast paced, page turning plot. Basketball lovers will be thrilled with the story line and having magic thrown in makes it even more intriguing. Each chapter begins with a Wizenard Proverb which is a short motivating saying to get you thinking about training and life in a different way. Several pages of them are included in the back and could be used for more than sport’s training.

If you have not read Book One, you’ll have no problem jumping in here. The first five games of the season are given extra detail and the final six are recalled in the final chapter. There are also unsolved mysteries (more like small teasers) with a box given to Reggie and the role the government played in the death of his parents. Both are unresolved by the end of this book, but it nicely sets up the continuation of the series.

For now join the season and live through the agony of a losing streak, then find out if this team has enough skill and grana to turn it around.

For more about the book visit the colorful Granity Studios site.

Blogging about middle grade books or authors next week? Join the celebration:

All you have to do is blog about a middle grade book on a Monday (contests, author interviews, or anything middle grade related also count). Email me the title of the book or feature and a link to your blog at gpcolo[at]gmail[dot]com

Make sure you put MMGM or Marvelous Middle Grade Monday in the subject line so it gets sorted accurately–and please don’t forget to say what book or author you’re featuring) You MUST email me your link by Sunday evening (11 PM Eastern Time) in order to be included in the list of links for the coming Monday.

Thanks for spreading the middle grade love and for being a part of this awesome tradition begun by Shannon Messenger and carried on here at ALWAYS in the MIDDLE! (CLICK HERE FOR PAST MMGM POSTS)

*Please note: these posts are not a reflection of my own opinions on the books featured. Each blogger is responsible for their own MMGM content and I do not pre-screen reviews ahead of time, nor do I control what books they choose. I simply assemble the list based on the links that are emailed to me.