Is Your Shot Worth A Million Dollars?

By: Jordan D.

"The Million Dollar Shot" is an inspiring story by Dan Gutman about a poor boy named Eddie Ball who lives in Louisiana. His father just recently died and now he lives in a trailer with his mom. He loves basketball and has always had a really good shot. Mostly because he has really good aim. His mom works for a factory called "Finkle Foods". She gets laid off, and now they are in an even worse situation financially than before. There is another girl who lives in the trailer park named Annie. She lives with her dad, and her and Eddie always play together. Not to long after his mom was laid off, a contest was started by the owner of Finkle Foods. Whoever can write the best poem, will get a chance to make a free throw for a million dollars. Eddie writes a poem and shows it to Annie , but she doesn't like it so she writes one for him. He uses it to enter, and he wins. Now he must train, so that he has a perfect foul shot. Annie's dad is an expert at free throws, so he helps Eddie practice and makes him an amazing free throw shooter. Now we just have to see if he can make it in the real thing. Will the pressure get to him, or will he follow through and solve his family's financial issues?

I think this is a great book. It's such a great story. There's more to it than most people think. There was a lot more going on than just him training for the shot. there was family drama, friend drama, and relationship drama. It was always interesting and kept me in-tune. I read it multiple times and it was just as good every time. It's not a very long book, and the author didn't waste time with pointless writing. Sometimes i wish certain scenes were a little longer and had more detail in them, but overall this was a great book.

I think you should read this book. It's a basketball book, but you don't have to play basketball to relate to it. All athletes can relate to Eddies hard work and drive to be great. Most kids can relate to some of his problems at school and at home, dealing with friends and family and overcoming adversity. You can find this book at The Nashua Public Library.