Ball Dont Lie, Matt de la Pena
Ball Dont Lie, Matt de la Pena
1 Rating(s)
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Ball Don't Lie

Author: Matt de la Peña

Narrator: Dion Graham

Unabridged: 6 hr 58 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/04/2017


Synopsis

Newbery Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Matt de la Pena's Ball Don't Lie "is a must-read." [The Bulletin]

   Sticky is a beat-around-the-head foster kid with nowhere to call home but the street, and an outer shell so tough that no one will take him in. He started out life so far behind the pack that the finish line seems nearly unreachable. He’s a white boy living and playing in a world where he doesn’t seem to belong.
    But Sticky can ball. And basketball might just be his ticket out . . . if he can only realize that he doesn’t have to be the person everyone else expects him to be.
    Matt de la Peña's breakout urban masterpiece, Ball Don’t Lie takes place where the street and the court meet and where a boy can be anything if he puts his mind to it.

★"[An] inspiring story. Sticky is a true original, and de la Peña has skillfully brought him to life."-School Library Journal, Starred

"Riveting...Teens will be strongly affected by the unforgettable...basketball action; and the questions about race, love, self-worth, and what it means to build a life without advantages."-Booklist

"Stunningly realistic."-VOYA

"Gritty and mesmerizing."-Kirkus Reviews

"I have never before seen blacktop ball depicted so well. In this novel, you will find its flash, its power, and its elegance without chains. This is powerful stuff."-Antawn Jamison, forward for the Los Angeles Clippers

"Truly authentic in its examination of both the game I love and the invariable missteps toward manhood. You cannot fail to be moved by the eloquence and truth of this story."-Rick Fox, former forward for the Los Angeles Lakers

An ALA Best Book for Young Adults

An ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers

About Matt de la Pena

Matt de la Pena's debut novel, Ball Don't Lie, was an ALA-YALSA Best Book for Young Adults and an ALA-YALSA Quick Pick and is soon to be released as a motion picture. de la Pena's second novel, Mexican WhiteBoy, was an ALA-YALSA Best Book for Young Adult (Top Ten Pick), a 2009 Notable Book for a Global Society, a Junior Library Guild Selection. He currently lives in Brooklyn, NY, where he teaches creative writing.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Cassi aka Snow White on March 26, 2011

It's somewhere between 4-5 stars. Let's say 4.5 just to pick a number. Everybody talks about looking for YA books that are boy friendly. People talk about it like it's a mythical creature. Well let me tell you I have found the magical leopluradon. Or I've found an excellent book for boys. I love bask......more

Goodreads review by Brayden on January 28, 2019

this is a very good book if you are looking for a basketball thrill. The author does a very good job with keeping the reader intertained by using all the things that go on in sticky´s life. There are lots of ups and downs in this book.......more

Goodreads review by Claude's on March 28, 2020

CW: suicide, drugs, attempted sexual assault, homophobic slurs......more

Goodreads review by George on October 12, 2021

Hello, this is Geo Storm with ESPN. I will be interviewing basketball star Sticky from the book, Ball Don't Lie by Matt de la Peña. Sticky is a seventeen-year-old boy who is on his way to playing high-level division one basketball and even the pros, but has experienced many unimaginable obstacles in......more

Goodreads review by Richie on July 15, 2013

06 August 2005 BALL DON'T LIE by Matt de la Pena, Random House/Delacorte, September 2005, ISBN: 0-385-73232-5, Libr. ISBN: 0-385-90258-1 "Baby don't cry, you got to keep your head up Even when the road is hard, never give up {you'll be alright} Baby don't cry, you got to keep your head up Even when the......more


Quotes

"[An] inspiring story. Sticky is a true original, and de la Peña has skillfully brought him to life."-School Library Journal, Starred

"Riveting...Teens will be strongly affected by the unforgettable, distinctly male voice; the thrilling, unusually detailed basketball action; and the questions about race, love, self-worth, and what it means to build a life without advantages."-Booklist

"Stunningly realistic, this book will hook older readers, especially urban teen males."-VOYA

"The characters live and breath...This is a must-read."-The Bulletin

"De la Peña does an excellent job of combining the streets with the sport. Gritty and mesmerizing."-Kirkus Reviews

"I have never before seen blacktop ball depicted so well. In this novel, you will find its flash, its power, and its elegance without chains. This is powerful stuff."-Antawn Jamison, forward for the Los Angeles Clippers

"From the very first sentence, this book grabbed me and didn't let go. The deeper I got into it, the more I felt like Sticky's story was my story. His heart, his handle, the guys in the gym, his potential pitfalls, his dreams. All of it. In a weird sense, this is my life."-Grayson Boucher ("The Professor") of tha AND 1 Mix Tape Tour

"Truly authentic in its examination of both the game I love and the invariable missteps toward manhood. You cannot fail to be moved by the eloquence and truth of this story."-Rick Fox, former forward for the Los Angeles Lakers

An ALA Best Book for Young Adults

An ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers


Awards

  • ALA Best Books for Young Adults
  • ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers
  • New Jersey Garden State Teen Book Award
  • Tennessee Volunteer State Book Award