Jump Ball is a novel-in-verse recreating former teacher Mel Glenn's memories in a Brooklyn, New York, high school.

The book is mainly about the Tigers, an astounding basketball team with Garrett James as its superstar. Everyone believes he will make it to the NBA. James is based on Stephon Marbury, who attended the school where Glenn taught.

The book is a long poem but reads freely and easily. This story will take readers by storm with Glenn's near-perfect writing style combined with his personal experiences. Readers will not be disappointed.

The book begins by describing Garrett through several points of view, and continues with stories of different people's lives and struggles. The story involves many tragedies, surprises, and shocks along the way. Glenn divides the book into four quarters just like a basketball game, and also uses reports at the beginning of each chapter as a method of foreshadowing.

Glenn's writing style is phenomenal. He does an excellent job with the characterization, and the characters can be ­pictured vividly. Glenn's free verse poetry flows very well and is a pleasure to read.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves basketball and even those who don't. Although the book is about basketball, it will appeal to readers who aren't sports fans as well. The one thing that was somewhat overwhelming is the massive number of characters. At times, the characters are hard to follow, but after the beginning of the book, it transitions smoothly with no confusion.

Jump Ball is simply a must-read. The book is astounding and has a shocking ending to look forward to.