BOOK NAME: Last Shot
AUTHOR: John Feinstein

Eighth grader Stevie Thomas is super-psyched when he finds out that he won the U.S. Basketball Writers Association’s writing contest! As his prize, he gets to be a junior journalist at the NCAA Final Four basketball tournament! He is not so excited to find out that he’ll be joining another winner, Susan Carol Anderson. He doesn’t let that ruin his excitement, though, and counts down the days for he and his father to go to New Orleans for the tournament.

The big day comes, and Stevie soon arrives in New Orleans. He gets to meet many basketball reporters, and even staff from the different colleges participating in the Final Four. He meets Susan Carol, and as time passes by, he realizes that she’s not that bad. Both of them get to tour the Superdome, where the court, team locker rooms, and reporter rooms are located. They even get press credentials, which allow them to get anywhere.

As they are exploring the Superdome, they overhear someone blackmailing Chip Graber, the star player of Minnesota State University, saying that he had to lose the final game, or else… Who is the man? Why would he threaten a player? Stevie and Susan Carol are determined to solve the mystery! Through lies and even danger, they try their hardest to put the pieces together. Will they be successful?

I loved this book! I was glued to the pages from the day I started it, to the day I finished! I am not really interested in sports, but the author made everything easy to understand. This book is long and has some parts that may be scary for some people. Be sure to ask your parents before reading it. I fell in love with this book, and I hope you will, too!