Fair Game


Young Adult - Social Issues
220 Pages
Reviewed on 06/17/2023
Buy on Amazon

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    Book Review

Reviewed by Rich Follett for Readers' Favorite

Fair Game by Robyn Ryle is an engaging and in-touch exploration of the problems facing a talented girls’ basketball team. They are seeking equal treatment and equal practice time at a school where the boys’ team receives all the attention and perks despite their less-than-stellar record. Like the game of basketball itself, the story is fast-paced and changes direction at a moment’s notice, which makes for a deeply absorbing reading experience sure to keep any young adult turning the pages. Ryle captures the essence of teenage angst, hyper-focus, and often-flawed decision-making with uncanny accuracy, which makes this book a standout accomplishment in young adult literature.

In Amanda Harkins and her teammates Maddie and Dot, Robyn Ryle has created characters that seem to exist in real-time and in three dimensions, with issues relevant to the actual lived experience of teenagers today. Ryle does not shy away from the opportunity to infuse real social issues into the plot line in sensitive and thoughtful ways that young readers will reflect upon long after the story has finished. Fair Game is a rare commodity in young adult literature. It is a story that will satisfy active and reluctant readers alike. The book succeeds equally well as a sports narrative. It is full of basketball terminology and a point-by-point description of gameplay but never leaves the reader feeling left out of the action. One does not need to be a basketball expert to understand the sequence of events or the concerns of the players. This is a remarkable, emotionally engaging, and unfailingly accurate chronicle of teenage life that will leave readers cheering.