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Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite
In S.K. Michalowski’s Brave New Game, six-foot-two seventh grader Charlie Gold takes college calculus at St. Hildegarde’s University, yet basketball is the part of his life he understands best. His late father was a beloved St. Hildegarde’s star, leaving Charlie with a name everyone in Duncan recognizes as he tries out for the Lakeshore Legends travel team beside best friend Jalen. One disastrous moment during tryouts is caught on video, making Charlie suddenly famous around town for something he insists did not happen the way it appears. Home offers little escape, since older sister Cecilia is stretching every dollar to keep their household going. Charlie begins leaning on his unusual gift for numbers, discovering that it may offer an unexpected route into the college basketball world he has watched from the sidelines.
S.K. Michalowski’s Brave New Game is fantastic middle grade fiction, with Charlie emerging as the kind of kid you definitely want to succeed. His mathematical mind gives him a wonderfully individual way of seeing the world, bringing genuine character to his scenes. You get a perfect example when a clementine becomes a basketball beside a milk glass as he explains calculus to two college students. His bond with Gran has a lovely closeness that feels completely natural, especially when he crouches beside her during a Joe Cocker song at her Woodstock birthday party. The book has a huge sense of place and Charlie's world is crystal clear, ranging from the Chicago gym where he practices dunking in a worn rim, to an outdoor Tempest play staged with sheets of metal beneath a summer sky. However, the greatest compliment that can be paid to the story is that, unprompted, my younger daughter picked it up to read and didn't put it down. What better endorsement than that? Very highly recommended.
