November 26, 2007
In this engaging book about Boston’s Charlestown High School basketball team, Swidey, a staff writer for the Boston Globe Magazine
, explains that “eing part of the Charlestown program was no guarantee that a kid would become a success.... But dropping out of the program dramatically increased the odds that he wouldn’t.†Head coach Jack O’Brien benefited from the team aside from its gaudy won-loss record. Unmarried and with a shattered family history, O’Brien found that the “rigid team structure... offer the trappings of home.†Like a concerned parent, O’Brien worked year-round to keep his kids away from the overwhelming daily wave of crime and bad influences and into the security of a college-educated future. Swidey masterfully shows over the course of two seasons the struggle O’Brien and his players face in maintaining success on and off the court. The coach observes the lives of his two star players, Ridley Johnson and Jason “Hood†White, go in very different directions after they land out-of-state college scholarships. Swidey expertly examines the slippery slope of Charlestown’s success, tying it into Boston’s disastrous busing scandal and an underwhelming legal system that perpetuates crime, while he builds narrative momentum and details his subjects with the touch of a skilled novelist. This is a prodigiously reported, compulsively readable book that readers (sport fans or not) will savor.
February 1, 2008
Adult/High School-Jack OBrien expects success in his players, on the basketball court and off. His program at Charlestown High School, Boston, has achieved that goal, winning four state championships and, more impressively, sending a large percentage of players on to collegesDivision I, II, and III. The program is not without its problems and controversies, however; OBriens single-minded dedication alienates some players, and working with boys from the citys projects is difficult. Swidey avoids the trap of so many others following in the footsteps of H. G. Bissengers "Friday Night Lights" (De Capo, 2000): he manages to avoid inserting himself into the story of Charlestowns season. He is both complimentary and subtly critical of OBriens methods. He recognizes the boys basketball limitations, is critical of Bostons racial past and disastrous bussing policies, and admires the schools headmaster. The author doesnt spend much time on the actual games; the book is more an examination of the forces that drive OBrien and his players, the sociology of public education in Boston, and the forces of life on the streets. This is a fine piece of journalistic literature; do not make the mistake of thinking it is for sports fans only."Mary Ann Harlan, Arcata High School, CA"
Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
November 15, 2007
This account of Boston boys basketball powerhouse Charlestown High School inevitably recalls the seminal book and movie Hoop Dreams, since all three follow the challenges of at-risk, inner-city black players to succeed in high-school basketball and beyond. But if Boston Globe reporter Swidey references the general theme of Hoop Dreams, his focus is less on players and more on the schools longtime coach, Jack OBrien, whose teams have been perennial state champs and whose players, many from highly dysfunctional homes, customarily move on to college. Swidey follows OBriens 200405 Charlestown season in detail, seamlessly working in key players, parents, school officials, even opposing coaches and their teams. Interestingly, he doesnt end with the teams season-ending championship but rather records the prosaic aftermath. As heroic as OBrien is in transforming his young men into champions, Swidey shows him to be all too human in his failings. Like Hoop Dreams, this captivating account transcends its time and place.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)