On the Line

It’s no easy task for a 13-year-old basketball star to process his parents suddenly separating and then his father coming out as gay. Worse, Jordan lives in a small town where everyone seems to know everything instantly.

Jordan doesn’t handle the situation well at all. He’s in shock, and he wants to “punish” his father even though they’ve always had a great relationship and his father has always been his best basketball fan and coach. To complicate matters, Jordan is unsure how to relate to his broken-hearted mother. All he knows for certain is that he doesn’t want to meet his father’s new boyfriend.

Jordan feels like all his schoolmates are whispering about him as he walks the halls. In short, he’s full of resentment and in shock and focused on how this is affecting him (not how it’s affecting his parents).

The one thing he has going for him is his best friend, Junior, who has always had his back and is like a trusted brother. Then there’s the new girl at school, a high-spirited budding basketball phenom named Tammy who is a great listener and kisser, but, like Junior, full of advice Jordan is not ready for yet.

Junior role-models what a best friend can be while providing comic relief:

“She hasn’t really given up on you. At least, not yet.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Look who you’re talking to. I have my black belt in understanding girls. I am wizard of women, a ninja of knowledge, a PhD of—you get the idea…You and Tam were just sooooo cute together. Puppy-dog, furry-kitten, baby-unicorn cute.”

Shut up.”

Sitting together, your arm over her. That look of young love. The sparks flying, both of you glowing and—”

“Please, shut up.”

But the friendship goes a little rocky, given that Jordan is torn up and hurting enough to strike out at Junior for his practical advice.

The novel is told in first person from Jordan’s point of view. Readers accustomed to locker-room banter and team sports will relate to the basketball material, and basketball enthusiasts especially will love the action. Yet, those clueless about the sport will not feel left out. While there’s plenty of gripping basketball action as well as basketball metaphors (for example, the title), it’s not a “basketball novel”. Rather, the story focuses heavily on the delicate issues and raw emotions, both of which are beautifully and realistically rendered. There’s even a character who used to be a cutter before he accepted himself as a gay man, which is yet another issue touched upon.

Fortunately, there is also just enough humour to keep the novel from being too intense. Take, for example, Jordan’s first kiss:

The song ended, and I… tilted my head to the side. I worried that my breath might be bad or taste funny, my lips might be dry or I’d have too much spit in my mouth. Maybe my hands would be sweaty or I’d do it wrong or… I closed my eyes and leaned in, found her lips with mine. They were soft, sliding smoothly, our noses bumping gently into each other. She exhaled, and I breathed it in. One of her hands slipped from behind my neck and gripped the front of my shirt. We kissed for probably only a few seconds. But we kissed.

The dialogue is snappy and fun, and the novel flows smoothly start to finish.

Weaknesses? Basketball seems to disappear mid-novel, only to reappear later. Also, it’s a little over the top how the school counselor, coach and principal instantly coordinate in a proactive manner to handle Jordan’s funk and angry outbursts, but maybe such ideal schools do exist. It is also strange that Jordan gets lost in his small town at one point and needs rescue. But these are tiny flaws.

Readers will empathize with the characters all the way through, and the issues are tackled super well. The theme can be found in this statement:

“When you’re hurt, the natural instinct is to hurt back. That doesn’t make it right. But it does make you human. Making mistakes is human, but trying to make things right after makes you a better one.”

The novel shines a light on the restorative power of best friends and caring family. Independent-minded female readers will love Tammy, and both straight and LGBTQ+ readers will love a work created by two outstanding writers (one gay, one straight) who, as it turns out, are greater than the sum of their storytelling parts.