SHOOTING STAR

By Fredrick McKissack Jr.

Atheneum. $16.99, age 14 and up

Jomo Rodgers can "ball hawk with the best," but college recruiters and journalists keep pointing to his slight frame as a barrier to the high-stakes world of college and pro sports. Initially, the dry-witted, likable sophomore tries to make sense of the mixed messages in his life. Football rules at his prestigious high school, and yet his prickly father, a professor of African American studies, rails against a pervasive sports system that he feels takes advantage of young black men. Jomo's teammates gain and lose weight rapidly with questionable substances -- and neither parents nor coaches intervene. Yearning for some of the attention lavished on the athletically gifted Jayson, his best friend, Jomo decides to build muscle quickly by "juicing" or taking illegal steroids. His resulting dependence and angry outbursts (a possible side effect) fuel problems with his weight trainer, his girlfriend and his father. The tension builds almost unbearably as Jomo struggles to find a way through his morass of lies, addiction and uncontrollable rage. This hard-hitting novel captures the camaraderie of student athletes and the pressure on them to win, sometimes at the cost of health, conscience and academic achievement. The ending is wrenching, a powerful moment of growth and redemption.

-- Mary Quattlebaum