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 - Last ShotJohn Feinstein is a sports reporter in real life and translates that into one of his finest pieces of literature titled The Last Shot. In this book, John Feinstein explains how trouble strikes the NCAA Basketball Tournament. He dives deep into elaboration and explains very profound details of someone who is being framed for something that could change their life. Feinstein is currently a reporter for "The Sports Reporters" and a columnist for Chapin Times and the Washington Post. Feinstein not only writes for a living, but is a professor at Duke University in the Journalism department as well. In his recent books like Cover up and Season on the Brink he brings out his inner sports fanatic and is rewarded with his books being top selling ones. The author of this book accomplishes his goal by putting you in the human position of someone of witnesses a framing and becomes apart of the solution rather than the problem. With Feinstein being a writer himself, he clearly puts his love for being a journalist into the book because the whole point of this book is a kid winning a chance to be a journalist at the NCAA tournament which seemed to be one of his dreams as a child. The strengths of this book are the fact that Feinstein also sticks to the perspective of one character instead of putting you into confuse-mode by sifting around from character to character. Another strength would be that he goes through the book in chronological order instead of having flashbacks every 5 pages like some books do. One weakness about this book is the fact that the characters and time moves by so quickly that you would get lost skimming through this book. Keeping focus and keeping interest in the topic will get you through this book with ease. I recommend this book to anyone who has a passion for sports and loves mystery Rating: - Nonstop actionLast Shot Knopf, 2005, 251 p.p., $16.95 John Feinstein 0-375-83168-1 Steven Thomas is living a dream. After winning a writing contest, he is in New Orleans as a reporter covering the Final Four. But, the dream takes a turn when Steven and fellow winner Susan Carol overhear a warning to MSU's star point guard to lose the championship game, or else. As Steven and Susan Carol start to uncover the mystery, the less real answers they get. Last Shot by John Feinstein is a sports mystery thriller. The page-turner is best for ages eight to fourteen. It is told in third person. The book wil make you begging for more. Stevie and Susan Carol will make you laugh out loud with their jokes and lies and beg for mercy with what they get themselves into. If you have read and liked Matt Christipher books, and also like mysteries, you will thouroughly enjoy this. I reccomend this for anyone who would like to both laugh and be scared out of their wits all in two-hundred fifty-one pages of nonstop action. -Townes Bouchard-Dean Rating:  - Last ShotLast Shot: A Final Four Mystery Two teenage sports reporters win a contest with the U.S. Basketball Writers Association and get to go to the Final Four. They experience blackmail and basketball first hand in this book. Find of if the realistic fiction basketball novel is a slam dunk or an air ball. When eighth graders Stevie Thomas and Susan Carol Anderson win the writing contest the pair has won a trip to the Final Four in New Orleans and a chance to see what it takes to cover the event as working journalists. They each get an extra ticket for which they both decide to bring their dads. Once they get there they also get media pass credentials to be able to watch all the practices, press conferences, and games to be able to write a story each day. So as if the Final Four isn't crazy enough they are walking around and overhear a kid named Chip Graber who is being blackmailed and suppose to throw the championship game. The two kids try to tell people but they don't take them very seriously, so they put their heads together and try to figure out what's going on. This book is very fast-paced read which helps you keep wanting to read and more enjoyable to read about this tension and competitive packed book between the two kids Stevie and Susan Carol. Stevie is short kid from the East Coast who absolutely hates Duke, while Susan Carol is a tall girl from the South who loves Duke. Stevie thinks he knows more about college hoops than Susan Carol and hates that he is spending all his time with a Duke fan. They each get over it and put their differences aside and try to solve this blackmail mystery. In the end they end up with a strong friendship and the two opposites come together. Last Shot is a great story because it combines mystery and an inside look on how things work in the Final Four, what more could you ask for. The author, John Feinstein, is a sports reporter who has covered the tournament several times and he can show you the great behind-the-scenes details of the Final Four. He also makes you feel how tense it can be to be a kid playing in the game. He is also a sportswriter and commentator. He writes for the Washington post and is a guest commentator for National Public Radio, and also commentates for the college football team NAVY. He is also a contributor to Tony Kornheiser Show and Jim Rome Show. He wrote for The Chronicle while he went to school at Duke University. He has written twenty-three books and his most recent is the Last Shot. So if you love college basketball and mystery you will love the Last Shot. Rating: - Great book for young sports fans!This is a highly enjoyable mystery set at the NCAA Final Four. The two heroes are a 13 year old girl and a 13 year old boy who have won a writing contest and have press passes to the Final Four. They are likeable, realistic characters and the mystery they solve is surprisingly plausible. My 11 year old son loved this book. Rating:  - Very good book, with alittle bit of everything I really liked this book because it was about friendship, romance, sports, adventure and suspense. The characters are interesting and the plot was very creative and enjoyable. Yet I didnt like some points of the story that were corny, usually about the kids liking each other. The idea of a famous basketball player being helped by these kids was also hard to buy into. Yet for someone who doesnt like basketball, I really enjoyed the book. Suggested age: 10-15 Reading Level- 6-7th grade More of a leisure book then anything. Give it a try
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