THE SPIN

MLB player Stroman’s semiautobiographical series continues with an examination of the power of words.

As baseball star Marcus’ season winds down, he is looking forward to playing basketball. His father, however, sees that as a trivial interruption to the real work—the drills and off-season workouts that will keep Marcus in top shape for the next baseball season. In school, Marcus and his classmates are exploring bias in writing through a newspaper-writing assignment, and a frustrating article about Marcus and the basketball team’s performance proves to be an opportunity to examine not only how the words chosen can affect the information being conveyed and how to discern the truth from what’s written, but also how to decide what criticism is and isn’t worth heeding. With the help of therapist Gary, Marcus finds a way to discuss his love of basketball with his parents while learning to deal with other people’s opinions of his sports performance, which will be unavoidable if (when) he becomes a professional athlete. Friends Kai and Robbie are caring and supportive, and Robbie in particular shows touching emotional growth. Some readers may wish for more sports action scenes, but thoughtful conversations with Marcus’ parents and therapist are important models of good communication, and the discussion of media bias is timely and relevant. Physical descriptions of characters are minimal, though the first book cued Marcus as biracial (the son of a Puerto Rican mother and a Black father).

Another well-done entry in a sporty series with obvious appeal and plenty of depth.