Sweet Turnaround J
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Sweet Turnaround J230 pp., 6 x 9 |
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“It was going to be the best year of my life. This year we’d go to State and win it all. That’s all I thought about. In March, I was going to be cutting down the net and holding a trophy in the air.”
Sixteen-year-old All-State, Janey Holmes is devastated, her dream shattered. Her old school suddenly closes over the summer and she finds herself at a new school, on a basketball team that hasn’t won a game in over three years.
As the Riverside Ravens climb from a hopeless start to challenge the best teams in the District, Janey learns what happens when her passion for the game and loyalty to her team is threatened by her explosive temper and the free-fall desires of first love.
Visit http://www.sweetturnaroundj.com/ for more about Sweet Turnaround J and P.V. Beck.
Well, frankly, I loved the book. I’ve read it twice, and can’t really find much that wasn’t well conceived, well constructed, or well considered.
Bottom line on Sweet Turnaround J – this was a book that needed to be written. Ms. Beck has produced an amazing concept, well-rounded and complex, yet tight story, and ultimately a great read. Writing about teens, especially if you’re not one, can be a task that goes horribly wrong very quickly. Make no mistake, it didn’t. By the end of the book, I was one of the players, part of their family, and in the stands screaming at the top of my lungs. Everything about this book is good, and if I were a coach, I’d make it required reading, before the first liner was ever run, for my team. Whether they were in high school, college, or the pros.
– Salem West, The Rainbow Reader
“I recently finished reading “Sweet Turnaround J”, by P.V. Beck, and found myself immediately pulled into the story of a young teen struggling with issues of identity, family and sports. And, it is told from the perspective of Janey, the protagonist. Definitely a Young Adult novel, and one which I highly recommend, and which should be included in any current list of “must read” young adult fiction – especially in this day and age of high teen suicides and the need to find ones place in the world as a young woman.”
– P. Nelson, in a comment to How I Picked 10 Best Feminist Teen Books of All Time by Jessica Stites,Ms. Blog.
“I wanted to write about a girl obsessed with basketball,” Beck says. “But I realized I didn’t know anything about it anymore.” She spent a year watching every practice of a team in New Mexico, where she lived. She went to the Amateur Athletic Union 15-year-old Nationals where she interviewed coaches. She attended other tournaments, and then became an assistant high school coach and a seventh grade girls’ coach.
She studied videos, read coaching books and interviewed plenty of players. “I wanted to get it right,” Beck says.
– read the rest of the article about Peggy and Sweet Turnaround J by Dan Wong at PrideSource.
You’ll love Janey Holmes and her teammates in local author Peggy Beck’s basketball book. Beck’s fictional account of the polyglot Riverside Ravens, a hard-driving girls basketball team, is a fast and moving read. Janey guides the reader through a season of high drama, hopes dashed and revived.
As for the audience, this reviewer isn’t a teenage girl but found the novel a fast action-packed read. It is filled with insights, especially about how to train and play basketball. Coach Berro is a model of discipline and knowledge when it comes to turning a bunch of idiosyncratic teen-athletes into a team. Beck’s style—lots of dialogue, action, and a command of high school slang—adds to the realism.
Like Janey Holmes says, “Nobody has given us any respect the whole season but we know we’re stellar.” And Peggy Beck has given girls and readers a stellar novel. “Sweet Turnaround J” is a good candidate for a high school English course or gift to inspire a young athlete. Bravo, Peggy! Good job.
– Bill Whaley, Taos Daily News
“Looking for an enjoyable basketball book to read this winter season? Check out P.V. Beck’s Sweet Turnaround J published by Bedazzled Ink. A fun book for the basketball player and fan.”
– Keri Mikulski, Pretty Tough
