Learning the Game — Kevin Waltman

It isn't how you play the game -- it's how you let the game play you. When Nate's team commits a crime, all of his loyalties are tested -- and questioned. A bold hardcover debut.

Over the hot Indiana summer, Nate's high school basketball team practices on a local court off a row of fraternities. One day after practice, one of the team members suggests breaking into a frat house and looting its contents. Nate goes along with it -- a move he instantly regrets. Soon all of his loyalties are being tested -- with his brother, a town outcast who might be blamed for the crime; with his girlfriend, who he tries to confide in; and from his teammates. A phenomenal novel in the tradition of Chris Crutcher, Rick Wallace, and Walter Dean Myers' SLAM!