Nick Abbott’s dad told him “never give up” which is a good phrase to sum up “Night Hoops” by Carl Deuker. Nick experiences his parent’s divorce, friendship difficulties and hard time with his high school basketball team.

         Nick went through the hardships of his parent’s divorce after his parents had a disagreement over his older brother, Scott’s, future whether he should pursue basketball or music. Nick’s dad has always been competitive with him and his brother and just wanted them to be great basketball players. When Scott gives up on basketball and switches to music, Nick’s dad gets angry and keeps pushing Scott to play basketball.

One morning Nick woke up to his mother weeping on the couch and his father gone. Nick tried to use basketball as a way to escape the reality of his life, and he often played with his neighbor Trent. Who wasn’t the best kid to be around but he also used basketball as a way to distract him from his current situation in life.

Nick also faces the difficulties of his basketball team. Starting point guard on the varsity team at his school is a tough spot to manage when you are going through a lot like Nick. When he lost his starting spot and was moved to third string, he never lost hope in himself and his teammates and worked even harder to get the spot back.

         This book shows the character’s perseverance and tells the important message of never giving up even at the hardest of times. Nick never let himself, his friends, or his family go and took on one problem at a time. There are times in the book where things got confusing and were never explained, but it doesn’t change the story. In the end, Nick gets through all his hardships and gets what he deserves in the end.