Game Seven

Description

My name is Julio Ramirez Jr. and baseball is my whole life. Since he was ten, Julio has lived in the shadow of his famous father. Not just because Julio Senior is a pitcher for the Miami Marlins, but because he fled Cuba to play professional baseball, leaving his Julio and his mother and sister branded as the family of a traitor. Now sixteen, Julio dreams of playing for Cuba's national team-until he finds out his father's defection may destroy his chances. When he's given the opportunity to flee Cuba, he has to make the toughest choice of his life. Can he abandon his family, just like his Papi did? Will freedom be worth the perilous journey and risking prison if he's caught? Will his Papi be waiting for him on the other shore-or, with the Marlins in the World Series against the Yankees, has Julio Senior forgotten about his son? Set against the backdrop of the Series on which everything depends, Game Seven is a suspenseful story of loyalty, survival, and baseball.

Paul Volponi is a writer, journalist, and teacher. He has taught incarcerated teens to write on Rikers Island and he taught adolescents in a drug-treatment program in New York City.

Praise for Game Seven "An entertaining tale of baseball, family and loyalty." --Kirkus "Volponi once again delivers top-notch sports fare coupled with a deeper story of family and fidelity. . . Readers will identify with Julio as he juggles dreams, bitterness, and family loyalties in this lyrical, spare novel." --Booklist "A poignant story. . . this is a must-read for any teen who not only loves stories about sports but also enjoys reading about families." --VOYA Praise for The Final Four by Paul Volponi: "A triple-overtime game keeps readers on the edge of their seats." --BCCB, starred review "This gritty, realistic, and riveting novel deserves the wide audience it will no doubt attract." --School Library Journal, starred review "Volponi nails it when it counts in this dynamic story." --Booklist, starred review "Volponi, a multiple award-winning author, keeps the tension high from the first to last page ... The Final Four is definitely a winner." --VOYA, starred review "Volponi's latest combines in-the-moment action, basketball history and the points of view of four college ballplayers with very different lives ... No story or character is simple." --Kirkus Reviews "The Final Four does a terrific job of capturing the emotion of March Madness." --Mike Krzyzewski, Head Coach, Men's Basketball, Duke University "This is a great story about how one sport can transcend different experiences, backgrounds, and beliefs, and unite in a desire to succeed." --Jim Calhoun, Head Coach, Men's Basketball, University of Connecticut (2010 National Champions) "It was inspirational to a coach and full of lessons to children of many ages." --Jamie Dixon, Head Coach, Men's Basketball, University of Pittsburgh "A rocket ride of a plot that rips you into the story from the first line." --Paul Griffin, author of Stay With Me "Paul Volponi delivers a high-octane basketball story fans will cheer for." --Tim Green, author of Deep Zone, a Football Genius novel