https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm By: Vidh Patel en-us 2023-02-19 21:04:53 UTC 2025-10-31 12:46:48 UTC hello@padlet.com vhpatel2 https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2491318061 I chose this book because I like to play and watch basketball. It has also been a long time since I have read a good sports book so I wanted to give it a try.]]> 2023-02-22 15:25:38 UTC https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2491318061 vhpatel2 https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2491325684 "This was how it happened sometimes: You didn't want to stop, no matter how long you'd been playing. That was the way Gus Morales felt right now in the gym at Walton Middle school, playing one last game of two-on-two with his best friends in the world." - Page 1

The author opened the book up by describing a feeling that Gus was feeling and hooked the reader by stating that they were already playing a game of basketball this early in the book. The author then proceeds in the next few pages to fully describe the game and provide the reader with some action.]]> 2023-02-22 15:31:10 UTC https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2491325684 vhpatel2 https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2491343752 " 'First time for everything,' Cassie said. 'You don't even know what I'm gonna say.' " said Gus, " 'No, I meant you figuring out something.' she was grinning at him. 'Wait,' she said. 'I think I do know what it is. You figured out today that I'm the best athlete our age in Walton. Not only that, you're ready to admit that because of the way we just closed you losers.' " 
- Page 10

This dialog between Cassie and Gus shows that Cassie takes a lot of pride in her skills and thinks of herself as one of the best. This is a trait that she keeps throughout the book which also annoys Gus, the main character.]]> 2023-02-22 15:44:24 UTC https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2491343752 vhpatel2 https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2491353247 " 'This major Kerrigan,' she said, 'is not a nice man.' 'Still not too crazy about his son, either,' Gus said. 'He was giving me that 'Gustavo' stuff at tryouts yesterday.' " - Page 49

When Gus was at tryouts, the racist mayor's son Steve was also there calling Gus by his Dominican heritage name (real name), which Gus does not like. This also introduces Steve as someone that annoys Gus.]]> 2023-02-22 15:51:45 UTC https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2491353247 vhpatel2 https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2491865973 " 'Abdul, Amir, whatever,' Steve said. 'We need to find a way for him to stop bombing away.' 'Is that your idea of a joke?' Gus said. 'Calling him a bomber because of his name?' " This shows that Steve is a racist after calling Amir a bomber since he is most likely Arabic. Gus is angry at Steve because Amir is Gus's friend, and they both respect each other as basketball players. Gus can relate to Amir because Steve also makes fun of Gus's Dominican heritage from time to time.]]> 2023-02-23 00:34:29 UTC https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2491865973 vhpatel2 https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2491875058 " 'Seriously,' Gus said, 'with Mike moving away, who is going to play point guard for us?' 'That's easy,' Cassie Bennett said. 'I am.' " -Page 17

" 'You give me one good reason why you think I shouldn't even be allowed to try out for the Walton Warriors.' " - Page 21

Cassie announces that she is going to try out for the Walton Warriors which is a boys' basketball team. Teddy and Jack (her friends along with Gus) think it's a good idea for her since she is really good, and they need a new point guard. Gus, on the other hand, does not want her to try out deep inside his heart mostly she is a girl on a boys' team and the fact that for some reason the thought of playing ball with Cassie on the same team bothers him. This is also the beginning of a breaking of a friendship between Gus and Cassie for some time.]]> 2023-02-23 00:46:31 UTC https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2491875058 vhpatel2 https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2491882053 "Where she was laughing and playing one-on-one with Steve Kerrigan... and then turned his bike around and went back home." - Page 89

Gus is about to go to Cassie's house and tell her that he is going to have a new attitude when playing with her and the team in games. Although, when Gus, gets there he sees Steve and Cassie playing a game of 1 on 1. He turns his bike around and immediately leaves. This does not sit well with Gus because he strongly dislikes Steve and now one of his best friends is playing with him, not to mention that Steve is also racist to Gus. Now Gus forgets about telling Cassie that he is going to change his attitude.]]> 2023-02-23 00:55:55 UTC https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2491882053 vhpatel2 https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2491907734 "It was about who was going to be president of the ninth-grade next year at Walton Middle School, Steve Kerrigan or Marianna Ruiz ... But their grade was already on fire at the prospect of Steve and Marianna running against each other. Their fathers had just run against each other for mayor in the fall." - Page 129

A school election is a major event in most schools. This event of Steve running for president will just make his ego bigger and will therefore annoy Gus even more. His dad was a racist and did not like "outsiders" in Walton and wanted to suppress them. The same can be seen with Steve. This would just make Gus even madder since he is considered an outsider with his Dominican heritage. Gus supports Marianna and this would make Steve mad because Gus is his teammate, little does Steve know that Gus dislikes him. All of this just adds to the drama going o in the basketball team with Cassie and Steve.]]> 2023-02-23 01:26:32 UTC https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2491907734 vhpatel2 https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2491925703 "But Teddy had switched over from tight end and nearly wrote a storybook ending for himself and for his team." 
- Page 13

I think the phrase "wrote a storybook ending for ..." means that Teddy, someone, or something plays extremely well or does an extremely great job that it seems like they are writing a perfect storybook where everything/every action is good for them or the team. This is because in the book, Teddy almost carried his football team to a Championship victory but they were defeated at the last moment.]]> 2023-02-23 01:47:11 UTC https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2491925703 vhpatel2 https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2491933030 "Gus used the quiet to think about what he wanted to say next. He really wasn't afraid to tangle with her. Hey, one of them had to man up and do it once in a while." - Page 21

I think the phrase, "He really wasn't afraid to tangle with her" means that Gus was not afraid to back down and so arguing with her, he most likely wanted to keep on going. Cassie and Gus get into an argument and Gus is not afraid to keep on debating with her. Gus also describes how he needs to man up to Cassie and show her whose the boss maybe because he is tired of losing to her in these Cassie-Gus debates.]]> 2023-02-23 01:55:45 UTC https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2491933030 vhpatel2 https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2491941242 " 'Would you be doing this to make our team better, or to prove some kind of point?' Gus said. 'Why can't I do both?' "
- Page 22

I think the theme of this book is teamwork. In the quote on page 22, Gus asks Cassie if she is trying out to benefit the whole TEAM or to just prove a point to HERSELF. Gus most likely asks this because he knows the importance of teamwork in basketball. Without good teamwork, you wouldn't have a winning basketball team. Throughout this book, the Walton Warriors have to work together in order to beat other teams, such as moving the ball around to open up someone on the wing or in the paint. ]]> 2023-02-23 02:05:57 UTC https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2491941242 vhpatel2 https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2493351851 "Gus knew, Jack hated any kind of tension: with his friends, with his teammates, even here at school. He genuinely wanted everybody to get along. He'd been that way from the first time he and Gus had met, back in first grade. Gus had seen him become even more that way after Jack's older brother Brad had died in a dirt bike accident. Now more than ever, Jack Callahan refused to sweat the small stuff." - Page 92-93

The flash back is used to describe Jacks's personality and way he wants people to get along. I know this is a flashback since we can infer that Jack lost Brad before this moment in the text. ]]> 2023-02-24 02:12:04 UTC https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2493351851 vhpatel2 https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2493352718 " 'Seriously,' Gus said, 'with Mike moving away, who is going to play point guard for us?' 'That's easy,' Cassie Bennett said. 'I am.' " -Page 17

" 'You give me one good reason why you think I shouldn't even be allowed to try out for the Walton Warriors.' " - Page 21

The mood here would be suspenseful. This is because Cassie just said that she is going to try out for a boys team which most likely made Gus question if what heard was true and was confused about this decision she made. The author creates the mood by presenting a new idea that many of Cassie's friends never herd of in their lives.]]> 2023-02-24 02:13:13 UTC https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2493352718 vhpatel2 https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2493359934 "As excited as Gus was to get another shot at the Norris Panthers, even though this was a different sport, he knew he was more excited because it was opening day. Opening day was always special in sports." - Page 56

The mood here would be cheerful because Gus seems to be very have that he is finally going to be able to play his fist game for the Walton Warriors. The author creates the mood by stating a reason that Gus is very happy and explain why Gus is happy about it.]]> 2023-02-24 02:22:33 UTC https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2493359934 vhpatel2 https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2493365380 "When he was finished, decided to ride his bike into town. Alone. On a normal day, he would have been on his way to hang with Jack and Casse. But this wasn't a normal day."
- Page 78

The mood here is lonely. Gug lost his first game and since he thinks that Cassie made the wrong play that cost them the game, Gus is sad and mad. He wants to think about it for himself and therefore rides his bike into town alone. The author creates the mood by showing that Gus is not in the best mood by stating that this is not a normal day since of course, they lost their first game and because Gus still has an issue with Cassie which would make it hard for him to talk with her and his friends for a little while longer.

]]> 2023-02-24 02:29:26 UTC https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2493365380 vhpatel2 https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2494023323 Why did Cassie want to joint he boys basketball team?

On page 264 it Cassie says, " 'At the beginning it was more about me than it was the team."

This shows that Cassie wanted to join the basketball team to prove a point to her that she can play with boys than it was helping the team.]]> 2023-02-24 15:35:39 UTC https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2494023323 vhpatel2 https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2494034014 Why was Gus happy that he made the game winning 3-pointer in the Championship?

Making a 3 pointer to win the game was a dream for him. He always wished to make that shot to win the game.

On page 261 it says, "They didn't need a three to win, even though the game winner had always been a three in his dreams. A Steph three. Gus let the ball go. As soon as he did, he knew. Sometimes you just knew. It hit nothing but string."]]> 2023-02-24 15:40:38 UTC https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2494034014 vhpatel2 https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2494052846 Why did Gus get mad at Steve when he said "you people" in the YMCA?

Gus got mad at Steve for saying "you people" because he was talking about all the outsiders, such as Dominicans, and Mexicans in Walton "sticking together" since they were all Latino.

On pages 165-166, it says, " "You people?' he said. stepping on the second word. If he got any closer to Steve Kerrigan, he could have touched the guy's bloody nose with his own. 'Why don't you explain to me what 'you people' mean?' Gus said. 'I think you know,' Steve said. Neither one of them was backing up. 'Yeah,' Gus said. 'I do know what you mean, the same way I know exactly who you are." - Page 165 to 166]]> 2023-02-24 15:50:32 UTC https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2494052846 vhpatel2 https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2494168554 " 'Seriously,' Gus said, 'with Mike moving away, who is going to play point guard for us?' 'That's easy,' Cassie Bennett said. 'I am.' " -Page 17

" 'You give me one good reason why you think I shouldn't even be allowed to try out for the Walton Warriors.' " - Page 21

This connects to the real world because Cassie is trying to break a gender barrier in sports.

Link - https://stacker.com/sports/15-american-women-athletes-who-broke-barriers ]]> 2023-02-24 17:25:19 UTC https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2494168554 vhpatel2 https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2494223197 Steve was being racist to Gus for having a Dominican heritage and this connects to the real world because people are sometimes racist to African Americans even today. The most relevant one would be people being racist toward Chinese people since COVID-19 started.

On pages 165-166, it says, " "You people?' he said. stepping on the second word. If he got any closer to Steve Kerrigan, he could have touched the guy's bloody nose with his own. 'Why don't you explain to me what 'you people' mean?' Gus said. 'I think you know,' Steve said. Neither one of them was backing up. 'Yeah,' Gus said. 'I do know what you mean, the same way I know exactly who you are." - Page 165 to 166

Link to real-world example - https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2020/07/01/many-black-and-asian-americans-say-they-have-experienced-discrimination-amid-the-covid-19-outbreak/]]> 2023-02-24 18:15:50 UTC https://padlet.com/vhpatel2/zayps3qrckmfbivm/wish/2494223197