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    Slam!
    Slam!
    Slam!
    Audiobook5 hours

    Slam!

    Written by Walter Dean Myers

    Narrated by Thomas Penny

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Greg "Slam" Harris can play basketball, period. On the court, he's almost unstoppable. As he says, "I can hoop. Case closed." But off the court, it's a different story. Every day is a struggle to keep things together. Leaving his best friend Ice behind, Slam transfers to a top-notch academic school and is easily the best player on the basketball team. But his grades are slipping, and the coach doesn't appreciate Slam's attitude. On top of that, Slam suspects that Ice has started selling drugs, just as their opposing teams prepare for a showdown on the court. If Slam wants to hold everything together, he'll have to apply his passion for basketball to everything else in his life. With an urban, teenage voice, Walter Dean Myers earnestly reflects the hopes and desires shared by many budding hoop dreamers. Narrator Thomas Penny vividly captures both the internal and external challenges Slam faces while chasing his dream from the streets, to the classrooms, to the hardwood floors.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateSep 20, 2013
    ISBN9781470393687
    Author

    Walter Dean Myers

    Walter Dean Myers was the New York Times bestselling author of Monster, the winner of the first Michael L. Printz Award; a former National Ambassador for Young People's Literature; and an inaugural NYC Literary Honoree. Myers received every single major award in the field of children's literature. He was the author of two Newbery Honor Books and six Coretta Scott King Awardees. He was the recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults, a three-time National Book Award Finalist, as well as the first-ever recipient of the Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement.

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    Reviews for Slam!

    4/5

    91 ratings8 reviews

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    • 2/5
      I first read this book as a kid. It’s still a wonderful read. It’s nostalgic and a lot of issues the main character deals with are prevalent to this day.
    • 4/5
      Slam by Walter Dean Myers was, in my opinion, a brilliantly written book with great wording, connections to real life and Myers really gets the true feeling of the “hood” into the book. From beginning to end Myers keeps you captivated as well as astonished with each turning page. Not knowing what’s around the corner, he keeps you guessing, yet when you read the journey of this young man and his struggles you feel the emotion on his quest to do what he loves. On his journey he finds some struggles, but with friends to fall back on he should be fine, right? Wrong. In this book he has to fight tooth and nail and learn how to show respect as well as truly earn what he is going for. Although fiction everything that occurs in this breathtaking book, although sad, could in some way happen in everyday life. It is apparent that Myers wants to capture more than just the game of basketball, he wants to capture what goes with it hand in hand. No matter how good you are or how good you become nothing stops for you. Everything keeps going. No lies, only truth, but when the buzzer sounds at the end of this book will Slam have true friends or will he be all alone with his too good to be true game?
    • 5/5
      Slam, by Walter Dean Myers, was a very good book that I would rate 5 stars.This book was about an African American kid from the "ghetto" of New York. His nickname is Slam because of his skill on the basketball court. Slam is going to a school with mainly white kids on a special program and finds himself facing a ton of problems in school with his grades, on the court, and out of school with friends and drugs.Slam is fighting a constant battle and is going to have to give everything he’s got to come out on top.This book was great! I felt that it had a really nice flow to it. The author would never drag on with one topic for too long. There was the perfect amount of description so that you would get a great picture but also never get bored. The book rolled from one event to the smoothly and consistently.I also really enjoyed the “action” scenes in this book. What I mean by action is the scenes with the basketball happening in them. These scenes were perfectly paced and very descriptive. I always felt like I was watching the game courtside. I could hear the crowd and see the action very clearly.This was an excellent book that I highly recommend reading. It had a great flow and awesome action. I would say that this book deserves 5 stars.
    • 4/5
      The novel "Slam" by Walter Dean Myers is a story about an African american teenage athlete by the name of Slam. The setting also doesn't change often. He lives in New York surrounded by drug dealers. Slam is a highschool student and a basketball player.Slam is a talented basketball player with big dreams who lives for basketball and wants to play in the NBA, but his grades are falling and his parents don't have enough money to send him to a good school. Although Slam thinks everyone else is trying to bring him down, he is determined to show that he can achieve great achievements. Slam wants to prove to everyone that he can make them all proud. He wants people to know him and what he should be known for, which is basketball.Slam reminds me of myself that when he finds out that if he doesn’t bring his grades up, he will have to stop playing basketball. I can relate to this because when my grades were falling in school, my mother told me that if I didn’t improve soon, I wouldn’t be able to play sports either. Which would stink for me because I love sports.
    • 5/5
      Greg, better known as Slam, struggles with balancing school, home life, and basketball. Greg is taken from his familiar school Carver, with all of his friends, and placed in Latimer, a magnet school. Greg feels that he is behind academically, but can beat anyone on the basketball court. Greg constantly struggles with succeeding on the classroom, but not on the court. He has to find a way to please his family, his teacher, his friends, and most importantly himself. A great theme to be discussed about this book would be education vs. sports. This topic should get the students excited and engaged. The teacher can ask the students do they think your grades should hinder one from participating in a sport. Also the teacher can break the students into groups of for sports and for education. The students can find examples out of the book to argue that their side is the best. Also the class can discuss if it matters where someone comes from. The book deals heavily with Greg's home life and the things he faces. This will be a good discussion that will open the students eyes about not judging someone because of where they live. It is important to get to know that person for who they really are. I really enjoyed this book. Because I enjoy basketball, I could really relate to the ideas and topics in the book. Walter Dean Myers did a good job in vividly describing the scenes in the book. I wish there was a sequel to this book. If there is someone should let me know. I really want to know what happens to Mtisha and Greg's relationship. Likewise, I want to know if Ice and Greg remain friends. There are a lot of things I want to know the answer to in this book, but overall I really enjoyed reading Slam. I would recommend this book to any sports fanatic who likes realistic fiction.
    • 5/5
      WALTER DEAN MYERS MONSTER FICTION NEW YORK CIT High school student Greg Harris, also known as Slam, struggles With family, culture, and talent. Slam is a great basketball player, and basketball is his top priority; however, he has difficulty being a team player and is searching for his place in school and in his family. He has transferred from Carver, a primarily black, low educated school, and neighborhood school, to Latimer, a white, upper educated school, and magnet high school. As basketball season approaches, Slam thinks his life will improve. However between failing math and fighting with his coach, Slam cannot seem to keep his game together on or off the court. On the court, he grapples with the coach, a superstar attitude, teammate issues, and more. Off the court, he is trying to cope with a dying grandmother, his best friend possibly dealing drugs, a love interest, and an alcoholic father. With the help of family, friends, and an assistant coach, Slam begins to get the big picture. WHY I READ THE BOOKBecause Walter Dean Myers does an outstanding job of creating characters with whom most adolescents could connect, Slam is an excellent novel for adolescents. The vivid and flowing language pushes readers quickly through the text. The dialogue and events in the novel will allow for discussion over a variety of topics and themes which surround most adolescents'daily routines
    • 4/5
      slam! waltert dean myers nonfitcton Slam” Harris is a talented basketball player with big dreams, but he has lots of obstacles to overcome. He also has many choices to make in his life. With the help of his girlfriend, Manish. His teachers, and his family, Slam just might make it.Slam lives for basketball and wants to play college ball, but his grades are slipping and his parents do not have enough money to send him to a good school. Although Slam thinks everyone is trying to bring him down, he is determined to show that he is capable of great achievements most of the setting took place in the gym or at home in school.
    • 4/5
      This book is about a boy named Greg Harris. But he goes by slam as a nickname. He got this nickname from being a huge basketball player. Its because he can slam th ball in the rim! He has an ok life. His grandma is in the hospital and is sick. HIm mom and family dont really hang out that much he is always on the go. For a class project he is doing a recording of his life with a partner in his class. But along the way his brother lost the video camra and he didnt have it for quite awhile. He finally got it back a couple weeks latter. He has alot of good friends that always have his back and they get along quite well. THey all play ball together at school there a great team they have alot of intensity. They all want to win and know that the game is very serious! Him and his girlfriend have had some issues because at one point him and his friend ice went out for drive. Ice's girl and one of her freinds came along and slam and the friend ended up making out in the back seat of the car while he had a girlfriend. SO him and his girl broke up. latter on they got back together though. When they play ball slam knows he has the skills and he knows he is better then people and he doesnt understand why he doesnt start. Then he was thinking and he thought that the coach only used him when they needed him. He felt used and guys kept giving him crap about it. But he would just come back with the attitude and say that he has game and he could take then one on one anyday and win.