Reviews

On The Line, written collaboratively by Paul Coccia and Eric Walters, is a story about a boy whose life is flipped upside down after troubles with his family. Jordan, the main character, only wishes for his parents to stop fighting, but when he finally gets his wish, his parent’s divorce comes with it. Jordan comes to blame his dad for the divorce, as his dad came out as gay during this time period. Along with this, Jordan grows a negative opinion towards the homosexual community because of his dad’s affiliation. However, Jordan’s dad was also his biggest inspiration and teacher of basketball, Jordan’s lifelong interest and passion. As a result, Jordan’s thoughts are jumbled, and his relationships at school take a hit. “On The Line” covers Jordan’s recovery from his family’s separation, and how it impacts his relationships and performance in basketball. Overall, I’d give this novel a 4/5, with its strong points focused around the character development of the main character, Jordan. Jordan’s journey to bring his life back together is well constructed, as he is forced to face all of his issues head on and goes through proper struggles along the way. The struggles that Jordan faces lead to a satisfying ending that doesn’t feel too cliche, and makes the ending for Jordan feel deserved. I enjoyed reading this book, with the characters and developments being the strongest points of the story. However, I disliked how the book cover and synopsis advertises the book as very basketball focused, while in reality it’s just used as part of the setting. I would recommend this book to readers looking for an interesting story of someone’s struggles and how they face them, while I would not recommend this book to someone intrigued purely by the basketball theme. In conclusion, On The Line deserves a 4/5 for its amazing character development, while the misleading cover makes you hope for a little more in the book