RR to Hoops
Hoops, by Walter Dean Myers was a great book to read. This book was about a seventeen year old boy, Lonnie, living in Harlem trying to make it to the NBA with the help of his coach. The theme of money however, added twists and turns, and surprising new discoveries to the book. By the end of the book not only was Lonnie affected by money, but also side characters, his best friend and his girlfriend.
For the main character in this book, Lonnie Jackson, money was always an issue. Like many others in Harlem at the time, Lonnie and his mom struggled in poverty. What made there situation even worse was Lonnie's father had left them, and his mother wouldn't find a job. Since his mom was unwilling to find a job "By my senior year she was on my back just about all the time, too." (Myers 2). Lonnie said she was always pestering him about going to college, and this really annoyed him. This bugged [Lonnie] because even though he wanted to make it to the NBA, college wasn't really a reality with no scouts coming to see him play. Plus he knew she was relying on him to make some good money, and get them out of poverty, and he felt that wasn't fair.
Having not enough money wasn't only a problem for Lonnie. Paul, Lonnie's best friend, stole checks from peoples mail just to get some money. His sister, Mary-Ann(also Lonnie's girlfriend), stole all of Paul's stolen checks to help raise money to bail her mother from jail. But she got caught and one of Paul's associates, Lenny, beat her up without Paul knowing. When Paul did find out, not only was he angry, but it made him realize he shouldn't have stolen the checks in the first place. When Lonnie confronted him, he broke down and admitted, "You see me hanging out with Lenny trying to get into that middle-class thing..."(90). This was Paul's way of being honest, but also realizing stealing wasn't the best way to try and make money.
In Hoops the theme of money interfered with Lonnie's basketball dreams, which made the book interesting and exciting. That's why money figured as a big piece in this book. Whether you were trying to make money, or stealing money, it was everywhere in this text. Overall this was a well rounded book.
For the main character in this book, Lonnie Jackson, money was always an issue. Like many others in Harlem at the time, Lonnie and his mom struggled in poverty. What made there situation even worse was Lonnie's father had left them, and his mother wouldn't find a job. Since his mom was unwilling to find a job "By my senior year she was on my back just about all the time, too." (Myers 2). Lonnie said she was always pestering him about going to college, and this really annoyed him. This bugged [Lonnie] because even though he wanted to make it to the NBA, college wasn't really a reality with no scouts coming to see him play. Plus he knew she was relying on him to make some good money, and get them out of poverty, and he felt that wasn't fair.
Having not enough money wasn't only a problem for Lonnie. Paul, Lonnie's best friend, stole checks from peoples mail just to get some money. His sister, Mary-Ann(also Lonnie's girlfriend), stole all of Paul's stolen checks to help raise money to bail her mother from jail. But she got caught and one of Paul's associates, Lenny, beat her up without Paul knowing. When Paul did find out, not only was he angry, but it made him realize he shouldn't have stolen the checks in the first place. When Lonnie confronted him, he broke down and admitted, "You see me hanging out with Lenny trying to get into that middle-class thing..."(90). This was Paul's way of being honest, but also realizing stealing wasn't the best way to try and make money.
In Hoops the theme of money interfered with Lonnie's basketball dreams, which made the book interesting and exciting. That's why money figured as a big piece in this book. Whether you were trying to make money, or stealing money, it was everywhere in this text. Overall this was a well rounded book.
