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| Slam! | 
 enlarge | Author: Walter Dean Myers
Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks
Category: Book
List Price: $6.99
Buy New: $3.26
You Save: $3.73 (53%)
New (26) Used (4) from $3.26
Avg. Customer Rating:  155 reviews
Sales Rank: 34615
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.1
Dimensions (in): 7 x 4.8 x 0.7
ISBN: 0545055741
EAN: 9780545055741
ASIN: 0545055741
Publication Date: May 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: GREAT BUY!Brand New From US Distributor! WE ARE A 5 STAR SELLER with OVER 3,500,000 BOOKS SOLD!!! OVER ~ 600,000 FEEDBACKS ~ POSTED!!!
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Product Description
Seventeen-year-old Greg "Slam" Harris can do it all on the basketball court. He's seen ballplayers come and go, and he knows he could be one of the lucky ones. Maybe he'll make it to the top. Or maybe he'll stumble along the way. Slam's grades aren't that hot. And when his teachers jam his troubles in his face, he blows up. Slam never doubted himself on the court until he found himself going one-on-one with his own future, and he didn't have the ball.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 150 more reviews...
 ~~~SLAM INTO DREAMS~~~ March 23, 2000
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
I think that this book has been one of my favorites book that I have read! This book is awsome for teenagers, cause this book is like a basic life of teenagers dreaming for what they want to be in life. For example this book relates to my life cause I got dreams like "SLAM" did who dreams where to be a famous basketball player, and me been a famous football player. This books also talks about true love and friendship. Slam was messing with two girls (Mtisha & Kicky), which mostly of us guys do this days, which is good and bad. But at the end Slam listen to his heart which his love was Mtisha. Slam was a nice guy with his friends cause he try to help them, cause one of his friend was a crack head, so he didnt like that, and he didnt wanted to be one either. Slam was one of the best player for his school which was Carver in Harlem. At the end of the book Slam scores the winning point which took his team to the CHAMPIONSHIP. Thing that i'm planning to do..hahaha..if I can. Well I hope you guys who read this agree with me, which this book base on life of teenagers.
 Yo Slam? Where's your head at man? May 30, 2002
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
This book was a great book for a lot of reasons. It really portrayed life on the streets, and that people can either fall or rise above their circumstances. It showed the reality of the streets at times when it talked about people dealing drugs, and at the end, the book tells you how the main character deals with the streets.
This book was about a teenage boy named Greg "Slam" Harris. Everyone in his neighborhood and school called him "Slam" because he was awesome at basketball. During the book, Slam fails to realize that school is very important.All the ever does is think about his girlfriend, or play basketball. He thinks that basketball is his ticket out of the ghetto. But what he doesn't realize is that your attitude toward one thing can effect your attitude toward another aspect of life. His attitude in the classroom relfected his attitude on the court, and he and his coach were always at odds. During the book, Slam deals with the harsh reality of the ghetto when his friend, Benny "Ice" Reese gets involved with drug dealing. Ice was also a great basketball player, regarded my man as the best in the city. He also endures being looked down on by his teachers simply because of the neighborhood that he is from. At the end of the book, Slam's future lies in his own hands, and no one can decide his fate except for him. He will either fall to the streets, or rise above his circumstances.
I really liked this book a lot, because the author really made all the situations seem very real. I felt like I could relate to this book, because I used to not try hard in school, then I realized that school was very important, and having a good attitude was necessary. This book really inspired me to work hard in all areas of life, and it was a very well-written book. It was very exciting when Slam was playing in his basketball games to hear the author talk about when he slammed, or blocked somebody's shot. Overall, I had a great time reading this book. I would recommend this book to anyone, not just people who love basketball.
A Slam Dunk Book May 19, 2005
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
Greg Harris, known as Slam is an outstanding seventeen year old basketball player from Harlem. He attends Latimer Arts Magnet High School. Slam's grades are slipping fast, but his basketball skills are what keeps him motivated. His grades are bad enough that Mr. Tate, the principal has a meeting with Slam and his mom about getting a tutor to help bring up his math grades. Slam wants no part of having a tutor.
The book introduces you to Slam's family. They live in an apartment building located in Harlem. Harlem is a poor area to live in. Slam is used to seeing drug dealers and people spaced out on drugs on the streets. It's nothing for Slam to see people sleeping or passed out on the stairwells of the old run down buildings of Harlem. Slam lives with his mom whom he calls moms. She is a caring and loving person. He also lives with his dad who he calls pops. His dad is out of work and is an alcoholic. Derek is Slam's nine year old brother. Slam's grandmother is sick in the hospital. This is hard on Slam's mom. His mom is afraid Slam's grandmother is going to die.
Slam decides to join the school basketball team. Latimer is coming off of their fifth losing season. Slam is surprised only twelve people show up for the tryouts. Coach Nipper and Slam have a disagreement during tryouts. This puts a strain on their relationship right away.
Benny Reese known as Ice is Slam's best friend. Ice attends Carver High School, where he is a star basketball player. Mtisha is Slam's girlfriend. She thinks Ice is dealing drugs because of his sudden increase of money. Mtisha wants Slam to find out if her suppositions are true. Slam doesn't want to believe that Ice is dealing drugs.
Slam knows from seeing other people dealing drugs on the streets that it's an easy way to make cash. He also knows dealing with drugs will put an end to any hopes and dreams for a promising future. Slam dreams of becoming a player in the NBA. He thinks about marrying Mtisha and having a family.
Slam shows some interest in school when he and a girl named Margerie are assigned to do a project together. They are to make a movie of Slam's neighborhood. The film will show what goes on in the life of Greg "Slam" Harris. Slam seems like a real natural with a camera. Even Slam's brother gets into the project.
As you read the book you realize that Slam's bad grades are no his only problem. Slam's major obstacle is his attitude. After a confrontation with Mr. Parrish during class Slam comes close to hitting the teacher. Mr. Goldstein, the assistant coach has a heart to heart talk with Slam, telling Slam he needs to change his attitude toward life. Slam changes his attitude for the better. He finds out that he is not a failure if he excepts help from others.
I thought "Slam" was an excellent book. The story goes into such great detail, that I could put myself in the book. I felt like I was in the crowd watching Slam play basketball. This book introduced me to a teenager's life in Harlem. It made me stop and think how lucky I am not to have the added pressures of the inner city life. Slam was an inspiration to me. He doesn't give into the pressure around him even though he is pushed very hard. My favorite part of the book is when Slam realizes his attitude is his biggest enemy. He started to improve himself as a person. I recommend "Slam" to anyone over the age of 12.
Slam May 10, 2001
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
May 9,2001 Slam, written by Walter Dean Myers is a great story about the life of a 17-year-old boy from Harlem. This story is about a young high school boy that loves the game of basketball. His name is Greg Harris, but people call him "Slam" because of his ability to slam the ball. The book exposes some life problems that a regular teenager faces in life, particularly the ones that live in New York City. His grades are not so hot and he seems to make some serious decisions that will make a big difference in his life. This book is a good life story and teaches you some very good lessons. Slam knows he has potential and could be one of the lucky ballplayers to make it to the NBA. But, when he moves to a magnet school, things just start to go downhill. His best friend, Ice, who also has incredible talent in basketball, gets involved with drugs. Slam wants to help, but he has problems of his own. His grades are bad, he doesn't get along with the staff at his school, and the basketball coach doesn't approve with his style of playing basketball. This book does a good job of portraying real-life situations. The reader can really get inside the head of the characters, making the book great. Many teenagers have similar problems, like grades and drugs. A couple times, Slam tires to talk to Ice about his involvement in drugs, but each time Ice finds a way to change the subject. This predicament marks the end of their friendship. Slam knows that he cant get involved with drugs because he has too much on the line to risk. This can be related to real life because sometimes in life you want to help your friends do the right thing, but there is only so much you can do. As the book goes on, things start to work out okay for Slam. He brings up his grades and his coach starts to understand him some more. In a final basketball game, Slam and Ice face each other on the court, and the changes in their friendship are played out on the court. The ending seemed unexpected, though it was a good one. I think this book will be easily understood for a person who plays sports and can really understand what he has to go through. I really liked the way this book was written and definitely recommend this book for everyone, even people who don't know too much about sports.
Slam October 11, 2001
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
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FictionThe theme of this book is: If you work hard at something, you will eventually achieve it. I would recommend this book to all teenagers of all racial backgrouds because everyone can relate to it. The story started out introducing all of Greg "Slam" Harris' family members. Greg and his family lives in a suburb house in the "hood". Greg has the potential to go all the way to the professional leagues in basketball if he just keeps his grades right in school. Greg just switched schools from the all black Carver, to the predominately white Latimer. This new school is much more strict on the curriculum and it is showing through his grades. Another problem is that everytime a teacher tells Greg about his grades, he just gets mad and doesn't want to hear it. Greg was helped by a tutor and started to do better in his school work. Next, Greg was faced with another problem. His friend "Ice" was selling drugs, but Greg did not know how to bring up the issue to him without Ice thinking he is dissing him. With the love of basketball, Greg brought his friend in the right direction. This book will be very memorable for me, because it showed me how to overcome certain struggles in my life. This book kept me wanting to read more and more. The only mattre that the book left out in my opinion, was the fact that the audience does not know what Greg does after high school. I wanted to know if he really went to the pros or not. The book affected me in the fact that when something will seem hard for me, I will strive to work harder. This book was very enjoyable and entertaining, and I wish that everyone could read this book because it teaches humans how to keep special relationships work.
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