Slam!

Written by Walter Dean Myers

Seventeen-year-old Greg "Slam" Harris thinks that basketball is his ticket out of Harlem, but first he must come to terms with many difficult realities of his life. He is almost flunking out of school, his grandmother is dying, his father is out of work and drinking again, and his best friend appears to be dealing crack. Slam has a bad attitude and is difficult to be around. It's only he starts to realize that he must take responsibility for his actions does his life on and off the court improve.